Ko-fi vs Substack
Ko-fi
ko-fi.com
Substack
substack.comSide by side
| Figure | Ko-fi | Substack |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $12/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 4 |
| Spec score · Membership Site Platforms | 8.2 (#38) | 9.4 (#2) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | Ko-fi lists integrations or connections for YouTube, Twitch, Discord, WordPress, Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook, Medium, and GitHub. | Official integrations include RSS, podcast distribution to Apple and Spotify, Google Analytics 4, Google Tag Manager, X and Facebook pixels, Google site verification, YouTube and LinkedIn account connections. |
| Purpose | Ko-fi helps creators accept tips, offer memberships, take requests, and sell their work from one place. | Substack is a publishing platform for writers, creators, and subscribers. |
| Support | Ko-fi directs users to its support team and Help Center for questions, guides, and resources. | Substack directs users to its Help Center for FAQs and walkthroughs and handles subscriber support questions on behalf of writers. |
Plans
Substack
- Free publishingFree
- Free to startFree
- Custom domain$50, paid once
- Paid subscriptionsPrice not published
In their own words
Substack
Substack is a publishing platform for writers, creators, and subscribers, bringing posts, newsletters, podcasts, video, live streams, and pages into one publishing flow. Its editor supports scheduling, autosaved drafts, version history, templates, SEO metadata, and headline A/B testing. Creators can offer free or paid posts, subscriptions, trials, gifts, and group plans. Discovery tools include recommendations, Notes, leaderboards, referrals, and search; audience segmentation and email automation are also available. Podcast episodes can be distributed automatically to Apple Podcasts and Spotify, while video can go automatically to YouTube and LinkedIn. Publishing is free. When creators enable paid subscriptions, Substack keeps 10% of subscription revenue, and Stripe charges payment processing fees. Creators own their intellectual property and mailing list and can export their data. Substack serves writers, journalists, podcasters, video creators, experts, educators, and media companies. It is available on the web, Android, and iOS. Substack directs users to its Help Center and handles subscriber support questions on behalf of writers.