Creator Platform Fee Calculator 2026
See what Patreon, Gumroad, Ko-fi and Substack actually keep from every payment — the platform cut plus payment processing — then compare all four side by side and find what to charge to hit a target payout. One tool instead of four single-platform calculators.
| Platform | Fee | You keep |
|---|
How creator platform fees work in 2026
Every creator platform advertises one headline number — Patreon's 10%, Substack's 10%, Gumroad's flat fee — but that is almost never what you actually lose. This creator platform fee calculator adds the second layer nobody puts on the pricing page: payment processing. A "10% platform" typically costs 13–16% of your money once Stripe or PayPal takes its cut on top.
There are two fees on almost every creator payment: the platform fee (what Patreon, Ko-fi or Substack charge for the tools and audience) and the processing fee (what the card network and Stripe/PayPal charge to move the money). Gumroad is the one exception — as Merchant of Record it rolls both into a single 10% + 50¢, so there is no separate processing line. The Compare Platforms tab above puts all four side by side for the same payment so you can see who leaves you with the most.
Patreon Fee Calculator
Use this Patreon fee calculator to see what a pledge is really worth. Patreon moved to a single standard 10% platform fee for any creator who published their page after August 4, 2025. Creators from before that date keep their legacy plan — Pro at 8% or Premium at around 11–12% — unless they unpublish and republish, which moves them to the 10% standard.
On top of the platform fee, Patreon charges payment processing of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. Pledges of $3 or less use a cheaper micropayment rate of 5% + $0.10, which is why bundling small tiers into one larger pledge saves on fixed fees. Two extras the dashboard hides: a 2.5% currency-conversion fee when a patron pays in a different currency than your payout, and — for anyone who joins through the iOS app — Apple's 30% in-app fee, which replaces Patreon's normal processing entirely. On a $10 pledge on the standard plan you keep about $8.41, an effective fee of roughly 16%.
Gumroad Fee Calculator
This Gumroad fee calculator covers both of Gumroad's fees. A sale through your own link or profile costs a flat 10% + $0.50. A sale that Gumroad's own Discover marketplace sends you costs 30% — the price of Gumroad finding the customer for you. There is no monthly fee on either.
Since January 1, 2025 Gumroad has been the Merchant of Record on every transaction, meaning it handles payment processing and sales-tax/VAT collection for you and folds those costs into the 10% + $0.50. That is why this calculator shows no separate Stripe or PayPal line for Gumroad. A note on sourcing: a few third-party guides still list a separate 2.9% + $0.30 processing fee on top — that reflects Gumroad's older model, so confirm your own rate on gumroad.com/pricing. On a $100 direct sale you keep about $89.50; the effective rate falls as the price rises because the $0.50 is fixed.
Ko-fi Fee Calculator
Ko-fi is the cheapest of the four on paper, and this Ko-fi fee calculator shows why. On the free plan, Ko-fi takes 0% on tips and donations and 5% on memberships, shop sales and commissions. It is the only major creator platform that charges nothing on one-off tips.
Payment processing still applies on every plan — roughly 2.9% + $0.30 through Stripe or PayPal, charged by the processor rather than by Ko-fi. Ko-fi Gold costs $12 a month and removes the 5% platform fee across memberships, shop and commissions, dropping your platform cut to 0%. The break-even is simple: 5% of $240 is $12, so Gold pays for itself once your non-tip sales pass about $240 a month. Below that, the free plan keeps more.
Substack Fee Calculator
This Substack fee calculator applies Substack's famously simple pricing: a flat 10% of paid-subscription revenue, a rate that has not changed since 2017. There is no monthly fee — you pay nothing until subscribers pay you.
What the 10% headline leaves out is Stripe processing: 2.9% + $0.30 per payment, plus a 0.7% recurring-billing fee Stripe added in mid-2024 for subscription charges. Together that turns the advertised 10% into roughly 13–16% in practice. On a $10/month subscriber you keep about $8.34. Because there is no fixed monthly cost, Substack stays cheap for small lists but becomes expensive in absolute terms as you scale — at $1,000/month in subscriptions you are paying Substack $100+ a month.
Creator platform fee reference — 2026
Standard US fees for each platform as of July 2026. Rates vary by country and change over time — verify on each platform's official pricing page before making decisions.
| Platform | Platform fee | Processing | Monthly | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patreon | 10% new · 8% legacy Pro · ~12% legacy Premium | 2.9% + 30¢ (5% + 10¢ under $3) | $0 | +2.5% currency conversion · iOS in-app = Apple 30% |
| Gumroad | 10% + 50¢ direct · 30% Discover | Included (Merchant of Record) | $0 | Handles processing + sales tax/VAT for you |
| Ko-fi | 0% tips · 5% memberships/shop (free) | 2.9% + 30¢ (Stripe/PayPal) | $0 free · $12 Gold | Gold removes the 5% — worth it above ~$240/mo sales |
| Substack | 10% of paid subscriptions | 2.9% + 0.7% recurring + 30¢ | $0 | Flat rate unchanged since 2017 |
The pattern across all four: a "10%" platform is really 13–16% after processing, and where you take payment matters. For pure tips, Ko-fi's 0% wins. For memberships and products, Ko-fi's free 5% or Gold 0% usually keeps the most, with Gumroad close on larger one-off sales.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources & how we calculate
This calculator applies each platform's published 2026 fees to the amount you enter — the platform percentage plus the payment processor's 2.9% + $0.30 (Substack adds a 0.7% recurring-billing fee; Gumroad, as Merchant of Record, includes processing in its 10% + $0.50). It then shows your net, compares all four platforms, or works backwards from a target payout to the price you should set. Everything is computed in your browser from the numbers you enter; no data is sent anywhere.
Official sources: Patreon — Creator fees overview · Gumroad Pricing · Ko-fi Pricing · Substack — How much does Substack cost