Ko-fi is the closest product to a sponsorship wall. Both pay straight into your own account, and both show supporter names publicly. The difference is what a supporter walks away with: Ko-fi gives them a line in a feed that scrolls past, a wall gives them a plaque with a tier, a rank, and a running count of how long they have backed you.
| SponsoredBy | Ko-fi | |
|---|---|---|
| What it’s for | Public sponsorship. People fund work that stays free, and get credit for it. | One-off tips, with memberships, a shop and commissions layered on. |
| Are supporters public? | Yes. Every backer gets a plaque with their name, tier and how long they’ve backed you — or stays anonymous by choice. | Yes — a public feed shows supporter names and messages by default. It is a chronological activity feed rather than a permanent ranked wall, and guests can leave the name blank to appear as “Somebody”. |
| Who holds the money | You do. Every backing is paid into your own Stripe account; we never hold it. | Straight into your own PayPal or Stripe. Ko-fi never holds a balance and says plainly that it is not the merchant of record. |
| Cost | Free plan takes 10%. Pro is $29/mo and takes 5%; Max is $49/mo and takes 3%. Stripe’s processing is separate. | 0% on one-off tips on the free plan; 5% on memberships, shop sales, commissions and monthly tips. Ko-fi Gold is $12/month for 0% on everything. Processor fees are separate. |
Ko-fi figures were read from their own pricing page in August 2026. Pricing changes — check theirs before deciding.
You mostly want small one-off tips and you want the lowest possible cost.
You want the people supporting you to get lasting, visible credit — and you want to sell higher-value sponsorships, not just coffees.
Plenty of creators run both. A wall doesn’t ask you to move anything — it’s a link you add.
A wall takes a few minutes to set up, costs nothing on the free plan, and doesn’t replace anything.