Creators move from Patreon to Ko-fi for one simple reason, which is that Patreon takes 10 percent of every payment before processing fees, while Ko-fi Gold costs 12 dollars a month with a 0 percent platform fee. For a creator earning 500 dollars a month, that change keeps about 50 dollars more in the creator pocket before processing. How to switch from patreon to ko-fi is the move this guide covers in full, with the real steps, the real costs, and the checks that keep your work safe.
Ko-fi also pays creators directly through PayPal or Stripe, offers tips, memberships, commissions, and a shop from one page, and lets supporters pay without an account. The trade off is discovery, because Ko-fi has no search engine for new fans, and paid subscriptions cannot be moved automatically. This guide shows the honest move in eight steps.
Before you start, read the whole plan once, then pick a quiet week to do it. A move done in a rush creates errors that take weeks to find, while a move done in stages feels calm and leaves a clear record of what changed and when.
Why teams leave Patreon for Ko-fi
Patreon suits a creator who wants memberships, discovery, and a familiar checkout, and it charges 10 percent for that package. The fee feels small at 100 dollars a month and heavy at 1000 dollars a month, when Patreon takes 100 dollars before processing. Apple adds another layer, taking 30 percent on iOS purchases in year one, dropping to 15 percent after the first year.
Ko-fi suits a creator who already has an audience and wants to keep more of each payment. Tips are free of platform fees, memberships and shop sales cost 5 percent on the free plan, and Gold at 12 dollars a month removes platform fees entirely. The trade off is community and discovery, because Ko-fi has basic community tools and no search, so creators often pair it with Discord.
The decision is not about which tool is better in general, because both tools serve real businesses well. It is about which tool fits the next year of your work, the size of your team, and the way your customers find you. If the current tool still fits, staying put is a valid choice, and this guide will still help you judge that honestly.
how to switch from Patreon to Ko-fi in 8 steps
The steps below run in order, and each one has a check at the end. Do not skip a check to save time, because a check that takes ten minutes now can save a day of repair later. Work through the list with one other person when you can, so a second pair of eyes catches a mapping error before it spreads.
If you are weighing how to switch from Patreon to Ko-fi, start with the smallest live project, not the biggest one. A small win gives the team confidence, proves the mapping, and shows the real time cost before you commit the whole workspace to a new home.
Step 1 Work out the real fee saving first
Add up what Patreon took last month, including the 10 percent platform fee, payment processing, currency conversion, and payout fees, and compare it with Ko-fi. On Ko-fi Gold at 12 dollars a month the platform fee is 0 percent, so a creator earning 500 dollars a month keeps about 50 dollars more before processing fees. If most of your income is one time tips, the free Ko-fi plan already charges 0 percent on tips. Write the numbers down, because a clear saving makes the move easy to explain to supporters.
Check this step before you move on. Open the result in Ko-fi, compare it with the original in Patreon, and confirm that the names, dates, and amounts match. If anything looks wrong, fix it now while the step is fresh, and write a short note about what you changed so the next step starts from a clean record.
Step 2 Export the member list from Patreon
On desktop, open the Patreon Relationship Manager, filter by paid, free, active, or cancelled members, and use Export to download a CSV of member email addresses, pledge amounts, and status. Save the file in a dated folder and keep a copy you never edit. This list is the one thing you can carry with you, and it is worth more than any page design. Check the file for duplicate emails and for members who cancelled long ago, and keep only the people who chose to hear from you.
Check this step before you move on. Open the result in Ko-fi, compare it with the original in Patreon, and confirm that the names, dates, and amounts match. If anything looks wrong, fix it now while the step is fresh, and write a short note about what you changed so the next step starts from a clean record.
Step 3 Set up the Ko-fi page and membership tiers
Create the Ko-fi page, connect PayPal or Stripe so supporters pay you directly and you are the merchant of record, and rebuild your membership tiers at the same prices Patreon supporters already pay. Ko-fi lets you run tips, memberships, commissions, and a shop from one page, so decide which of those you will offer on day one and which can wait. Write a short page description that says what supporters get, how often you post, and where the money goes.
Check this step before you move on. Open the result in Ko-fi, compare it with the original in Patreon, and confirm that the names, dates, and amounts match. If anything looks wrong, fix it now while the step is fresh, and write a short note about what you changed so the next step starts from a clean record.
Step 4 Rebuild the benefits supporters actually use
List every Patreon benefit, then keep only the ones supporters mention, open, or pay for, such as early posts, bonus downloads, a Discord role, or a monthly live session. Rebuild each keeper on Ko-fi, in the shop, or in a linked community tool, because Ko-fi community features are basic and many creators pair it with Discord. Drop benefits nobody used, even if they took weeks to build, because a simpler promise is easier to keep every month.
Check this step before you move on. Open the result in Ko-fi, compare it with the original in Patreon, and confirm that the names, dates, and amounts match. If anything looks wrong, fix it now while the step is fresh, and write a short note about what you changed so the next step starts from a clean record.
Step 5 Move posts and files supporters paid for
Download the posts, files, and downloads that matter most, especially paid posts and evergreen guides, and re-upload the best of them to Ko-fi or link them from your own site. There is no one click import for Patreon posts into Ko-fi, so prioritise the ten or twenty pieces new members ask for most. Keep the Patreon archive readable for a while, and do not delete old posts until the new home has the essentials and the links in your emails still work.
Check this step before you move on. Open the result in Ko-fi, compare it with the original in Patreon, and confirm that the names, dates, and amounts match. If anything looks wrong, fix it now while the step is fresh, and write a short note about what you changed so the next step starts from a clean record.
Step 6 Ask supporters to re-subscribe, clearly
This is the hard truth of the move. Patreon holds the subscriptions and the saved cards, so there is no direct way to move paid subscriptions to Ko-fi, and every paying supporter must re-subscribe on Ko-fi. Write a short, honest message that says why you moved, what stays the same, what gets better, and exactly what to click. Send it by email, post it on Patreon, and pin it on social media. Offer the first month as a thank you where you can, and answer questions in public so one answer helps many people.
Check this step before you move on. Open the result in Ko-fi, compare it with the original in Patreon, and confirm that the names, dates, and amounts match. If anything looks wrong, fix it now while the step is fresh, and write a short note about what you changed so the next step starts from a clean record.
Step 7 Run both pages side by side for a month
Keep Patreon live for at least one full billing cycle while Ko-fi grows, so nobody loses access mid month and you do not lose a month of income. Pause new Patreon posts, point new supporters to Ko-fi, and check each week how many paid members have moved. When the Ko-fi member count covers the income you need, set a closing date for Patreon, tell supporters twice, and then close it. A calm overlap beats a sudden switch that leaves supporters confused about where to pay.
Check this step before you move on. Open the result in Ko-fi, compare it with the original in Patreon, and confirm that the names, dates, and amounts match. If anything looks wrong, fix it now while the step is fresh, and write a short note about what you changed so the next step starts from a clean record.
Step 8 Check payouts and thank the movers
Check that PayPal and Stripe payouts arrive in your own account, because on Ko-fi you are paid directly and instantly rather than waiting for a Patreon payout cycle. Send a thank you post to the supporters who moved, name the first Ko-fi milestones, and share what the fee saving will fund. Keep a simple spreadsheet of who moved, who has not yet, and who needs a personal nudge, and follow up once, politely, with the people who have not replied.
Check this step before you move on. Open the result in Ko-fi, compare it with the original in Patreon, and confirm that the names, dates, and amounts match. If anything looks wrong, fix it now while the step is fresh, and write a short note about what you changed so the next step starts from a clean record.
What Moves Over, What Stays Behind
| From Patreon | To Ko-fi | Moves cleanly |
|---|---|---|
| Member email list | Member list | Yes, by CSV export |
| Membership tiers | Membership tiers | Yes, rebuild at same prices |
| One time tips | Tips | Yes, and cheaper on Ko-fi |
| Shop products | Shop | Yes, rebuild listings |
| Commissions | Commissions | Yes, Ko-fi has this built in |
| Paid subscriptions | Paid subscriptions | No, supporters must re-subscribe |
| Saved cards | Saved cards | No, Patreon holds them |
| Posts and files | Posts and files | Manually, pick the best |
| Community chat | Community | No, use Discord instead |
| Discovery on Patreon | Discovery | No, Ko-fi has no search |
The table above is the honest picture, not a sales promise. Items marked yes move with the importer or the conversion tool, items marked partly need a manual check, and items marked no need a rebuild. Budget time for the no items first, because they are the ones that surprise teams who planned only for the import.
The best time to plan how to switch from Patreon to Ko-fi is before the busy season, not during it. A quiet week gives you room to fix a bad import, retrain a teammate, and check the numbers without a deadline pressing on every decision.
Attachments, comments, and history deserve special care. Open a sample of each type after the import and confirm that files open, comments read in order, and dates match the original. If a file is missing, check the backup export before you assume the importer failed, because the file may have been a link to an outside drive rather than a real upload.
Checklist Before the Move
Confirm that every live project, board, list, or account has a named owner, and that the owner knows the move date. Owners answer questions faster than a shared inbox, and they spot missing work that a checklist alone would miss.
Export a full backup and store it in a dated folder outside the old tool. Test the backup by opening a few files, because a backup you cannot open is not a backup at all.
Write the mapping of old fields to new fields on one page and share it with the team. When everyone reads the same mapping, the import result looks familiar instead of confusing.
Choose the plan in the new tool and confirm the price, the limits, and the billing date. A trial that ends mid move creates a deadline nobody planned for.
Tell customers, readers, or supporters what will change, what will stay the same, and what they need to do. A short message sent before the move prevents a flood of questions after it.
Many teams delay how to switch from Patreon to Ko-fi because they fear losing history, yet the history that matters is usually a short list of open work, recent comments, and unpaid items. Export that list first and the rest becomes far less scary.
The Move Timeline
| When | Task | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Fee math and member export | 2 hours |
| Day 2 | Set up Ko-fi page and tiers | 3 hours |
| Day 3 to 4 | Rebuild benefits and posts | 4 hours |
| Day 5 | Send re-subscribe message | 1 hour |
| Weeks 2 to 5 | Run both pages in parallel | Ongoing |
| Week 6 | Close Patreon if ready | 1 hour |
The timing above fits a small team or a small business with one main workspace, shop, or set of books. A larger team should double the checking time, because more people means more edge cases, more custom fields, and more integrations to test. Do not compress the plan into a single day unless the scope is truly tiny.
A clear owner makes how to switch from Patreon to Ko-fi move faster than any tool or template. One person keeps the checklist, answers questions, and decides when a step is truly done, so work does not drift between two systems.
Traffic and Money Protection
Protect the assets that earn money before you protect the design. For a shop or a site, that means the best selling pages, the links that bring traffic, and the email list. For books, it means the bank balance, the open invoices, and the tax records. For a creator, it means the paying supporters and the posts they paid for. List those assets first and check them first after the move.
Keep the old tool readable for at least 30 days after the move, and keep a local export for longer. A readable old account lets you answer a question about an old comment, an old invoice, or an old order without guessing. Set a calendar reminder for the closing date and check the list of assets one last time before you cancel.
Watch the numbers daily for the first week. Compare sales, traffic, open rates, or bank balances with the same week before the move, and investigate any drop at once. A small drop in the first days can be normal while systems settle, but a drop that grows each day is a sign that a step was missed.
Before you start how to switch from Patreon to Ko-fi, agree on what success looks like in one sentence. It might be faster handoffs, cleaner books, or lower fees, and that sentence will guide every trade off when a step gets hard.
The Bill After Day One
Before the move, Patreon costs 10 percent platform fee for new pages, plus payment processing, currency conversion, and payout fees, with Apple taking 30 percent on iOS in year one. After the move, Ko-fi costs Free plan with 0 percent on one time tips and 5 percent on memberships and shop sales, Gold at 12 dollars per month with 0 percent platform fees. Compare the two at your real team size or volume, not at the smallest tier, because the smallest tier rarely fits a working team for long.
Add the one off costs too, which are the migration tool if you use one, the time to rebuild fields or pages, and the time to train the team. A conversion tool can cost around 100 to 300 pounds for a complex set of books, and a migration app for a shop can cost a similar amount. Those costs are small beside a month of lost sales or a month of confused work.
The cheapest part of how to switch from Patreon to Ko-fi is the software subscription, and the most expensive part is the time your team spends relearning how to work. Budget for training time as carefully as you budget for the monthly bill.
Mistakes That Slow Teams Down
The most common mistake is importing everything, including dead boards, dead listings, and dead accounts. Old work creates noise in the new tool, hides live work, and makes the team distrust the new system from day one. Leave the dead work behind and keep it in the backup if you ever need it.
The second mistake is skipping the test import. A test on one small board, one small set of books, or five products shows the mapping errors while they are still easy to fix. A full import without a test spreads the same error across every project at once.
The third mistake is forgetting the people. A new tool with no training, no owner, and no announcement leaves the team working in two places at once. A short walkthrough, a one page guide, and a clear date for the switch prevent most of that confusion.
The fourth mistake is closing the old account too soon. Cancel the old subscription only after a full cycle in the new tool, after the numbers match, and after the team agrees the new home works. A month of overlap costs less than a lost invoice, a lost order, or a lost supporter.
Our verdict for creators
Move when the current tool limits the work you do every day, not when a new tool looks attractive in a demo. If Patreon still fits the work, stay and save the move for later. If the limits are real, the steps in this guide will carry the work across safely, with a backup, a test, and a check at every stage.
After you finish how to switch from Patreon to Ko-fi, run one full cycle in the new tool before you judge it. A single week of real work, real deadlines, and real customers tells you far more than the first day of setup ever will.
The best move is a boring one, with no surprises, no lost work, and no angry customers. Plan it in a quiet week, test it on a small scope, check the numbers, and tell people what changed. That is how a small team switches tools and keeps its work, its money, and its reputation intact.
Measure the result 30 days after the move. Compare the same numbers you measured before, such as time per task, cost per month, open rate, or sales per week. If the numbers improved, keep going. If they did not, find the one step that failed and fix it before you blame the tool. A move is only a success when the numbers say so.
Keep the old account readable for at least a month after the move. Old comments, old invoices, old posts, and old messages are hard to recreate once the account is closed. Set a calendar reminder for the closing date, check that nothing important is left behind, and only then cancel. A quiet month of overlap costs little and prevents a painful loss.
Start with a small test before you commit the whole team or the whole budget. A one week trial with real work, real customers, and real deadlines tells you more than any demo video. Write down what felt fast, what felt slow, and what needed a workaround. If the test saves time on the second day, the tool is probably a fit. If the test creates new work, the tool is probably not ready for your team yet.
Budget for the second year, not just the first month. Introductory discounts, free trials, and first year deals all end, and the regular price is the price you will live with. Add the cost of extra seats, extra volume, and the add ons you will actually use. A tool that looks cheap at 20 dollars a month can cost 80 dollars a month once the team grows and the limits bite.
Check who owns the data before you sign up. Export a sample file on day one, open it, and confirm that names, dates, amounts, and notes are all there. If export is hard, slow, or missing fields, treat that as a warning. The best tools make it easy to leave, because they know good work keeps customers, not locked doors.
Talk to the people who will use the tool every day, not just the person who pays the bill. A finance lead cares about reports, a support lead cares about speed, and a creator cares about how the page looks to fans. Ask each group for one must have feature and one deal breaker. When those lists agree, the choice is easy. When they conflict, pick the tool that serves the daily user first.
Keep a simple log during the first month. Note the date, the task, the time it took, and any error or surprise. After 30 days the log shows the real cost in hours, not the promised cost in marketing copy. Share the log with the team and ask what to keep, what to change, and what to drop. Small fixes in week two prevent big frustration in month three.
Do not move everything at once if you can move in stages. Pick the smallest group, the quietest week, or the least risky project and move that first. Learn from the first move, fix the template, and then move the next group with a better plan. Staged moves feel slower on paper, but they protect revenue, reputation, and sleep.
Read the plan limits as carefully as the headline price. Word caps, contact caps, credit caps, and seat caps are where most bills surprise people. A plan that allows 5000 emails a month is not the same as a plan that allows 5000 contacts, and a plan with 100 AI prompts is not the same as unlimited use. Match the limit to your real volume from last month, not to your hopes for next year.
Support quality matters more than feature count when something breaks at 9 pm. Test support before you need it by asking one real question during the trial and timing the reply. A clear answer in an hour beats a long feature list with no one to call. Check the help centre too, because good docs save more time than good chat support over a year.
Make one person the owner of the move. That person keeps the checklist, answers questions, and decides when a step is done. Without an owner, tasks drift, two people fix the same problem, and nobody fixes the real one. The owner does not need to do every step, but they need to know the status of every step at any moment.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the move take?
Most small moves take one week from audit to go live, with the import itself taking a few hours. Larger scopes take two to four weeks, because checking, training, and rebuilding take longer than the import. Plan a quiet week and do not rush the checks.
Will I lose my data during the move?
No, if you export a backup first and test the import on a small scope. The importer or conversion tool carries most data, and the backup covers the rest. Check a sample of every data type after the import before you close the old account.
Can I run both tools at the same time?
Yes, and you should. Run both tools in parallel for two to four weeks, do new work only in Ko-fi, and keep Patreon readable for reference. Close the old tool only after a full cycle in the new one.
What does not transfer?
The items that do not transfer are usually automations, custom fields from add ons, paid subscriptions held by the old platform, and engagement such as likes or internal search rank. The table in this guide lists each item, so check it before you start.
Do I need a paid plan in the new tool?
Most teams need a paid plan in Ko-fi for real work, because free plans cap users, volume, or features. Check the plan limits against your real volume from last month and pick the plan that covers the next 90 days.
When should I cancel the old subscription?
Cancel only after a full month end or a full billing cycle in the new tool, after the numbers match, and after the team agrees the new home works. Keep a local export of reports and data before you cancel, because closed accounts are hard to reopen.