craving vs Ko-fi: a Ko-fi alternative for tips, calls and AI chat
craving vs Ko-fi compared: tip fees, memberships, commissions, paid calls and AI chat. See when a craving Home is the better Ko-fi alternative for you.
By the craving team · Updated · 6 min read
Short answer
Ko-fi is a tip page with memberships, a shop and commissions, popular with artists because one-time tips carry no Ko-fi fee. A craving Home is a personal website with Tips, Library sales, Bookings, Memberships, Personal Requests, chat and Alter, a personal AI that answers Visitors and can make the sale. If you mainly collect one-time tips and want to keep every cent of them, Ko-fi is hard to beat. If you want your page to sell calls and custom work and answer questions while you create, craving is the stronger choice.
- Ko-fi takes 0% on one-time tips and 5% on shop sales, memberships, monthly tips and commissions on its free plan, as listed in November 2026.
- Ko-fi Gold, a paid monthly subscription, removes the 5% Ko-fi fee.
- Paid phone and video calls are built into craving through Bookings, from the Go plan.
- Alter, the personal AI on craving, chats with Visitors on your Home on every plan, including Free.
What is the difference between craving and Ko-fi?
Ko-fi is a creator page for tips, memberships, a shop and commissions. Supporters "buy you a coffee" as a one-time tip, join a membership or buy from your shop, and payments go to your PayPal or Stripe account.
craving is a personal website with built-in chat and AI. Your craving Home at craving.com/@yourname shows your links, social profiles, photos, videos, files and contact details. Visitors can tip you, buy content, book a call, request custom work or chat with you and with Alter, all on your Home.
craving vs Ko-fi at a glance
| craving | Ko-fi | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Personal website (Home) with chat, AI and offers | Tip page with memberships, shop and commissions |
| Monthly fee | Free, paid plans from $9.95 | No monthly fee; Ko-fi Gold is a paid option |
| Tips | Yes, on Free | Yes, 0% Ko-fi fee on one-time tips |
| Selling files and content | Library, on Free | Shop |
| Custom work | Personal Requests, from Go | Commissions |
| Memberships | Yes, from Go | Yes |
| Paid phone or video calls | Bookings, from Go | Not part of the plans we compared |
| AI that chats with visitors | Yes: Alter, on every plan | Not part of the plans we compared |
| Payment processor | Stripe, which you connect | PayPal or Stripe |
| Platform fee | 20% on Free, down to 5% on Pro and Team | 0% on one-time tips, 5% on other sales, removed with Gold |
Can you sell paid calls on Ko-fi or craving?
On craving, yes. Bookings let people book and pay for a phone or video call on your Home, from the Go plan. A tutor can sell a lesson, an artist a portfolio review, a trainer a form check, each with the payment taken at booking.
Paid calls are not among the Ko-fi features we compared, which center on tips, memberships, a shop and commissions. If calls are part of how you earn, craving keeps them on the same page as your tips and content instead of in a separate scheduling tool.
How do Personal Requests compare with Ko-fi commissions?
Both let people pay you for something made just for them. Ko-fi calls them commissions; on craving they are Personal Requests: a Visitor requests and pays for a custom video, a review, a commission or another personal piece, available from Go.
The difference on craving is the conversation around the request. A Visitor can ask what you can make, how long it takes and what it costs before paying, and Alter can answer when you are busy. You can read every chat and step in at any time.
Can a Ko-fi alternative double as your personal website?
A craving Home is built to be your personal website, not only a payment page. It holds your links, social profiles, photos, videos, files, embedded music and video, and your contact details, so one link can go in every bio and email signature.
On a supported paid plan you can connect your own domain, and from Go you can also get a craving address such as yourname.craving.com. You can run several Homes for different projects or audiences, and share any Home in person with its QR code, like a digital business card.
What does Alter add to a tip page?
Alter is your personal AI on craving. It chats with Visitors on your Home when you are unavailable, answers questions about you and your offers, and helps each person find the right one. It can offer and complete a sale, and it asks for a tip when the moment is right.
You choose whether Alter speaks as your Assistant or as your Digital Twin. Messages from your Home, the craving app, email, Bluesky, voice messages and Telegram land in one inbox on every plan, with WhatsApp from Plus and iMessage and RCS/SMS from Pro. A Live Portrait, an animated version of your portrait, gives Visitors a first impression that moves.
Is Ko-fi cheaper than craving?
As listed in November 2026, Ko-fi has no monthly fee. On Ko-fi Free it takes 0% on one-time tips and 5% on shop sales, memberships, monthly tips and commissions. Ko-fi Gold, a paid monthly subscription, removes that 5%. Payments go through PayPal or Stripe, whose processing fees are roughly 3% plus $0.30.
The craving Free plan also has no monthly fee. The platform fee is 20% on Free and Go, 10% on Plus, and 5% on Pro and Team. When Alter itself makes a sale, an extra 15% applies; sales you make yourself carry no AI fee. A payment processing charge is added at checkout for the Visitor. Paid plans start at $9.95 a month.
For one-time tips alone, Ko-fi costs you less. The case for craving is what else the page earns: calls, custom requests and sales that Alter helps close while you are working.
When is Ko-fi the better choice?
- Most of your income is one-time tips, and the 0% Ko-fi fee on them matters most to you.
- You want payouts to PayPal, which Ko-fi supports alongside Stripe.
- Your supporters already know and use Ko-fi, and a simple tip page is all you need.
If you want tips plus paid calls, custom work and an AI that answers Visitors on your own website, a craving Home does more of the work for you.
How do you switch from Ko-fi to craving?
- Create your free Home and choose your username.
- Add your links, socials and work, and move files from your shop into your Library.
- Connect Stripe and turn on Tips.
- Tell Alter about you and your offers, then add Bookings, Personal Requests or Memberships from Go.
- Update the link in your bios, share your QR code at events, and Build your Home.
Frequently asked questions
Is craving a good Ko-fi alternative?
Yes, if you want more than tips. A craving Home includes Tips and Library sales on Free, and adds Bookings, Personal Requests, Memberships, chat and Alter, an AI that answers Visitors and can complete a sale.
Does Ko-fi take a fee?
As listed in November 2026, Ko-fi takes 0% on one-time tips and 5% on shop sales, memberships, monthly tips and commissions on its free plan. Ko-fi Gold removes the 5% fee, and PayPal or Stripe processing fees still apply.
What fee does craving take on tips?
The craving platform fee is 20% on the Free and Go plans, 10% on Plus and 5% on Pro and Team. A payment processing charge is added at checkout for the Visitor.
Can I take commissions on craving?
Yes. With craving Personal Requests, people can request and pay for custom work such as a commission, a custom video or a review, available from the Go plan.
Does craving support PayPal?
Payments on craving run on Stripe, which you connect to your Home. Ko-fi supports both PayPal and Stripe.
Sources
Facts about other products were checked on their official pages in November 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm on their sites before you decide.