Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

GoFundMe VS Ko-fi

Compare GoFundMe VS Ko-fi and see what are their differences

GoFundMe logo GoFundMe

GoFundMe is a crowd-funding platform for fundraising one or multiple goals.

Ko-fi logo Ko-fi

Ko-fi offers a friendly way for content creators to get paid for their work.
  • GoFundMe Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-11
  • Ko-fi Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-10-10

GoFundMe features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    GoFundMe offers a simple, intuitive platform making it easy for users to set up and manage fundraising campaigns without needing technical expertise.
  • Large User Base
    As one of the most popular crowdfunding platforms, GoFundMe has a massive user base, increasing the potential for campaigns to reach a wide audience.
  • No Deadline Pressure
    GoFundMe allows campaigns to run indefinitely without strict deadlines, enabling fundraisers to continue raising money until their goal is met.
  • Customer Support
    The platform provides robust customer support to help users with their campaigns, including troubleshooting and advice on how to increase donations.
  • Social Media Integration
    GoFundMe includes social media sharing tools to help users easily promote their campaigns across various social channels, expanding their reach.

Possible disadvantages of GoFundMe

  • Fees
    GoFundMe charges a platform fee and payment processing fees, which can add up and reduce the total amount fundraisers receive.
  • Competition
    Due to the platform's popularity, there is significant competition among campaigns, making it essential to have a compelling story to stand out.
  • Geographic Limitations
    GoFundMe does not support all countries, limiting who can create and donate to campaigns based on geographic location.
  • Scams and Fraud
    The platform has faced issues with fraudulent campaigns, which can undermine trust and deter potential donors.
  • Marketing Effort Required
    Successful campaigns often require substantial marketing effort and strategy, which can be time-consuming and challenging for individuals unfamiliar with digital marketing.

Ko-fi features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Ko-fi offers an intuitive and easy-to-navigate interface that allows users to set up their pages quickly and start receiving donations without any hassle.
  • No Platform Fees
    Ko-fi does not charge any platform fees on donations, allowing creators to keep 100% of the money they receive, though standard payment processing fees still apply.
  • Flexible Support Options
    Users can receive one-time donations, monthly subscriptions, and commissions, providing multiple streams of support and flexibility in how they monetize their content.
  • Goal Setting
    Creators can set financial goals and demonstrate progress towards these goals, which can motivate supporters to contribute more.
  • Customizable Page
    Ko-fi allows creators to customize their pages with different themes, images, and content types to better reflect their brand and personality.
  • Integrations
    Ko-fi offers integrations with services like Discord and Zapier, enabling more automated and streamlined interactions between platforms.

Possible disadvantages of Ko-fi

  • Limited Monetization Features
    While Ko-fi offers several payment options, it lacks some advanced monetization features available on other platforms, such as tiered membership levels or extensive analytics.
  • Mobile Experience
    The mobile experience of Ko-fi is not as optimized as the desktop version, which can be inconvenient for users who primarily access the platform through mobile devices.
  • Visibility and Reach
    Ko-fi doesn’t offer as robust a search or discovery feature compared to other platforms, making it harder for new supporters to find and follow creators.
  • Limited Community Features
    Ko-fi lacks some of the community building and engagement tools that other platforms have, such as forums, event announcements, or extensive post customization.
  • No Direct Merchandising
    Ko-fi does not currently offer built-in merchandising solutions, unlike some competitors, which means creators have to rely on external tools to sell products like merchandise.
  • Competition
    There is substantial competition from other crowdfunding and subscription platforms like Patreon, which offers more features but does charge a platform fee.

GoFundMe videos

gofundme Review

More videos:

  • Review - Tax Warning: GoFundMe donations can cost you a big tax bill
  • Review - How GoFundMe Works

Ko-fi videos

What is Ko-Fi?

More videos:

  • Review - Artist Tip Jars? | Buy me a Ko-fi Picture | Art Rambles
  • Demo - Ko-fi Intro

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GoFundMe and Ko-fi)
Fundraising And Donation Management
Crowdfunding
35 35%
65% 65
Nonprofit CRM
100 100%
0% 0
Content Monetization
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using GoFundMe and Ko-fi. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare GoFundMe and Ko-fi

GoFundMe Reviews

We have no reviews of GoFundMe yet.
Be the first one to post

Ko-fi Reviews

7 Best Buy Me a Coffee Alternatives
Patreon is one of the biggest platforms for creators to monetize their content and art, with over 8 million active users. Unlike Buy Me a Coffee and Ko-Fi, Patreon focuses on subscriptions and building a community of followers who want to support creators.
Source: wpforms.com
8 Best Patreon Alternatives for Creators (2023)
Ko-fi is another Patreon alternative that lets you receive donations and memberships and sell digital or physical items to your fans. It’s free and easy to use, and there are no fees or commissions taken on donations. You can create a page for your project, set up a payment method, and start accepting payments from your fans in minutes.
Source: talkbitz.com
8 Best Patreon Alternatives & Competitors For 2023 (Comparison)
Like Patreon, you can use Ko-fi to accept donations and memberships from your fans. You can create a Ko-fi creator page for free in under a minute. Then, set a crowdfunding goal and encourage your audience to help you reach it. Plus, you can provide incentives like exclusive supporter-only content and membership perks to incentivize people to donate.
11 Patreon Alternatives for Audience Monetization in 2023
You can remove the 5% fee by signing up to Ko-fi Gold for $6 per month — with extra perks like shorter URL handles and the option to change your page colors.
Source: www.uscreen.tv
12+ Brilliant Patreon Alternatives to Monetize Your Audience
At Ko-fi, you can share your work, and fans can support you for the price of a cup of coffee — or more. You can set up donations and commissions on a one-time basis or monthly.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Ko-fi should be more popular than GoFundMe. It has been mentiond 91 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GoFundMe mentions (25)

  • Never call Chucky Cheese at 3am.
    That's why I'm floating a gofundme.com change.org petition to have the legislature mandate that Chuck E. Cheese stay open 24 hours. As a progressive, it's the least I can do to save humanity. Save the mice, people! Source: over 1 year ago
  • 40$ to save an almost homeless student
    Try posting r/assistance and http://gofundme.com. Source: over 1 year ago
  • The story of my transitioning
    Hello, my name is Ronald Merle Mcnutt, I am a 35 year old transitioning veteran, I've recently embraced my true inner feelings and have thought of getting a gender reassignment surgery. However, my family does not support me and all my friends have left me, I am running out of money and I am constantly being harassed by right wingers and nazis. I've felt miserable for the past 3 weeks, I've gained weight, started... Source: over 1 year ago
  • Top 5 brazil momentos
    Hello! If you could, please donate to my gofundme.com for my gender reassignment surgery, the name is Ronald Merle Mcnutt from Los Angeles, California, much regards. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Eye surgery on Monday
    I don’t have ocular melanoma but I have seen cases detailed in inspire.com or gofundme.com or https://forum.melanoma.org/forums/forum/general-forum/[inspire.com](https://inspire.com) or gofundme.com or https://forum.melanoma.org/forums/forum/general-forum/ I know I have surgical removal including removing the eh, a radiation technique involving sewing a radiation plaque to the back of the eye, to treat the... Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

Ko-fi mentions (91)

  • Show HN: I made a privacy friendly and simple app to track my menstruation
    Doing necessary work. How can I sponsor or otherwise provide fiat for this work? https://buymeacoffee.com/, etc. - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • Flattr: 404 – Service No Long Exists
    A few alternatives for micro donations that people have mentioned: https://ko-fi.com/ https://github.com/sponsors https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ Any others, let me know. - Source: Hacker News / 12 months ago
  • Making 3D porn is "easy money"?
    I still have to try https://ci-en.net/, https://slushe.com/, https://ko-fi.com/, https://catbox.moe/, I heard they were possible good alternatives. But I couldn't say, dunno yet. Source: about 1 year ago
  • Rogue System Reboot
    I did, however, remember another crowdfunding platform that may be the best of both worlds here (second highest voted so far being Patreon). Ko-fi: it offers both monthly and one-time donations as well as a store where we could sell things like early access keys or things like that. Their fees are very low as well, capping out at 5%. Source: about 1 year ago
  • Regarding Somerton's supposed drop in Patreon support earlier this year
    With everything going on with Patreon lately that's probably why I've suddenly started hearing about Ko-fi this year. Source: about 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing GoFundMe and Ko-fi, you can also consider the following products

Kickstarter - Kickstarter is the world's largest funding platform for creative projects. A home for film, music, art, theater, games, comics, design, photography, and more.

Buy Me A Coffee - A free, fast and friendly way to accept donations 💰

Donorbox - Get more donations by embedding our optimized donation form, donate now button, and fundraising tools for churches & nonprofit organizations.

Patreon - Patreon enables fans to give ongoing support to their favorite creators.

Indiegogo - As the largest global site for fundraisers, Indiegogo helps individuals, groups and non-profits raise money online to make their ideas a reality through crowdfunding. It's easy to start fundraising today.

Liberapay - Liberapay is a recurrent donations platform.