Creator platform fees compared
On $1,000 a month, Lemon Squeezy leaves creators the most, $930, and Kajabi leaves the least, $790. At $10,000 a month the order changes and Teachable leads with $9,601, because flat monthly plans cost less per dollar as revenue grows.
What you keep on $10,000 a month
All 20 platforms, typical payment size for each category, US cards, on whichever plan leaves you the most.
| Platform and plan | Share kept versus fees | You keep | Fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| TeachableBuilder | $9,601 | −$399 | |
| PodiaShaker | $9,591 | −$409 | |
| StanCreator | $9,561 | −$439 | |
| ThinkificStart | $9,531 | −$469 | |
| KajabiBasic | $9,511 | −$489 | |
| SkoolPro | $9,511 | −$489 | |
| PayhipPro | $9,491 | −$509 | |
| Ko-fiGold | $9,398 | −$602 | |
| Mighty NetworksLaunch | $9,315 | −$685 | |
| Lemon SqueezyStandard | $9,300 | −$700 | |
| KitFree | $9,275 | −$725 | |
| GhostPublisher | $9,260 | −$740 | |
| CircleProfessional | $9,241 | −$759 | |
| beehiivLite | $9,226 | −$774 | |
| MemberfulStandard | $8,871 | −$1,129 | |
| Buy Me a CoffeeFree | $8,860 | −$1,140 | |
| DiscordServer Subscriptions | $8,460 | −$1,540 | |
| PatreonStandard | $8,410 | −$1,590 | |
| GumroadDirect sales | $8,390 | −$1,610 | |
| SubstackSubstack | $8,265 | −$1,735 |
The full table
Sorted by take-home pay on $1,000 a month. The plan columns show which plan the math picked, since the cheapest plan often changes as you grow. Download the data as CSV.
| Platform | Category | Plan at $1,000 | Keep at $1,000 | Plan at $10,000 | Keep at $10,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lemon Squeezy | Digital products | Standard | $930 (7.0% fees) | Standard | $9,300 (7.0% fees) |
| Stan | Digital products | Creator | $930 (7.0% fees) | Creator | $9,561 (4.4% fees) |
| Ko-fi | Memberships | Gold | $929 (7.1% fees) | Gold | $9,398 (6.0% fees) |
| Kit | Newsletters | Free | $928 (7.3% fees) | Free | $9,275 (7.3% fees) |
| Payhip | Digital products | Plus | $910 (9.0% fees) | Pro | $9,491 (5.1% fees) |
| Buy Me a Coffee | Memberships | Free | $886 (11.4% fees) | Free | $8,860 (11.4% fees) |
| Skool | Communities | Hobby | $881 (11.9% fees) | Pro | $9,511 (4.9% fees) |
| Teachable | Courses | Builder | $880 (12.0% fees) | Builder | $9,601 (4.0% fees) |
| Mighty Networks | Communities | Explore | $876 (12.4% fees) | Launch | $9,315 (6.9% fees) |
| Podia | Courses | Mover | $870 (13.0% fees) | Shaker | $9,591 (4.1% fees) |
| Ghost | Newsletters | Publisher | $859 (14.2% fees) | Publisher | $9,260 (7.4% fees) |
| Thinkific | Courses | Start | $855 (14.5% fees) | Start | $9,531 (4.7% fees) |
| Discord | Communities | Server Subscriptions | $846 (15.4% fees) | Server Subscriptions | $8,460 (15.4% fees) |
| Memberful | Memberships | Standard | $843 (15.7% fees) | Standard | $8,871 (11.3% fees) |
| Patreon | Memberships | Standard | $841 (15.9% fees) | Standard | $8,410 (15.9% fees) |
| Gumroad | Digital products | Direct sales | $839 (16.1% fees) | Direct sales | $8,390 (16.1% fees) |
| Circle | Communities | Professional | $835 (16.5% fees) | Professional | $9,241 (7.6% fees) |
| Substack | Newsletters | Substack | $827 (17.4% fees) | Substack | $8,265 (17.4% fees) |
| beehiiv | Newsletters | Lite | $825 (17.6% fees) | Lite | $9,226 (7.7% fees) |
| Kajabi | Courses | Basic | $790 (21.0% fees) | Basic | $9,511 (4.9% fees) |
Assumptions behind the numbers
Each platform is modeled at $1,000 and $10,000 of gross monthly revenue, paid by US cards in one typical payment size per category:
- Memberships: $10 per payment
- Newsletters: $8 per payment
- Courses: $150 per payment
- Digital products: $25 per payment
- Communities: $30 per payment
Fees include the platform's cut, card processing, any fixed per-payment charge, and the plan's monthly price at monthly billing. Stripe's 0.7% Billing fee on recurring payments is counted only where the platform's own help pages say it applies, as Substack's and Circle's do. Platforms priced by list size, like beehiiv, Ghost, and Kit, are modeled at about 5,000 subscribers. Each review states its plan assumptions, and the CSV includes them. For each revenue level we test every plan that can take payments and keep the one that leaves the most money. Taxes, currency conversion, refunds, chargebacks, and payout fees are left out because they depend on where you and your buyers live.
Fees change. Each review shows the date we last checked that platform's pricing and links to the pages we used. Read the full methodology.