Buy Me a Coffee Fees at a Glance
Buy Me a Coffee charges its fees on each supporter payment.
| Fee | Percentage | Flat | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform fee | 5% | — | — |
| Payment processing | 2.9% | $0.30 | — |
What You Keep
The flat component is what makes small sales expensive. The same fee schedule costs a very different effective rate depending on the order size:
| Sale | Fees | You receive | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5.00 | $0.70 | $4.31 | 13.90% |
| $20.00 | $1.88 | $18.12 | 9.40% |
| $50.00 | $4.25 | $45.75 | 8.50% |
| $100.00 | $8.20 | $91.80 | 8.20% |
| $500.00 | $39.80 | $460.20 | 7.96% |
Five Percent on Everything
Buy Me a Coffee applies one rate to every income type it supports — no free tier for donations, no plan that removes it. What varies is the processing underneath.
| Income type | Platform fee |
|---|---|
| One-off "coffees" | 5% |
| Monthly memberships | 5% |
| Digital product ("extras") sales | 5% |
| Commissions | 5% |
Small Payments Are Where the Flat Fee Bites
The processing charge carries a flat component, and a "coffee" is typically $3–$5. On a $3 payment the flat 30¢ alone is 10% before either percentage applies. This is the strongest argument for setting your default coffee price at $5 and offering multiples, rather than $1 with a suggestion to buy several: five separate $1 payments cost five flat fees, one $5 payment costs one.
| Supporter sends | Effective total rate |
|---|---|
| $1 | ~37.9% |
| $3 | ~17.9% |
| $5 | ~13.9% |
| $25 | ~9.1% |
| $100 | ~8.2% |
Memberships Beat One-Offs on Fees Too
A $5 monthly membership pays the flat fee twelve times a year — the same as twelve separate coffees. The advantage is not fee efficiency but predictability, and the fact that a recurring supporter almost never sends twelve one-off payments unprompted.
Charging to Hit a Target Payout
Adding 7.90% to your price under-recovers, because the percentage then applies to the larger amount as well. The correct gross-up divides:
``
charge = (target + flat fees) ÷ (1 − percentage rate)
``
| To receive | Charge |
|---|---|
| $100.00 | $108.90 |
| $1,000.00 | $1,086.10 |
Reducing What You Pay
- Raise average order value. The flat fee is fixed, so bundling two $20.00 orders
- Watch the optional surcharges. International and currency-conversion fees stack on top
- Negotiate at volume. Most processors will discuss custom rates once you are processing
- Do not migrate for 0.2%. The engineering and support cost of changing platforms
Flat 5% on everything, plus the card processing your payout provider charges.