How much does Buy Me a Coffee take from a $5 coffee?

$0.70 in total: a $0.25 platform fee, which is Buy Me a Coffee's 5%, and $0.45 of Stripe processing at 2.9% + $0.30. You keep $4.30, an effective rate of 14%. Only the first $0.25 is the platform's; the rest is the card network's price for taking the payment.

Why does a small tip cost proportionally so much?

The fixed $0.30 in the processing fee. On a $3 payment the fees are $0.54 and you keep $2.46, an effective 18%. On $25 they are $2.28 and you keep $22.72, an effective 9.12%. On $100 they are $8.20 and you keep $91.80, an effective 8.2%. The percentage part never changes; the fixed part just matters less as the payment grows.

Is there a monthly fee or a listing fee?

No. Buy Me a Coffee's help page is explicit that "we only apply a 5% platform fee per transaction, which means you get to keep 95% of your earnings". There is no subscription, no listing fee and no payout fee in the published schedule, so the platform earns only when you do.

Does a monthly membership cost more than a one-off payment?

Slightly. A recurring membership charge adds 0.5% to the processing fee. On a $5 membership the fees are $0.73 and you keep $4.27, against $0.70 and $4.30 for a one-off $5 coffee — three cents a month, or an effective 14.6% instead of 14%.

What happens when a supporter pays from outside the US?

A 1% international surcharge is added to processing. On a $5 payment the fees rise from $0.70 to $0.75 and you keep $4.25, an effective 15%. If that supporter is also on a membership, both surcharges apply: $0.78 of fees and $4.22 kept.

How much do I need to raise to keep $100?

$108.91, on which the fees are $8.91. Adding roughly 8% to your target is not enough, because the 5% and the 2.9% are charged on the higher amount too. The calculator's "I want to net" mode solves it to within a cent.

Buy Me a Coffee fee calculator

As of 4 September 2026, Buy Me a Coffee keeps a 5% platform fee on every payment and Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 to process it, so a US creator keeps $4.30 of a $5 coffee.

Verified 4 September 2026 against Buy Me a Coffee’s official fee page. Effective from 4 September 2026. Changelog

Your country

Buy Me a Coffee charges in USD; your bank’s conversion is not included.

Supporter paid from abroad

Adds 1% to the processing fee on a payment made outside the platform's home market.

Recurring membership payment

Adds 0.5% to the processing fee on a membership charge rather than a one-off payment.

You keep

$4.30

You charge

$5.00

Platform fee: $0.25
Payment processing fee (Stripe, card): $0.45
Total fees: $0.70
Effective rate: 14%

Buy Me a Coffee fees by country

Every rule on Buy Me a Coffee’s official schedule for United States, the market this calculator covers, as of 4 September 2026. Only the 5% is Buy Me a Coffee's own; the rest is Stripe's price for processing the card. A creator can set their page to pass the processing fee to the supporter instead of absorbing it, which is an account setting rather than a different rate, so this calculator always shows the fees charged on the payment. There is no monthly fee, no listing fee and no published payout fee, and the two surcharges below are added to processing, not to the platform fee.

United States

Buy Me a Coffee fees for United States, effective 4 September 2026. Amounts in USD.
Fee	Applies to	Rate
Platform feeNo monthly fee; the platform only earns when the creator does.	All payments	5%
Payment processing fee (Stripe, card)Charged by Stripe, Buy Me a Coffee's payment processor, on domestic one-time card payments. The creator can choose to pass this fee to supporters instead of absorbing it.	All payments	2.9% + $0.30
Optional and sender-paid fees (not deducted unless selected)
International transaction surchargeAdded to the payment processing fee when the supporter pays from outside the US; covers the extra payout-processing cost Stripe charges Buy Me a Coffee on these payments.	international buyer	1%
Subscription / recurring membership surchargeAdded to the payment processing fee when the payment is a recurring membership charge rather than a one-time payment.	All payments	0.5%

Source: help.buymeacoffee.com/en/articles/8105744-how-to-calculate-charges-on-your-payment, verified 4 September 2026.

How much does Buy Me a Coffee take from a $5.00 payment?

For goods and services in United States, Buy Me a Coffee charges 5% of the amount (platform fee) plus 2.9% of the amount plus a fixed $0.30 (payment processing fee (Stripe, card)). Each fee line is rounded half-up to the nearest cent, as the platform bills it, and what you keep is the amount minus the sum of those lines.

A $5 coffee, paid by card from inside the US: on $5.00 you pay $0.25 (platform fee) and $0.45 (payment processing fee (Stripe, card)), $0.70 in total, and keep $4.30, an effective rate of 14%.

A $5 coffee from a supporter outside the US: on $5.00 you pay $0.25 (platform fee), $0.45 (payment processing fee (Stripe, card)) and $0.05 (international transaction surcharge), $0.75 in total, and keep $4.25, an effective rate of 15%.

A $5 monthly membership charge: on $5.00 you pay $0.25 (platform fee), $0.45 (payment processing fee (Stripe, card)) and $0.03 (subscription / recurring membership surcharge), $0.73 in total, and keep $4.27, an effective rate of 14.6%.

A $25 one-off payment: on $25.00 you pay $1.25 (platform fee) and $1.03 (payment processing fee (Stripe, card)), $2.28 in total, and keep $22.72, an effective rate of 9.12%.

A $100 one-off payment: on $100.00 you pay $5.00 (platform fee) and $3.20 (payment processing fee (Stripe, card)), $8.20 in total, and keep $91.80, an effective rate of 8.2%.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Buy Me a Coffee take from a $5 coffee?: $0.70 in total: a $0.25 platform fee, which is Buy Me a Coffee's 5%, and $0.45 of Stripe processing at 2.9% + $0.30. You keep $4.30, an effective rate of 14%. Only the first $0.25 is the platform's; the rest is the card network's price for taking the payment.
Why does a small tip cost proportionally so much?: The fixed $0.30 in the processing fee. On a $3 payment the fees are $0.54 and you keep $2.46, an effective 18%. On $25 they are $2.28 and you keep $22.72, an effective 9.12%. On $100 they are $8.20 and you keep $91.80, an effective 8.2%. The percentage part never changes; the fixed part just matters less as the payment grows.
Is there a monthly fee or a listing fee?: No. Buy Me a Coffee's help page is explicit that "we only apply a 5% platform fee per transaction, which means you get to keep 95% of your earnings". There is no subscription, no listing fee and no payout fee in the published schedule, so the platform earns only when you do.
Does a monthly membership cost more than a one-off payment?: Slightly. A recurring membership charge adds 0.5% to the processing fee. On a $5 membership the fees are $0.73 and you keep $4.27, against $0.70 and $4.30 for a one-off $5 coffee — three cents a month, or an effective 14.6% instead of 14%.
What happens when a supporter pays from outside the US?: A 1% international surcharge is added to processing. On a $5 payment the fees rise from $0.70 to $0.75 and you keep $4.25, an effective 15%. If that supporter is also on a membership, both surcharges apply: $0.78 of fees and $4.22 kept.
How much do I need to raise to keep $100?: $108.91, on which the fees are $8.91. Adding roughly 8% to your target is not enough, because the 5% and the 2.9% are charged on the higher amount too. The calculator's "I want to net" mode solves it to within a cent.

Sources and last verified

Every rate above is quoted from Buy Me a Coffee’s official fee page and checked by a person on 4 September 2026. Cross-checked against the official page at help.buymeacoffee.com/en/articles/4539170-frequently-asked-questions.

Standard published rates only. Your account may have negotiated, promotional or legacy pricing, and the platform can change fees at any time. Confirm figures that matter with Buy Me a Coffee before relying on them. See the methodology and disclaimer.

Cite this page

Fees.tools. "Buy Me a Coffee fee calculator". https://fees.tools/buy-me-a-coffee-fee-calculator. Fee data verified 2026-09-04.

APA: Fees.tools. (2026). Buy Me a Coffee fee calculator. Retrieved 2026-09-04, from https://fees.tools/buy-me-a-coffee-fee-calculator