Ko-fi or BooksOasis for Authors

Quick Verdict

Ko-fi is a creator page where fans can tip you, join a membership, commission work or buy from a small shop. BooksOasis is a bookstore where readers browse, buy and read ebooks and print books, and you keep the full ebook price under a flat plan. Ko-fi is ideal for supporting an ongoing creative life, such as a web serial, a newsletter or behind-the-scenes posts. BooksOasis is built for selling finished books. Many authors use Ko-fi for support and BooksOasis for sales.

What Ko-fi and BooksOasis Are

Ko-fi began as a simple way for fans to "buy a creator a coffee", a small one-off tip. It now includes monthly memberships with tiers, posts for supporters, commissions and a shop for digital or physical items. Payments go to your connected PayPal or Stripe account. Writers, artists, podcasters and game makers all use it, and your page works as a hub for anyone who wants to support your work.

BooksOasis is an online bookstore for independent authors and small presses. Each book has its own page with ebook, paperback and hardcover editions, and readers browse genre shelves, series pages, new releases and sales. Authors pay a flat listing plan with no commission on sales.

Comparison Grid

Reader Support vs Book Sales

The two platforms answer different questions. Ko-fi asks, "Would you like to support this writer?" BooksOasis asks, "Would you like to buy this book?"

Support works best when readers feel connected to you and your process. Fans of a web serial, readers of a free newsletter or followers who enjoy your writing updates may happily tip or join a membership to keep you writing. Ko-fi makes that easy, with a page that can show goals, posts and membership perks.

Book sales work best when a reader wants a specific book. They want to see the cover, read the description, choose a format and start reading. That is what a bookstore is built for, and it is where BooksOasis focuses.

How Each Charges

Ko-fi offers a free plan and a paid Gold subscription. On the free plan, Ko-fi takes a platform fee on some types of income, such as shop sales and memberships, and Gold removes platform fees in exchange for a monthly charge. PayPal or Stripe also take their own processing fees on every payment. Ko-fi has adjusted its plans over time, so check its current pricing for exact figures before you decide.

BooksOasis charges only a listing plan: $29.99 a year or $9.99 a month for up to 10 books on Starter, $179 a year for 100 and $599 a year for 500, or a pay-as-you-go top-up for a single book. Ebook sales pay you 100% of the price. Print editions pay the price minus the printing cost and a handling fee of 30% of that cost, and readers pay shipping.

Serial Fiction and Early Drafts

Ko-fi shines for writers who share work in progress. You can post chapters to supporters, offer early access to members, run polls on what to write next and share writing updates. A web serial author might publish free chapters publicly and give members a few chapters' head start, turning loyal readers into steady monthly income.

When the serial is finished and edited, it becomes a book. That is the point to list it on bookstores, including BooksOasis, where new readers who never followed the serial can discover and buy the complete story. Your Ko-fi members can be the first to hear about the launch.

Selling Finished Books

You can sell an ebook from a Ko-fi shop by uploading the file and setting a price. Buyers pay through PayPal or Stripe and download the file. That is fine for a few direct sales to your existing fans. Print books are possible only if you hold stock and ship them yourself.

BooksOasis handles books end to end. One book page can carry ebook, paperback and hardcover editions in five common trim sizes, print orders are printed and shipped for you, and ebook buyers read in the store's app, which works offline and keeps their place, highlights and notes in sync. You can schedule promotional prices with start and end dates, group books into series pages and run unlimited pen names and imprints from one account.

When the Money Arrives

Ko-fi sends payments to your connected PayPal or Stripe account, so supporter income reaches you through those services rather than sitting in a Ko-fi balance. For writers who rely on tips and memberships month to month, that quick access is a real convenience.

BooksOasis records each sale in an earnings ledger in your dashboard, where you can see which edition sold and when, and pays out by bank transfer or PayPal once you add your details. If your plan lapses, your books stay live and earnings are held until you renew rather than being lost.

Membership Perks That Support Book Sales

A Ko-fi membership does not have to compete with your books. The best perks add something buyers cannot get elsewhere, so supporters still buy the finished book and often tell friends about it.

• Early chapters a few weeks before public release.
• Deleted scenes and extras that did not make the final edit.
• Behind-the-scenes posts on research, cover design and the writing process.
• Name in the acknowledgments for higher tiers.
• A first look at the cover and a vote on small choices such as chapter titles.

Audience

Ko-fi has a large community of creators and supporters, but its page discovery is limited. Most of your supporters will come from places where you already have an audience, such as social media, a newsletter or a serial platform. Ko-fi is a tool for monetizing an audience you have built.

BooksOasis offers some discovery of its own. Readers browsing a genre shelf, a new release list or a sale banner may find your book without knowing you. Its audience is still growing, so treat it as one channel among several, but it gives your finished books a chance to reach readers beyond your existing fans.

Using Ko-fi and BooksOasis Together

1. Set up a Ko-fi page for tips and a membership that gives supporters early chapters or behind-the-scenes posts.
2. Share work in progress with members to build a loyal core of readers.
3. Publish the finished book on BooksOasis with ebook, paperback and hardcover editions.
4. Announce the launch to your Ko-fi supporters with a link to the BooksOasis book page.
5. Schedule a launch sale on BooksOasis so the regular price shows crossed out for the first week.
6. Keep Ko-fi for ongoing support while the store handles book sales.

If you are deciding where a direct-sales shop fits into all this, our comparison of Payhip and BooksOasis covers author storefronts in more depth.

Which Fits

Frequently Asked Questions