Ko-fi NSFW rules for artists and supporters

Ko-fi bans porn comics, hentai and any other explicit drawn work, and its rules close the usual workarounds: censored versions, cropped versions and teasers that sell the uncensored file somewhere else. What adult-adjacent artists still use it for, within the rules, is tips, commissions and memberships for safe-for-work or lightly suggestive art, drawn nudity that stays "lightly sensual" under the NSFW tag, and adult-themed fiction with conventional sexual content.

What Ko-fi is

Ko-fi is a tip jar, membership and shop page for creators, run by Ko-fi Labs Limited, a UK company registered in England and Wales. Supporters can send one-off or monthly tips, join membership tiers, buy shop items and order commissions. Payments go straight into the creator's own PayPal or Stripe account. Everyone using Ko-fi must be 18 or older under the terms in force since July 13, 2026.

Who it suits

Ko-fi suits an artist whose public work is safe for work or mildly suggestive and who wants tips and commissions with low fees and no payout wait. An adult comic artist can use it for the safe-for-work part of their output only. It does not suit anyone who wants to sell or tease the explicit side, and a supporter will not find adult comics there.

What Ko-fi allows and what it bans

Section 3.14 of the Content Guidelines, on adult content, bans:

Pornography, depictions of rape, incest, bestiality, and any other explicit adult or obscene content of a similar nature including implied, emulated, censored, and cropped versions across illustrative, video, audio content, etc.

It also bans Sexualised nudity (i.e. genitalia and areolae exposed in a way intended to be sexually provocative or arousing) including partial. The guidelines ban fictional sexual depictions of minors in drawn, 3D or AI form as well.

What the NSFW tag covers

The help article on the tag is plain about its limits: The NSFW tag does not provide an option for pornography or sexually explicit nudity. With the tag on, two things are allowed for an 18+ audience:

• Lightly sensual nudity, including partial. By this, we mean illustrations/sketches/digital art featuring: breast nudity that is paired with other suggestive but non-explicit visuals
• Adult-themed fiction containing conventional/mainstream sexual content and themes

The same article marks these as not allowed: Pornographic content (sex acts and explicit emulation of sex acts) regardless of the extent to which it has been covered/censored - this applies to real and fictional content, and the development or streaming of explicit erotic or sex simulator games. The tag must be applied even where the content is locked (i.e. membership tiers and supporters-only content), so a paywall changes nothing.

The censored-preview rule

This rule is what keeps Ko-fi from working as a teaser page. The tag article bans Nude content that is covered/censored as a form of paywall (i.e. using a censored/covered preview to solicit tips or purchase of the uncensored version). The guidelines extend it off-site: offering uncensored versions of prohibited content to subscribers or at third-party sites or links, when the offer is made through Ko-fi, is banned. An artist cannot post a mosaic-covered page on Ko-fi with a link to the full page on another platform.

Ko-fi gives its reason as its processors: creators can't use Ko-fi in ways that go against PayPal's acceptable use policy or Stripe's prohibited businesses terms. It screens content automatically, messages included, and uses a three-strike system. How these rules compare with platforms that allow adult work is on our creator content rules page.

help.ko-fi.com

Age checks

The NSFW tag is an advisory label used for content or activity suitable only to be accessed/viewed by an 18+ audience. Ko-fi describes no ID check for creators or supporters beyond the terms' age floor of 18.

Ko-fi fees

Ko-fi says processor fees come on top, "typically around 3% + $0.30". A $5 one-off tip on Ko-fi Free therefore leaves about $4.55 after the processor's share; a $5 membership leaves about $4.30 after Ko-fi's 5% and the processor. The Gold price is not shown on the public page. The same numbers for platforms that allow explicit work are on the creator fees page.

help.ko-fi.com

Payouts

There is no payout step. Whenever someone supports you, the funds are transferred immediately and directly into your own account. The account is the creator's own PayPal or Stripe, connected in Payment Settings, and Ko-fi sets no minimum balance and no schedule. The trade-off is that the creator's PayPal and Stripe accounts carry those processors' own rules. Other platforms' payout terms are on the payout methods page.

How supporters pay, the statement and how to cancel

Supporters pay through PayPal or Stripe. Ko-fi's cancel article implies a tip can be sent without a Ko-fi account, though managing a membership needs one. Ko-fi does not publish what appears on a card statement.

To cancel a membership, a supporter goes to Account & Billing, then Subscriptions, and chooses "Don't Renew"; PayPal subscriptions can also be canceled in PayPal. Access runs until the paid period ends. Refunds are not Ko-fi's business: All transactions, including Tips, are between the Creator and Supporter - we don't handle payment, delivery or refunds or get involved in any disputes between Creators and Supporters.

Apps

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No native Ko-fi app turned up in an App Store search, and the help center describes pinning Ko-fi to a phone's home screen "like an app". Ko-fi does not state either way whether it has one.

Recent policy changes

• February 6, 2024: the Content Guidelines are last updated, the version with section 3.14 quoted above.
• July 13, 2026: the current Terms take effect, with the age floor at 18.

The guidelines page still carries the February 2024 date, although the help center shows an edit stamp of September 10, 2026. No change to the adult rules has been announced since.

Pros and cons

Alternatives for NSFW artists

Artists who need explicit work to be allowed have a short list. SubscribeStar's adult site was built for NSFW digital artists and takes tips, subscriptions, paid posts and commissions, at a 10% fee plus processing. Patreon allows explicit drawn work on paywalled Adult/18+ pages, with clean public previews as the teaser. pixivFANBOX and Fantia allow R-18 with mosaics for artists with a Japanese audience, and Skeb takes R-18 commissions paid out in Japan. Gumroad, the other common storefront, bans adult comics as well.

The rankings are on the best platforms for adult comic creators, and tipping across platforms is covered on our creator tips feature page. Everything else is on the creators hub.

Final verdict