--- title: "Ko-fi vs Substack: Which is searched more?" description: "Is Ko-fi or Substack more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Creator membership platforms set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/ko-fi-vs-substack" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Ko-fi vs Substack: Which is searched more? Is Ko-fi or Substack more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Creator membership platforms set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Ko-fi and Substack - **Competitive set**: Creator membership platforms - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Ko-fi Share of Search**: 8.4% - **Substack Share of Search**: 35.3% ## Is Ko-fi or Substack more popular in search? - In September 2026, Substack had more branded searches than Ko-fi among creator membership platforms worldwide. Substack had about 2.3 million branded searches, while Ko-fi had 550,000. Substack made up 35.3% of all creator membership platform searches we track, and Ko-fi accounted for 8.4%. - Substack was ahead of Ko-fi in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Ko-fi’s share of searches among creator membership platforms worldwide moved from 8.3% to 8.4%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 450K to 550K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Substack’s share of searches among creator membership platforms worldwide moved from 23.2% to 35.3%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 1.3M to 2.3M. ## Top creator membership platforms in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Ko-fi and Substack were each mentioned in three out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Substack was listed before Ko-fi in two out of three answers that named either. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Patreon | 1st | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Circle | 2nd | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Ko-fi | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Substack | 4th | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Mighty Networks | 5th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Fourthwall | 6th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Memberful | 7th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Kajabi | 8th | 0 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Buy Me a Coffee | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about creator membership platforms - Asked ChatGPT "Which creator membership platform should I use?": 1. Patreon, 2. Substack, 3. Ko-fi, 4. Circle, 5. Memberful - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best creator membership platforms?": 1. Patreon, 2. Circle, 3. Substack, 4. Ko-fi, 5. Fourthwall, 6. Memberful - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best creator membership platform for paid fan memberships?": 1. Patreon, 2. Ko-fi, 3. Fourthwall, 4. Substack, 5. Mighty Networks - Searched Google, AI Overview "creator membership platform": 1. Patreon, 2. Mighty Networks, 3. Memberful, 4. Kajabi - Searched Google, AI Overview "best membership platform": 1. Circle, 2. Kajabi Not named in any answer: Buy Me a Coffee. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 20, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for creator membership platforms worldwide in September 2026? - In September 2026, Substack gained share of searches among creator membership platforms worldwide, from 31.5% to 35.3%. - In September 2026, Ko-fi gained share of searches among creator membership platforms worldwide, from 7.5% to 8.4%. ## Month by month | Month | Ko-fi estimated searches | Ko-fi Share of Search | Ko-fi rank | Substack estimated searches | Substack Share of Search | Substack rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 450K | 8.3% | 3 | 1.3M | 23.2% | 2 | | Nov 2025 | 450K | 8.3% | 3 | 1.3M | 23.3% | 2 | | Dec 2025 | 450K | 7.9% | 3 | 1.5M | 27% | 2 | | Jan 2026 | 550K | 7.9% | 3 | 1.9M | 27.1% | 2 | | Feb 2026 | 450K | 7.8% | 3 | 1.5M | 26.9% | 2 | | Mar 2026 | 550K | 7.7% | 3 | 1.9M | 26.4% | 2 | | Apr 2026 | 550K | 9% | 3 | 1.9M | 30.5% | 2 | | May 2026 | 550K | 8% | 3 | 1.9M | 27.1% | 2 | | Jun 2026 | 550K | 8% | 3 | 1.9M | 27.8% | 2 | | Jul 2026 | 550K | 9% | 3 | 1.9M | 30.9% | 2 | | Aug 2026 | 550K | 7.5% | 3 | 2.3M | 31.5% | 2 | | Sep 2026 | 550K | 8.4% | 3 | 2.3M | 35.3% | 2 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Ko-fi’s and Substack’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Ko-fi**: Measured on the search term “kofi”. - **Substack**: Measured on the search terms “Substack”, “substack app”, “substack articles”, “substack live”, “substack newsletters”, “substack notes” and “substack podcast”, summed into one figure. - [Ko-fi profile](/demand/global-en/brands/ko-fi) - [Substack profile](/demand/global-en/brands/substack) - [All creator membership platforms worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/creator-membership-platforms): The set both shares are measured inside, 9 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Ko-fi or Substack more popular in search? In September 2026, Substack had more branded searches than Ko-fi among creator membership platforms worldwide. Substack had about 2.3 million branded searches, while Ko-fi had 550,000. Substack made up 35.3% of all creator membership platform searches we track, and Ko-fi accounted for 8.4%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Ko-fi vs Substack: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/ko-fi-vs-substack This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/ko-fi-vs-substack. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.