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When does each platform actually pay you?

Pricing pages tell you what a platform takes. They rarely tell you how long it keeps the rest. Here is the hold period, the schedule, the minimum and the cost of being paid, for eighteen platforms.

There is one distinction underneath all of this, and it matters more than any individual number: whether the platform holds your money at all. Some never touch it — the customer pays into a Stripe or PayPal account in your name, and the platform is only software. Others take the payment themselves and pass it on later, which is why they can impose a wait, a threshold and a fee to release it.

Neither model is dishonest. A merchant of record like Lemon Squeezy or Skool holds the money because it is legally the seller, and it is handling your sales tax in return. But if cash flow is tight, the difference between money arriving on Tuesday and money arriving on the 28th is the whole question — and no pricing page puts it on the front.

The money never passes through them (7)

These platforms do not hold a balance at all — the customer pays into a Stripe or PayPal account you own, and your processor's schedule is the only one in play. There is nothing to wait for, no threshold to clear and no payout fee to the platform.

OneSol

Hold: None — customers pay into your own Stripe, PayPal or Razorpay.
Paid out: Whatever you set in your own processor.

“Keep 100% — we take no cut of your sales.”

OneSol payout docs — checked 2026-10-02

Ko-fi

Hold: None — Ko-fi never holds a balance.
Paid out: Per transaction, immediately into your own PayPal or Stripe.

“Ko-fi is a direct payments service, so all payments are sent directly to your chosen payment method instantly (you never hold a balance on Ko-fi).”

Ko-fi payout docs — checked 2026-10-02

Beacons

Hold: None on store sales — processed in real time into your own Stripe or PayPal.
Paid out: Whatever you set in your own processor.

“When a customer purchases a product, the payment is processed in real-time through Stripe or PayPal.”

Beacons payout docs — checked 2026-10-02

Payhip

Hold: None — paid straight into your own PayPal or Stripe.
Paid out: Per transaction, then your processor's own schedule.

“The payment is deposited to your PayPal/Stripe account.”

Payhip payout docs — checked 2026-10-02

Sellfy

Hold: None — Sellfy does not hold your money.
Paid out: Immediately on purchase, then your processor's schedule.

“Sellfy does not hold your funds or payments from customers. It's not our money; it's yours!”

Sellfy payout docs — checked 2026-10-02

Podia

Hold: None — your own Stripe and PayPal.
Paid out: Your processor's. Podia says roughly 5 business days to the bank.
First payout: Stripe schedules a new account's first payout 7–14 days after its first sale.

“Podia doesn't hold or process your funds — all payments go directly through your connected payment processors.”

Podia payout docs — checked 2026-10-02

Substack

Hold: None on web subscriptions — your own Stripe. Apple in-app purchases are paid up to 45 days after month end.
Paid out: Daily or weekly, your choice in Stripe.
First payout: 7–14 days for a brand-new Stripe account.

“Payments for web subscriptions usually arrive in your bank account within 48 hours of each transaction.”

Substack payout docs — checked 2026-10-02

These hold your money first (11)

Here the sale lands with the platform and reaches you later. The wait, the threshold and the cost of getting paid all vary widely — and the platform charging you the least per sale is not always the one that pays fastest.

Patreon

Hold: Up to 7 days on web and Android. Up to 75 days on iOS in-app purchases. Event tickets release 7 days after the event.
Paid out: On request, up to once a day. Optional automatic withdrawal on the 5th of each month.
Minimum: $10 to PayPal, $25 to a Payoneer wallet.
Cost to be paid: $0.25 per US direct deposit; 1% to PayPal, min $0.25 and capped at $20; $1.00 to a Payoneer wallet.
First payout: A 5-day hold from the day you add your first payout method.

“Funds from digital products purchased through Commerce on Web and Android will appear as pending for up to 7 days before they can be withdrawn from your balance.”

Patreon payout docs — checked 2026-10-02

Buy Me a Coffee

Hold: Held in a Buy Me a Coffee balance until the weekly release, then 3–5 business days through Stripe.
Paid out: Weekly, every Wednesday.
Minimum: $10.
Cost to be paid: Stripe's 0.5% payout processing fee.
First payout: Manual review — typically 7 to 14 days.

“Once your account reaches $10, we'll review it. After approval, payouts are transferred to your Stripe account every Wednesday.”

Buy Me a Coffee payout docs — checked 2026-10-02

Stan Store

Hold: 2 business days typically, up to 7 if you are outside the US.
Paid out: On request only — there is no automatic payout, and you can only take the whole balance.
Minimum: $10.
Cost to be paid: 0.25% + $0.25 per payout, minimum $1. Add 1% if you sell in a currency other than your Stripe account's.
Instant option: US only, after 30 days and $2,000 already cashed out. Stan does not publish the surcharge.

“Typically, it takes around 2 business days for the funds to become available for Cash Out, but depending on where you are located, it may take up to 7 business days.”

Stan Store payout docs — checked 2026-10-02

Linktree

Hold: None on digital products — a Stripe account you own. Shop commissions wait for the retailer's returns window, up to 60 days.
Paid out: Digital products: daily, weekly or monthly, set in your own Stripe. Commissions: monthly.
Minimum: $10 on commissions.
Cost to be paid: $0.25 per payout on Shops, on every plan.

“Your Products are managed through a Stripe Standard account, allowing you to configure a custom payout schedule (daily, weekly, monthly).”

Linktree payout docs — checked 2026-10-02

Gumroad

Hold: 7 days minimum on the weekly, monthly and quarterly schedules.
Paid out: Daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly. The weekday depends on where your bank is — Thursday for US accounts, Tuesday or Wednesday elsewhere.
Minimum: $100 on the standard schedules — by far the highest here. $1 for instant.
Cost to be paid: 2% on PayPal payouts. No published fee on bank payouts.
Instant option: 3% fee, up to $10,000, US creators only, after 60 days and one completed payout.
First payout: Account review of one to three weeks.

“On the weekly, monthly, and quarterly schedules, a sale has a minimum 7-day holding period in your Gumroad balance before it becomes eligible for payout.”

Gumroad payout docs — checked 2026-10-02

Kajabi

Hold: New accounts start at T+7 business days. Changing your bank account adds a 7-day hold to all payouts.
Paid out: Daily, weekly or monthly — but new accounts are set to monthly by default.
Cost to be paid: None on the regular schedule.
Instant option: Available any day, usually within 30 minutes. The service fee varies by region and is not published.
First payout: T+7 at onboarding; other schedules unlock a day or two after your first sale.

“At the time of onboarding to Kajabi Payments, your account is set to Monthly with a T+7 transaction delay for regulatory and compliance purposes.”

Kajabi payout docs — checked 2026-10-02

Teachable

Hold: A reserve is withheld: 10% released after 45 days as standard, but a new school can face a 100% reserve for 14 days.
Paid out: Daily on a two-business-day roll, weekly every Thursday, or monthly. Free-plan schools are monthly only, paid on the 15th of the following month.

“New schools may face a 100% reserve rate with a 14-day unlock period, to cover Teachable's 14-day refund window.”

Teachable payout docs — checked 2026-10-02

Lemon Squeezy

Hold: 13 days. They are the merchant of record, so they hold the money by design.
Paid out: Twice a month — created on the 1st and 15th, paid on the 14th and 28th, then 1–5 days to the bank.
Minimum: $50, otherwise it rolls to the next cycle.
Cost to be paid: Bank: free in the US, 1% outside it. PayPal: $0.50 in the US, 3% capped at $30 outside it.

“Net sales are held for 13 days before becoming available for payout on the 14th and 28th of the month.”

Lemon Squeezy payout docs — checked 2026-10-02

Whop

Hold: A few days. Whop does not publish an exact figure.
Paid out: Instant, daily or weekly depending on your account.
Minimum: $10.
Cost to be paid: $2.50 next-day ACH, $23 for a wire, 5% + $1 to Venmo or crypto.
Instant option: Instant bank deposit at 4% + $1.00.

“You can withdraw from your Dashboard or Profile at any time, as long as you meet the minimum withdrawal threshold of $10 (if applicable).”

Whop payout docs — checked 2026-10-02

Thinkific

Hold: 2 business days in the US, 3 in the UK and EEA, 7 in Hong Kong and Singapore. Higher-risk accounts wait 14 calendar days.
Paid out: Daily by default. Weekly or monthly only if you have access to instant payouts.
Instant option: Select customers only, within minutes. The surcharge is not published.
First payout: 7 to 14 days from your first successful payment.

“The minimum payout amount varies by country, and payouts are scheduled to occur daily and will include all transactions processed up to that point.”

Thinkific payout docs — checked 2026-10-02

Skool

Hold: 8 to 14 days. Skool is the merchant of record and you cannot use your own Stripe.
Paid out: Weekly, every Wednesday, automatically.
First payout: Up to 14 days for the first one, for compliance checks.

“Funds are available for automatic payout after 8 to 14 days.”

Skool payout docs — checked 2026-10-02

Questions people ask about getting paid

Which creator platforms pay out fastest?+

The ones that never hold the money. Ko-fi, Payhip, Sellfy, Podia and Beacons all take the customer's payment straight into a Stripe or PayPal account you own, so there is no platform wait at all — only your processor's own schedule, usually a couple of days. Everything else holds your money first, from a few days to a fortnight.

How long does Gumroad take to pay you?+

A sale sits in your Gumroad balance for a minimum of seven days on the weekly, monthly and quarterly schedules. The bigger obstacle is the threshold: Gumroad requires a $100 balance before it pays at all on those schedules, which is far higher than any other platform here. US creators can take an instant payout from $1 for a 3% fee.

Why does Lemon Squeezy take two weeks?+

Because it is the merchant of record — legally it is the seller, so it holds the funds by design. Net sales are held for 13 days, payouts are created on the 1st and 15th and paid on the 14th and 28th, then take another one to five days to reach a bank. A sale early in the month can be roughly 24 days from purchase to money sent.

Do any platforms charge you to receive your own money?+

Several. Gumroad takes 2% on PayPal payouts and 3% for instant. Whop charges $2.50 for next-day ACH and $23 for a wire. Lemon Squeezy takes 1% on non-US bank payouts. Patreon charges 1% to PayPal, capped at $20. On the platforms that pay into your own processor there is no such fee, because there is no payout to charge for.

Is a new account paid more slowly?+

Usually, yes, and it is rarely advertised. Kajabi starts new accounts at a seven-business-day delay and defaults them to monthly. Teachable can hold a 100% reserve on a new school for 14 days. Buy Me a Coffee reviews a first payout manually and takes one to two weeks. Gumroad reviews new accounts for one to three weeks.

Or skip the wait entirely

OneSol is in the first group. Customers pay into your own Stripe, PayPal or Razorpay account, so there is no OneSol balance, no threshold, no payout fee and nothing to wait for — the money is already yours when it arrives.

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