We demonstrate the operation of a low threshold femtosecond Yb:KYW laser, using a saturable absorber mirror for passive mode-locking and a high brightness laser diode as pumping source. Fourier-limited pulses with a duration of 101 fs are achieved at an output power of ≈100 mW. The performance of the Yb:KYW laser was also compared to that of Yb:KGW and Yb:glass in the same setup.