All tools › Monetization & Support
Patreon
The membership platform — turn your most loyal viewers into monthly supporters with tiered rewards.
Membership platform for creators: monthly tiers, exclusive content and community. Free to start, platform fee per income.
- Pricing
- Free to start; platform takes a percentage of income
- Platforms
- Web, iOS, Android
- Category
- Monetization & Support
- Last reviewed
- September 21, 2026
What is Patreon?
Patreon invented the modern creator membership: fans pay monthly (per tier you design) in exchange for whatever you offer — early access, bonus episodes, behind-the-scenes posts, direct community, credits. For podcasters, educators, artists and analysts with a devoted core audience, it converts fandom into predictable monthly income that no algorithm can take away.
It costs nothing to start; Patreon takes a percentage of each pledge depending on your plan, plus payment processing fees. The math that matters: even after fees, 300 members at $5 is over a thousand dollars a month — income completely decoupled from views, CPM swings and demonetization scares. Tiers work best when rewards are cheap for you to produce and feel personal: the classic 'patrons-only feed + your name in the credits' outperforms elaborate promises you'll resent by month three.
Integrations cover the creator stack — Discord role assignment, YouTube membership perks, app feeds — and the mobile apps keep posting frictionless. The honest trade-off versus YouTube channel memberships: Patreon works across platforms and pays better per member, but lives outside your videos, so promoting it is entirely on you.
Key features
- Monthly membership tiers you fully design
- Member-only posts, feeds and community spaces
- Discord and YouTube integrations with auto roles/perks
- Polls, DMs (select tiers) and patron credits
- Free to launch — fees only on money you actually earn
- Mobile apps for posting on the go
Free plan & limits
No monthly cost to run a page. Patreon deducts a platform fee from each pledge (percentage depends on the plan you choose) plus payment processing. You keep the rest.
Who is it best for?
Creators with an engaged core audience — even a few hundred superfans — who want recurring income independent of ad revenue.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Patreon take?
A platform percentage of each pledge that varies by plan, plus payment processing fees. Check the current pricing page for exact figures — the structure has changed over the years.
Can I run Patreon alongside YouTube memberships?
Yes, many creators do: memberships catch casual viewers inside YouTube, Patreon houses the deeper tiers and cross-platform fans. Patreon's integration even maps perks between them.
Do I need a big audience to start?
No. Patreon runs on superfans, not reach — 50–100 paying members can out-earn the ad revenue of channels ten times your size. Launch small, iterate on tiers.