Patreon Review
Recurring memberships and support for creators.
Overview
Patreon is the default home for recurring fan memberships, with tiers, gated posts, and a community layer that keeps supporters engaged month after month. It is purpose-built for ongoing creator income.
Its platform fees plus payment processing take a real bite, and on-platform discovery is weak, so creators must bring their own audience.
Our verdict
Patreon is the default home for recurring fan memberships, with tiers, gated posts, and a community layer that keeps supporters engaged. Its fees plus payment processing take a real bite, and discovery on-platform is weak.
Best for: Creators building recurring membership income
Key features
Membership tiers
Offer multiple support levels with distinct perks and pricing.
Gated content
Lock posts, downloads, and community access behind tiers.
Community features
Engage supporters with comments, DMs, and exclusive spaces.
Multiple media types
Support video, audio, writing, and downloads in one place.
Pros
- Purpose-built for recurring memberships
- Tiered perks and gated content
- Engaged community features
Cons
- Platform plus processing fees stack up
- Limited on-platform discovery
Ideal for
- Creators building recurring membership income
- Communities that reward loyal supporters with perks
- Creators with an existing audience to convert
Not ideal for
- Creators relying on platform discovery to find fans
- Those highly sensitive to stacked platform + processing fees
Pricing
no monthly fee, percentage of income · 8–12% of monthly income (plus processing) transaction fees
~8% of income
~10% of income, more tools
~12% of income, full suite
There is no monthly fee; Patreon takes roughly 8-12% of monthly income depending on the plan tier, plus payment processing. The total take rate is meaningful, so weigh it against the community tooling you get.
Performance & reliability
Fully hosted and reliable at scale for content delivery and recurring billing. Creators focus on content, not infrastructure.
Support
Help center, email, and creator support resources. Larger creators get more hands-on assistance.
Full specifications
- Hosting type
- Fully hosted (SaaS)
- Free trial
- Free to start
- Themes / templates
- Creator page styling
- App marketplace
- Apps & integrations
- Staff accounts
- Team access
- Multi-currency
- Yes
- POS included
- No
- Abandoned cart recovery
- No
- Built-in blog
- Yes
Payments & security
- Payment gateways
- Patreon-managed (cards, PayPal)
- SSL certificate
- Yes
- PCI compliant
- Yes
- Gift cards
- Yes
Capabilities & limits
- Product limit
- N/A (membership tiers)
- Drag-and-drop editor
- No
- Multi-language
- No
- API access
- Yes
- Mobile app
- Yes
- Support channels
- Help center, email, creator support
Frequently asked questions
How much does Patreon take?+
Roughly 8-12% of monthly income depending on your plan, plus payment processing fees.
Does Patreon help me find new supporters?+
On-platform discovery is limited, so most creators bring an audience from elsewhere and convert them to members.
What can I offer members?+
Tiered perks, gated posts, downloads, community access, and various media types.