Patreon
Patreon: An affordable way to sell memberships, content, and community access, with a 10% platform fee. Ranked #1 of 83 in Membership Site Platforms by our editors (9.4/10); pricing: Free plan; best for creators starting a paid community affordably.
At a glance
- Editor score9.4 / 10
- PricingFree plan
- Best forCreators starting a paid community affordably
- Free planYes
- Custom domainYes
- Founded2013 · San Francisco, California, USA
- Facts checked21 Sep 2026
Where it wins
- Free plan includes memberships, content gating, video, messaging, and analytics
- Supports monthly and annual subscriptions plus one-time digital purchases
- Connects communities with Discord, Spotify, RSS, and podcast feeds
Where it doesn't
- The standard platform fee is 10% for creator pages published after August 4, 2025
- Additional payment processing, conversion, payout, and applicable tax fees apply
- Community and publishing features are centered on the Patreon ecosystem
Our verdict on Patreon
Patreon is a web and mobile membership platform for creators who want to build communities, publish exclusive content, and earn through recurring memberships or one-time purchases. It suits creators starting a paid community affordably, with membership tiers, creator-defined pricing, gated posts, monthly and annual billing, native video, livestreaming, messaging, newsletters, and analytics. Support for custom domains, podcasts, and community communication gives creators several ways to organize paid access around their content.
The free plan covers a broad starting set of creator tools, including tiers, gated posts, subscriptions, video, livestreaming, messaging, newsletters, and analytics. Creators can also sell one-time digital products and posts. For creator pages published after August 4, 2025, Patreon charges a standard 10% platform fee, alongside payment processing, currency conversion, payout fees, and applicable taxes. Since creators set membership prices, the practical cost depends on the income generated and the pricing structure chosen. This model keeps the initial software commitment low, but the percentage-based fees can reduce value as revenue grows.
Patreon’s ecosystem fit is useful for creators already working across community and audio platforms. Discord role synchronization can connect membership tiers to community access, while podcast importing, RSS distribution, Spotify integration, and synced feeds support audio publishing. Email newsletters, exportable email lists, relationship-management tools, and member analytics add audience-management capabilities beyond basic content gating. Creators who want a focused path to paid memberships and community publishing should find the feature mix relevant; those seeking lower percentage-based fees or a platform less centered on Patreon’s ecosystem should consider an alternative.
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Patreon pricing
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Patreon fact sheet
| Free plan | Yes |
|---|---|
| Paid from | Not verified |
| Custom domain | Yes |
| Content gating | Post |
| Subscription billing | Both |
| Drip content | Not verified |
| Member limit | Not verified |
| Transaction fee | 10% platform fee for new creators, plus payment processing, currency conversion, payout fees, and applicable taxes |
| Deployment | Cloud, Mobile |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android |
| Support | Tickets, Community, Docs |
| Built for | Solo, Small business, Mid-market (editorial estimate) |
| Integrations | 8 integrations: Discord, Spotify, Discourse, Vimeo, ConvertKit, Zapier … See all → |
| Pricing | Free plan (source) |
| Website | patreon.com |
| Facts checked | 21 Sep 2026 |
Patreon integrations
Patreon lists 8 integrations on its own site.
- Discord
- Spotify
- Discourse
- Vimeo
- ConvertKit
- Zapier
- Wix
- WordPress
See all Patreon integrations →
Alternatives to Patreon
- GhostA focused membership platform for paid publications, newsletters, and protected posts.9.2
- Appy Pie Membership Website BuilderA beginner-friendly way to launch a web membership site with AI and paid access.9.0
- SubstackA newsletter-first platform combining publishing, paid subscriptions, and community tools.8.9
See all Patreon alternatives →
Patreon vs the competition
- Patreon vs Ghost
- Patreon vs Appy Pie Membership Website Builder
- Patreon vs Substack
- Patreon vs Systeme.io
- Patreon vs Zephr
- Patreon vs Paid Memberships Pro
Compare Patreon with any tool side by side →
Also Ranked In
Patreon is ranked in 4 of our directories.
Used Patreon? Be the first to review it
The editor score above is our own research. What this page doesn't have yet is a reader's view — what you used Patreon for, what worked and what didn't. No stars are seeded and no review is paid for; an editor reads every one before it appears.
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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