Patreon
Creator platformMembership platform with built-in video hosting, podcasts and community, standard 10% cut
About Patreon
Patreon runs paid memberships, one-time digital sales and community tools for podcasters, artists, writers, video makers and musicians. Creators who published a page after August 4, 2025 pay a standard 10% platform fee, while earlier creators keep legacy rates of 5% to 12%. The core fee bundles up to 100 hours per month of video hosting, native chats and DMs, email newsletters, and Spotify and RSS podcast distribution.
Patreon fits creators with an existing audience who want recurring membership income without building or hosting their own site, especially podcasters and visual artists who use the included community and distribution tools. Small creators earning under about $1,500 a month often pay less here than on flat-fee platforms. Skip it if you sell structured courses, need explicit adult content, or want responsive support, since payout and cancellation complaints run high.
Platform facts
Pros and cons
- 10% standard fee bundles video hosting, community tools and podcast distribution
- No upfront or monthly cost; you pay only when you earn
- Legacy creators keep 5% to 8% rates as long as the page stays published
- Team Accounts give agencies separate logins with locked financial access
- Public OAuth API, webhooks, WordPress plugin and Zapier integration
- Strong consumer brand recognition among podcast and art audiences
- 1.2 TrustScore on Trustpilot with 90% one-star reviews across 909 ratings
- Frequent complaints about billing errors and slow, looping support
- Processing plus conversion fees push real cost to roughly 13% to 16%
- Explicit content between real people is not permitted
- iOS purchases add Apple's 30% cut and up to 75-day pending holds
Fees and what you actually keep
Pages published after August 4, 2025 pay a flat 10% platform fee. Creators from before that date keep legacy Lite (5%), Pro (8%) or Premium (12%) rates, but lose them for good if the page is unpublished and republished. On top of the platform cut sit payment processing (about 2.9% + $0.30, or 5% + $0.10 on tiers priced $3 or under) and a 2.5% currency conversion fee when a patron pays in a currency different from your payout currency. Third-party analyses put the all-in cost near 13% to 16% of gross.
Getting paid
US creators receive Stripe bank transfers; international creators use Payoneer bank transfer, PayPal or Payoneer Wallet. Local bank transfer has a $10 minimum (or local equivalent) with a flat fee around $0.50, while PayPal and Payoneer Wallet cap payouts at $20,000. Withdraw manually once per 24 hours or set automatic payouts for the 5th of the month. A 5-day hold hits new creators and anyone who edits payout details, and iOS in-app purchase funds can stay pending up to 75 days.
Discovery, teams and integrations
Patreon runs on-platform discovery that can bring new supporters, but most creators still import their own audience. Team Accounts, available to all creators since August 5, 2025, let a Team Lead invite unlimited teammates with their own logins to post, message and edit tiers, while payouts, earnings and account settings stay locked to the lead. Developers get a public OAuth v2 API, webhooks, a WordPress plugin and Zapier, useful for agencies syncing member data into their own tools.
Content and AI rules
Nudity, sexual activity and sexually explicit works must sit behind the paywall and stay out of profile images, banners, tier descriptions and free posts. Sexual activity between real adults is banned; animated, illustrated, written and audio depictions are allowed on pages categorized as Adult/18+. Following a Q4 2025 update, AI-generated adult figures are permitted when illustrated or animated, and hyperrealistic AI is allowed only with documented consent from the real adults depicted. AI adult-image generators, sexbots and non-consensual deepfakes are prohibited.
Reputation
Patreon's Trustpilot page shows a 1.2 TrustScore across 909 reviews, with 90% rated one star and no recent replies to negative reviews. The recurring themes are billing after cancellation, charges tied to accounts users say they never created, and support that loops through automated responses. Creators separately report accounts suspended for unstated suspicious activity and held balances. G2 and Software Advice scores run far higher (around 4.1 to 4.4), reflecting a split between product satisfaction and billing and support frustration.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Patreon take in 2026?
New creators pay a standard 10% platform fee. Payment processing (about 2.9% + $0.30, or 5% + $0.10 on tiers at or under $3) and a 2.5% currency conversion fee apply on top, so the real cut on a $10 membership lands around $1.59 before payout fees.
Is Patreon legit and safe to use?
It is an established platform used by many creators, but its Trustpilot TrustScore is 1.2 across 909 reviews, with heavy complaints about billing and support. Payouts do work for most creators; the risk is slow resolution if something goes wrong.
When and how do Patreon creators get paid?
You can withdraw manually once every 24 hours or turn on automatic payouts on the 5th of the month. New creators face a 5-day hold, and after that funds usually reach your account within 1 to 5 days depending on method.
Can I post adult or NSFW content on Patreon?
Yes, on a page categorized as Adult/18+, but it must stay behind the paywall and off public areas. Sexual activity between real people is banned; animated, illustrated, written and audio depictions are allowed if they meet the guidelines.
Does Patreon allow AI-generated content?
AI-generated adult figures are allowed if illustrated or animated. Hyperrealistic AI is permitted only using the likeness of real adults who documented consent, and AI adult-image generators, sexbots and deepfakes are banned.
Creators keep 90% of earnings. Check current terms on the official site.
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Software that supports Patreon
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Reviews
What people post about Patreon across the web. Each card links to the original source. Rated reviews and mentions count toward the overall rating of 1.2 from 917 ratings.
Bought an subscription for 100dollars as my first on my new account (haven’t used it before). Account got blocked due to suspicious activity.. money gone account gone. Patreon is unreachable. SCAM…
The creator I was following had their account wrongly banned. No reason given, No apology, just cut off. I complained bitterly eventually as they have NO fan based complaints department. Having read other comments I doubt very much that anyone will receive a refund. GREEDY. If…
Is it Patreon or Patron?; They keep changing website layout making everybody confused; Every week there is some changes to website and annoying notifications, hard to use website; Why is my logo so huge on my page?; I get only free followers and only 1 donator; Just another big…
I have been unable to access videos from my creator in spite of paying £10 per month. Each video is greyed out and I am being asked to pay again. When I like look at my billing history it's empty even though I have been paying for sixteen months. There is nowhere to go on the…
Deeply untrustworthy. I am an amateur artist and sometimes like to support artists on Youtube and learn stuff. So clicked on Patreon to support. Patreon decided that they would keepon unsubscribing me; I then had to resubscribe, paying one fee for re-subscribing and another fee…
This platform is completely not transparent in what they bill or what is ready for next billing. No full specifications or the transaction. All billing related items are hidden on the web and not accessible in the app( my opinion: on purpose). Support is just a useless bot Jesse…
Reported a common scam (account 'gdrf_rescue') several times, over a month ago. Patreon did nothing. I emailed them twice, and used the 'report' function twice.. scam still active.
Probably one of the worst sites I’ve ever used it was a total piece of shit that sent me mad until I started shouting at my cat. Well no one’s gonna tell you is the site doesn’t work properly unless you’re on a PC a computer it doesn’t work on a mobile properly. What kind of…
I had supported several 3d model creators for 3d printing, for quite a decent amount of money. I try to log into my account and get told it is suspended. I have not bought porn or any such thing through their site. Just 3d models for printing for roleplay purposes Their support…