How Much Does Patreon Take and What Are the Fees

Patreon takes a percentage of your earnings as a creator, which varies based on the plan you choose. This fee is automatically deducted from your earnings.

The platform offers different plans, including Lite, Plus, and Pro, each with its own fee structure. For example, the Lite plan charges a 5% fee on earnings above $3,000 per year.

You can also earn money through Patreon's feature called "Patreon Payments", which allows you to receive money directly from fans without having to create a payout. However, this feature is not available for all creators.

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Patreon takes a platform fee from creators' earnings, which varies depending on their plan. New creators pay a flat 10% platform fee on all earnings.

For existing creators, the situation is more complex. If you joined before August 4, 2025, you may be grandfathered into the old 8% Pro or 12% Premium plans. Premium creators are automatically reduced to about 11% or can opt for 8% if they give up merch tools.

You can calculate your Patreon fees using the Patreon fee calculator, which takes into account platform fees, processing fees, and other costs.

Here's a breakdown of Patreon's platform fees:

+ Pro: 8% of monthly earnings

+ Premium: 12% of monthly earnings (or about 11% if you don't opt for merch tools)

Keep in mind that these fees don't include payment processing, currency conversion, and payout costs, which can add up quickly.

To give you a better idea, here's an example of how Patreon's fees work:

It's essential to factor in these fees when setting your Patreon rewards and pricing to ensure you're making a profit.

Patreon takes a percentage of your earnings, which can add up quickly. The platform uses third-party processors like Stripe and PayPal, charging transaction costs that Patreon passes on to creators.

For micropayments of $3 or less, Patreon charges 5% + $0.10 per pledge, while standard payments over $3 incur a 2.9% + $0.30 fee. These percentages are applied on top of the platform fee.

If your patrons are paying in a different currency than your payout currency, Patreon applies a 2.5% conversion fee. This can be a significant expense if you have an international audience.

Here's a breakdown of the fees for different payment types:

As a creator on the founders plan, you'll benefit from reduced payment fees of 1.06% + $0.30 for standard payments via Apple Pay or credit card.

Payment processing fees can be a bit complicated, but let's break it down. Patreon uses third-party processors like Stripe and PayPal, which charge transaction costs that Patreon passes on to creators.

These costs depend on the pledge amount and the patron's location. For pledges of $3 or less, you'll pay 5% + $0.10 per pledge. For pledges over $3, you'll pay 2.9% + $0.30 per pledge.

These percentages are applied on top of the platform fee, which is a separate cost. To give you a better idea, here are the rates for different payment methods:

Keep in mind that these rates are for customers accepting USD payments. If you're accepting payments in another currency, the rates may vary.

Currency conversion fees can add up quickly if your patrons are paying in a different currency than your payout account.

Patreon applies a 2.5% conversion fee for currency conversions, which can be a significant cost if much of your audience is international.

To avoid this, choose a payout currency that matches where most of your audience is located, like setting your payouts to USD if most of your supporters are in the U.S.

This way, you'll only pay conversion fees on the smaller share of payments coming from abroad.

You can check your conversion fees and processing fees within the Earnings dashboard on Patreon, underneath the Payment fees column.

All currency conversions are charged at a rate of 2.5% of the overall transaction cost, which can be reversed if you decide to refund any payments to your patrons.

Patreon also allows users to export the data about their payment processing and transaction fees for use with tax reports and other financial records.

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Patreon takes a total of about 13% in fees on earnings, which can climb higher for creators with small pledges or international supporters.

The platform fee is 10% of gross pledges, and payment processing fees can add up to 2.9% plus $0.30 on average.

For a creator who earns $1,000 in pledges, the fees would stack up as follows: $1,000 in gross pledges, minus a 10% platform fee of $100, minus a payment processing fee of $32, leaving $868 in net earnings.

The payout fee is an additional $0.25 per transfer for US creators using ACH direct deposit, or a flat fee of 1% with a minimum of $0.25 for transfers to PayPal.

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Let's take a closer look at how earnings work on Patreon. If you earn $1,000 in pledges in a given month, you can expect to pay around 13% in total fees. This includes a 10% Patreon platform fee and a 2.9% payment processing fee, plus a small payout fee.

The payment processing fee alone can add up to around $32, depending on the average transaction amount. Currency conversion fees can also eat into your earnings, but in this example, since all patrons are paying in USD, that fee is $0.

Here's a breakdown of the fees you might pay on a $1,000 pledge:

As you can see, the fees add up quickly. If you have a lot of small pledges or supporters outside your home currency, your fees can climb even higher, to around 15% or more.

Payouts on Patreon can be a bit complex, but understanding the fees can help you manage your earnings effectively.

Patreon charges different fees depending on how you withdraw your money. In the U.S., direct deposit (ACH) costs just $0.25 per payout, making it the cheapest option.

For non-US creators, there's also an option to transfer money into a Payoneer account, which is charged at a rate of $1 per payout to the Payoneer account.

The payout fee for PayPal withdrawals is 1% per transfer, capped at $20, which can be more expensive if you withdraw frequently.

Here's a breakdown of the payout fees for different methods:

Keep in mind that these fees do not include any additional charges that might be applied by your payment processor or bank.

As a creator on Patreon, you're probably eager to keep as much of your hard-earned money as possible. You can’t eliminate Patreon’s platform fee, but there are smart ways to minimize the extra charges that eat into your earnings.

Patreon charges a platform fee, and you can minimize it by using a few smart strategies. To avoid additional fees, you should be aware that they exist.

One way to minimize Patreon fees is to use the platform's built-in features, such as sending invoices directly to your patrons. This way, you can avoid third-party fees that might eat into your earnings.

By taking control of your finances and being mindful of these fees, you can keep more of your money and focus on creating great content.

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If you want to get a better understanding of how much Patreon takes from your earnings, there are some useful tools available. You can use the Patreon fees calculator to input your number of patrons and average pledge amount, and it will calculate your total earnings, fees, and net earnings.

This tool can help you plan your pricing and set realistic goals for your earnings.

Superprofile is a flexible alternative to Patreon that offers creators an all-in-one solution for monetizing their audience. It allows you to retain more of your income while providing additional features to scale your creator business.

One of the key features of Superprofile is the ability to create custom subscription plans for your audience through Membership Tiers. This gives you the flexibility to set your own pricing and offer different levels of access to your content.

Superprofile also offers Event Hosting, which lets you organize webinars, workshops, and live Q&A sessions. This is a great way to engage with your audience and build a community around your content.

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Another benefit of Superprofile is the ability to sell digital products directly to your audience through Digital Product Sales. You can sell eBooks, courses, and exclusive content without having to go through a third-party platform.

Superprofile's Flexible Payment Integration allows you to accept payments via credit cards, PayPal, UPI, and more. This makes it easy to set up and manage your payment system.

The Advanced Analytics feature of Superprofile lets you track your revenue, audience engagement, and top-performing products. This gives you valuable insights into how your business is performing and helps you make informed decisions about your content and pricing.

You can use the Advanced Analytics feature to track your revenue, audience engagement, and top-performing products. This will help you understand how your business is performing and make adjustments as needed.

Here are the key features of Superprofile:

The Patreon fee calculator is a valuable tool to help you understand how much money Patreon takes from your earnings. You can use it to input your number of patrons and average pledge amount.

To use the calculator, simply enter the earnings you're getting on Patreon, and the account type you currently have, and click on "Calculate fees". This will process any fees you can expect to pay, such as platform fees, processing fees, and so on.

Using the Patreon fee calculator is straightforward, even if you've used other calculators before, like the Square fee calculator or CashApp fee calculator. Just make sure you're using the right numbers and running the calculations a few times to be sure.

It's also worth noting that you should be aware of all the fees involved, including payment processing, currency conversion, and payout costs. This will give you a true picture of your take-home pay.

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Patreon is a membership platform that allows creators to earn money from their fans or patrons by offering exclusive content, early access, or behind-the-scenes insights.

To get started, creators need to set up a Patreon account, which is free. This account will serve as the central hub for managing their patron relationships and rewards.

Patreon takes a 5% commission on every pledge, which is deducted from the creator's earnings. This commission is in addition to the payment processing fees, which can range from 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

As a creator, you can set up different tiers of rewards for your patrons, each with its own price point and exclusive content. This allows you to tailor your rewards to different levels of support and engagement.

Setting a minimum pledge amount can significantly reduce Patreon fees. By doing so, you can minimize the number of microtransactions and keep more of your earnings.

One way to do this is to set a slightly higher minimum pledge than the default. For example, instead of a minimum pledge of $1, you could set it to $3. This will encourage patrons to pledge more, reducing the number of small-dollar transactions.

Setting a minimum pledge amount also means that patrons must pledge a certain amount to access your content and perks. This can be as simple as $5, which would require patrons to increase their pledge if they want to access your content.

By setting a minimum pledge amount, you can reduce the number of transactions and save on fees. This is a straightforward way to keep more of your earnings and make the most of your Patreon page.

Patreon offers creators a way to get paid for the things they create, such as webcomics, podcasts, songs, and videos.

There are several ways for creators to set up a billing cycle for their customers. Creators can charge patrons for specific items, whenever something new is produced, using per-creation billing.

With per-creation billing, patrons can set a monthly maximum on the number of items they want to see. For example, a patron could sign up for a web comic and set a limit of 5 new comics per month, and be charged every time a new comic is produced up to that limit.

Creators can also use subscription-based billing, where patrons pay to become a “member” or user of their service. Patrons pay when they join the creator’s platform, and renew their subscription on a monthly basis.

Here are the different billing options creators can use:

Patreon takes a percentage of your earnings based on the plan you choose, which can be found in the "Settings" section of your account. This percentage is known as the "platform fee", and it's charged to allow users access to all of the functionality Patreon has to offer.

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The platform fee ranges from 5% to 12% of your earnings, depending on the plan you're on. There are four platform plans available: Lite, Founders, Pro, and Premium.

Here's a breakdown of the platform fees for each plan:

You can upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time to access different perks. Just keep in mind that the more services and support you want to access from Patreon, the more you'll need to give back in commissions.

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Patreon uses third-party processors like Stripe and PayPal, which charge transaction costs that Patreon passes on to creators. These fees depend on the pledge amount and the patron's location.

For micropayments (less than $3), Patreon charges 5% + $0.10 per pledge, while for standard payments (over $3), the fee is 2.9% + $0.30 per pledge. These percentages are applied on top of the platform fee.

Creators can choose the best payout method to save money, but the fees vary depending on the method. Direct deposit (ACH) is the cheapest option in the US, costing just $0.25 per payout.

Here's a breakdown of the payout fees:

Keep in mind that these fees don't include any additional costs associated with accessing your funds or converting currencies.

If most of your supporters are in the U.S., set your payouts to USD to avoid currency conversion fees.

Currency conversion fees can be a significant expense, especially if much of your audience is international. They add up quickly if your patrons are paying in a different currency than your payout account.

Patreon applies a 2.5% conversion fee if a patron pays in a different currency from the creator's payout currency. This fee can be avoided by setting your payout currency to match your largest supporter base.

You can check your conversion fees and processing fees within the Earnings dashboard on Patreon.

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Choosing the right payout method on Patreon can make a big difference in your earnings. Direct deposit, also known as ACH, is the cheapest option in the U.S., costing just $0.25 per payout.

PayPal withdrawals, on the other hand, cost 1% per transfer, capped at $20, which can be more expensive if you withdraw frequently. This fee can add up quickly, especially if you're withdrawing small amounts.

To give you a better idea, here's a comparison of the costs:

If you're a creator on the founders plan, you'll benefit from reduced payment fees, especially for standard payments via Apple Pay or Credit card. This can save you money in the long run.