Patreon Fees at a Glance
Patreon charges its fees on each pledge.
| Fee | Percentage | Flat | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform fee (Pro) | 8% | — | — |
| Payment processing | 2.9% | $0.30 | — |
What You Keep
The flat component is what makes small sales expensive. The same fee schedule costs a very different effective rate depending on the order size:
| Sale | Fees | You receive | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5.00 | $0.85 | $4.16 | 16.90% |
| $20.00 | $2.48 | $17.52 | 12.40% |
| $50.00 | $5.75 | $44.25 | 11.50% |
| $100.00 | $11.20 | $88.80 | 11.20% |
| $500.00 | $54.80 | $445.20 | 10.96% |
Platform Plus Processing
Patreon charges a platform fee by tier plus payment processing on every pledge. Processing matters disproportionately because pledges are small and the flat component is charged per pledge, per month.
| Pledge | Platform 8% | Processing | You receive | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1 | $0.08 | $0.33 | $0.59 | 41% |
| $3 | $0.24 | $0.39 | $2.37 | 21% |
| $5 | $0.40 | $0.45 | $4.15 | 17% |
| $10 | $0.80 | $0.59 | $8.61 | 14% |
| $25 | $2.00 | $1.03 | $21.97 | 12% |
Why $1 Tiers Lose Money
At $1 a month, payment processing alone takes a third of the pledge. A hundred $1 patrons net you $59; twenty $5 patrons net you $83 from a fifth of the audience. Setting your lowest tier at $3–$5 is usually worth more than the patrons it costs you.
Patreon's annual-pledge option charges processing once instead of twelve times, which is why it materially improves the effective rate on small tiers.
Payout Costs
Payouts add their own fee — PayPal and Payoneer both charge, and currency conversion applies outside the US. Budget another 1–3% beyond the table above.
Charging to Hit a Target Payout
Adding 10.90% to your price under-recovers, because the percentage then applies to the larger amount as well. The correct gross-up divides:
``
charge = (target + flat fees) ÷ (1 − percentage rate)
``
| To receive | Charge |
|---|---|
| $100.00 | $112.57 |
| $1,000.00 | $1,122.67 |
Reducing What You Pay
- Raise average order value. The flat fee is fixed, so bundling two $20.00 orders
- Watch the optional surcharges. International and currency-conversion fees stack on top
- Negotiate at volume. Most processors will discuss custom rates once you are processing
- Do not migrate for 0.2%. The engineering and support cost of changing platforms
Pro tier. Payouts and currency conversion add further costs.
Patreon Against Every Other Channel
What each platform takes from the same $100 sale:
| Platform | Effective rate | You keep |
|---|---|---|
| Airbnb | 3.00% | $97.00 |
| BigCommerce | 3.08% | $96.92 |
| Stripe | 3.20% | $96.80 |
| Shopify | 3.20% | $96.80 |
| Square | 3.20% | $96.80 |
| GoFundMe | 3.20% | $96.80 |
| Podia | 3.20% | $96.80 |
| Wix | 3.20% | $96.80 |
| PayPal | 3.98% | $96.02 |
| Lemon Squeezy | 5.50% | $94.50 |
| Paddle | 5.50% | $94.50 |
| Squarespace | 6.20% | $93.80 |
| Ko-fi | 8.20% | $91.80 |
| Buy Me a Coffee | 8.20% | $91.80 |
| Kickstarter | 8.20% | $91.80 |
| Teachable | 8.20% | $91.80 |
| Indiegogo | 8.30% | $91.70 |
| Etsy | 9.95% | $90.05 |
| Upwork | 10.00% | $90.00 |
| Gumroad | 10.00% | $90.00 |
| Patreon | 11.20% | $88.80 |
| Whatnot | 11.20% | $88.80 |
| StockX | 12.00% | $88.00 |
| Substack | 13.20% | $86.80 |
| Mercari | 13.40% | $86.60 |
| eBay | 13.55% | $86.45 |
| Bandcamp | 14.70% | $85.30 |
| Amazon FBA | 18.22% | $81.78 |
| Fiverr | 20.00% | $80.00 |
| Poshmark | 20.00% | $80.00 |
| DoorDash | 30.00% | $70.00 |
The Rate Is Not Fixed
Patreon's effective rate on a $10 sale is 13.90%, and on a $1,000 sale it is 10.93%. The flat component does not scale, so raising average order value lowers your effective rate without negotiating anything.
| Sale | Fees | You keep | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10 | $1.39 | $8.61 | 13.90% |
| $100 | $11.20 | $88.80 | 11.20% |
| $1,000 | $109.30 | $890.70 | 10.93% |