Patreon fees explained: the platform fee, processing and payouts
Patreon charges a creator in three places: a platform fee on each payment, a processing fee on each payment, and a fee when you withdraw. The platform fee depends on when your page was published. This guide lists the fees a US creator pays, works out what a creator keeps from 100 members at $5 a month, and shows where iOS, currency and one-time purchases add more.
The three layers on every payment
Patreon has no monthly fee, and it says fees begin only once you earn money. The creator pays the fees below out of earnings. Members pay their tier price plus sales tax or VAT where it applies.
| Layer | Rate (US, USD) | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Platform fee, Standard plan | 10% of each payment, not counting sales tax | Memberships and one-time purchases |
| Processing | 2.9% + $0.30 on cards, Apple Pay, and PayPal or Venmo payments from US members. 3.9% + $0.30 on PayPal or Venmo payments from members abroad | Every payment, at any size |
| Payout fee | US bank payout: $0.25 each. PayPal payout: 1%, minimum $0.25, maximum $20 | Each withdrawal |
These come from Patreon's creator fees overview. Processing matches Stripe's standard card rate of 2.9% + $0.30 (see Stripe fees explained). Because the 30 cents is fixed, small tiers lose more. On a $3 tier, the platform fee and processing take $0.69, or 23%.
Which platform fee you pay
The 10% Standard plan applies to every page that went live after August 4, 2025. Patreon says it covers a hosted page, monthly and annual memberships, digital product sales, community tools (chats, polls and comments), audience insights, and video hosting of up to 100 hours a month once you have a paying member.
Older pages may sit on a legacy plan, but only while they stay published without a break:
- Founders, 5%: pages published before May 7, 2019 that never changed plan, changed currency or unpublished.
- Pro, 8%: pages published on or before August 4, 2025.
- Pro + Merch, 11%: the same, with Patreon's merchandise fulfillment.
Unpublishing a legacy page, even briefly, moves it to Standard when it returns. So does being unpublished by Patreon. Patreon asks legacy creators to use its pause tool instead. Legacy plans use different processing rates, including 5% + $0.10 for tiers of $3 or less. Standard uses one rate at every size.
What a creator keeps from 100 members at $5
That is $500 in payments. Processing is $0.45 on each $5 payment, or $45.00 for the month. The payout fee is counted once, for one withdrawal.
| Plan and payout | Platform fee | Processing | Payout | Total fees | Creator keeps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard, to a US bank | $50.00 | $45.00 | $0.25 | $95.25 | $404.75 (81.0%) |
| Standard, to PayPal | $50.00 | $45.00 | $4.05 | $99.05 | $400.95 (80.2%) |
| Legacy Pro, 8%, to a US bank | $40.00 | $45.00 | $0.25 | $85.25 | $414.75 (83.0%) |
Over twelve months, the first row costs $1,143.00 in fees. Billing yearly helps, because the $0.30 is charged once. At the rates above, a $60 yearly membership costs $8.04 in fees (13.4%), against $11.40 (19.0%) for twelve $5 payments. Patreon does not publish those two figures; they are worked out from its rates.
To keep $5.00 from each monthly member on Standard, price the tier at $6.09. The math: ($5.00 + $0.30) divided by 0.871, where 0.871 is 1 minus 0.10 minus 0.029. That leaves $5.00 before payout fees.
Payouts: timing and cost
Patreon holds your balance. You can withdraw at any time, or opt in to an automatic payout on the 5th of each month. A US bank payout costs $0.25. PayPal costs 1% with a $0.25 minimum and a $20 cap, and needs a $10 minimum payout. The bank payout never costs more: on a $405 withdrawal, PayPal takes $4.05.
Shop sales made on the web or Android show as pending for up to 7 days, and purchases made in the iOS app for up to 75 days. See How payments reach you.
Extra charges that can apply
- iOS app: purchases made in Patreon's iOS app go through Apple, which takes 30% of the sale price. That replaces Patreon's processing fee, and the platform fee still applies. US members can use mobile web checkout instead. Patreon's articles differ on who carries Apple's cut, so check your own settings.
- Currency: 2.5% when the member's currency differs from your payout currency. One article shows it in your earnings and another lists it under fans, so check your earnings page.
- Tax on fees: Patreon adds VAT, GST or sales tax to its own fees where the law requires it. The processing fee is worked out on the total including tax.
- One-time sales: Patreon's Help Center answers "Can I make a one-time payment?" with Shop purchases of $3 to $5,000, charged the same fees as a membership, not with a tip button. A $5 purchase leaves a creator $4.05.
- Refunds: no extra fee. The creator gives back the amount received, and Patreon returns the rest.
The same month on Payly
Payly is free, with no monthly fee, no transaction fee and no commission. A creator page runs on the creator's own free Cloudflare account, and members pay the creator's own PayPal or Stripe account, which charges its standard fee. Payly never holds the money. The same 100 members at $5, paid by card through Stripe, cost $45.00 in fees, so the creator keeps $455.00. That is $50.25 more a month than Patreon Standard, or $603 a year. Through PayPal Checkout (3.49% + $0.49), a higher rate than Patreon's processing, the creator keeps $434.00.
Payly does not email members about new posts, a post holds text, links and one cover image, and members who pay with PayPal cannot change level themselves. See Start a creator page and Set up membership levels, or create a free Payly account.
Questions
How much does Patreon take from a $5 membership?
On the Standard plan, $0.95: a $0.50 platform fee and $0.45 of processing. The creator keeps $4.05, before any payout fee.
Does Patreon charge members extra?
Members pay the tier price plus any sales tax or VAT. The platform, processing and payout fees come out of the creator's earnings. In the iOS app, Apple's 30% applies, and Patreon's articles differ on who carries it.
Is a legacy 5% or 8% plan worth protecting?
Yes, if you have one. On 100 members at $5, 8% costs $10.00 a month less than Standard. Do not unpublish the page, because that moves it to 10%.
Which payout method is cheapest?
A US bank payout, at $0.25 each. PayPal costs more on any withdrawal above $25, so fewer, larger withdrawals mean fewer payout fees.
Prices as published by each company for the US in November 2026. Prices can change; check each company's own pricing page.
