Patreon fees explained: what it takes in 2026

Patreon charges a creator on the standard plan 10% of the income they earn, and payment processing takes a further 2.9% plus $0.30 out of each pledge. Three older plans still run for creators who kept them, at 5%, 8% and 11%. This guide sets out each fee as Patreon publishes it, with worked examples computed by the same engine as the Patreon fee calculator. Every rate below is quoted from Patreon's Creator fees overview, cross-checked against its Pricing FAQ and pricing page, and verified on 3 September 2026.

The four plans and what each one costs

Your plan decides both the platform fee and the processing schedule. Only the standard plan is open to new creators.

Founders has been closed to new creators since 7 May 2019 and is lost if you change plan. Pro and Pro + Merch closed to creators publishing a page after 4 August 2025; anyone publishing after that date is on the standard 10%.

Small pledges give up more of themselves

The percentages behave the same at every price. The fixed $0.30 does not, so a $3 tier gives up a far larger share than a $30 one.

On a $3 monthly pledge, the fee on $3.00 is $0.69 ($0.30 platform fee — Standard plan plus $0.39 payment processing — Standard plan) and you keep $2.31, an effective rate of 23%. On a $30 monthly pledge, the fee on $30.00 is $4.17 ($3.00 platform fee — Standard plan plus $1.17 payment processing — Standard plan) and you keep $25.83, an effective rate of 13.9%.

The two legacy Pro plans blunt this with a micropayment rate: at or under $3 a pledge pays 5% plus $0.10 instead of 2.9% plus $0.30. Patreon applies one rate to the whole payment, so the switch is a cliff — a $3.01 pledge pays 14 cents more in processing than a $3.00 one, and leaves the creator less.

On a $3.00 pledge on the Pro plan, the fee on $3.00 is $0.49 ($0.24 platform fee — Pro plan (legacy) plus $0.25 payment processing — Pro plan (legacy)) and you keep $2.51, an effective rate of 16.33%. On a $3.01 pledge on the Pro plan, the fee on $3.01 is $0.63 ($0.24 platform fee — Pro plan (legacy) plus $0.39 payment processing — Pro plan (legacy)) and you keep $2.38, an effective rate of 20.93%.

Memberships bought inside the iOS app

Apple's in-app purchase system applies a 30% App Store fee to eligible purchases made in the Patreon iOS app. That fee takes the place of the payment-processing fee rather than sitting on top of it, but Patreon's own platform fee still applies.

On a $100 membership bought in the iOS app, the fee on $100.00 is $40.00 ($10.00 platform fee — Standard plan plus $30.00 iOS App Store fee (replaces payment processing)) and you keep $60.00, an effective rate of 40%.

Memberships bought on the web are not subject to it.

Payout fees and currency conversion

Two costs sit outside the pledge itself. A 2.5% currency conversion fee applies whenever a patron pays in a currency other than your payout currency. And each payout carries a fee set by how you take the money: $0.25 for direct deposit processed by Stripe, 1% for PayPal with a $0.25 minimum and a $20 cap, or $1.00 for a Payoneer Wallet. PayPal needs a $10 balance before it pays out and Payoneer a $25 balance.

It is charged once per payout, not per pledge, so the calculator's payout line shows the cost of a single-pledge payout. Batching a month of pledges spreads it across all of them.

Pricing a tier so you keep a round number

Every fee is charged on what the patron pays, so adding 10% to your target is not enough: the fees apply to the part that covers the fees.

• Standard plan, to keep $10.00: To keep $10.00 you charge $11.82, and the fee is $1.82.
• Founders plan, to keep $10.00: To keep $10.00 you charge $11.03, and the fee is $1.03.

The calculator's "I want to net" mode solves this for any target.

What this guide leaves out

Patreon publishes separate processing and payout tables for the euro, sterling and eleven other currencies; this is the US dollar version. Also out of scope: merchandise and shipping costs, and any sales tax or VAT collected from patrons, which is added to what the patron pays rather than taken from what you earn.

The processing figures are the card and Apple Pay row only. Patreon lists higher rates for PayPal and Venmo payments from patrons outside the United States.

When these rates last changed

This schedule was first verified on 3 September 2026. None of Patreon's three pricing pages carries a last-updated date, so it is dated from the day it was checked. The 10% standard fee and the legacy tiers are corroborated on two or three official pages; the processing percentages and the payout amounts appear on the fees overview alone, so the schedule is marked medium confidence. The Patreon fee changelog holds that first entry, and later changes are added there with the date and the rule affected. The methodology explains how each figure is checked. If a number here disagrees with what Patreon shows you, report it.

Frequently asked questions

Does Patreon take 10% or more?

Ten per cent is the platform fee on the standard plan, not the whole cost. Payment processing adds 2.9% plus $0.30 per pledge, and a payout fee and a 2.5% currency conversion fee can apply on top.

Can I move onto a cheaper Patreon plan?

No. Founders, Pro and Pro + Merch are closed to new creators, and a creator who changes plan cannot go back. Everyone publishing a page today is on the standard 10% plan.

Where do these numbers come from?

Every figure is quoted from Patreon's official fees pages, saved as a dated snapshot and checked by a person. The schedule is quoted line by line, with the verbatim source text behind every rule, in the calculator's fee table, and the same engine powers the PayPal fee calculator and the GoFundMe fee calculator.