What is Patreon used for?

Patreon is a membership platform where creators run paid memberships, sell digital products and send newsletters to the fans who support their work. It is a good fit for podcasters funding episodes with memberships, artists selling exclusive work and musicians building a paying fan base.

Yes. Patreon is free to use. Free to start with no subscription fee. Patreon takes 10% of the income a creator earns, plus payment processing, currency conversion and payout fees.

Is Patreon open source?

No. Patreon is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. Open-source alternatives to Patreon include Paid Memberships Pro.

What are some alternatives to Patreon?

Patreon competes with Ko-fi, Buy Me a Coffee and Substack. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Patreon alternatives.

Patreon: features, pricing and alternatives

About Patreon

Patreon is a commercial membership platform that lets creators earn recurring income from their audience. Creators publish exclusive work, run paid membership tiers, and build a community around their podcasts, videos, music, art or games.

Beyond memberships, creators can sell digital products, send newsletters and use tools to reach every fan. The vendor publishes pages for podcasters, video creators, musicians, artists and game developers, along with a help center covering payments, member management, content and engagement, partners and integrations, and mobile apps. Fans can also find creators to support through the site.

Patreon is a hosted service, and the vendor states that starting a Patreon is free, with fees outlined on its pricing page. It suits independent creators who want to move from ad-based or one-off income to direct fan support.

Key features

Paid membership tiers for fans
Digital product sales
Newsletters to supporters
Community spaces for members
Creator payments and member management
Mobile apps for creators and fans

Good fit for

→Podcasters funding episodes with memberships
→Artists selling exclusive work
→Musicians building a paying fan base

Tags: memberships; creators; subscriptions; crowdfunding; community; newsletters; digital-products

Patreon: questions and answers

What is Patreon used for?: Patreon is a membership platform where creators run paid memberships, sell digital products and send newsletters to the fans who support their work. It is a good fit for podcasters funding episodes with memberships, artists selling exclusive work and musicians building a paying fan base.
Is Patreon free?: Yes. Patreon is free to use. Free to start with no subscription fee. Patreon takes 10% of the income a creator earns, plus payment processing, currency conversion and payout fees.
Is Patreon open source?: No. Patreon is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. Open-source alternatives to Patreon include Paid Memberships Pro.
What are some alternatives to Patreon?: Patreon competes with Ko-fi, Buy Me a Coffee and Substack. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Patreon alternatives.