Patreon Fee Calculator — What Creators Actually Keep
Calculate Patreon's cut of your memberships: platform fee by plan plus payment processing — see your real net monthly income.
Last reviewed 2026-10-01. Rates change — verify against the official sources linked below before relying on these figures.
What this is based on
- Patreon platform fee: 8% on Pro, 12% on Premium (which adds merchandising and dedicated support).
- Payment processing approximated at 2.9% + $0.30 per pledge — actual rates vary slightly by payment method and country.
- Currency conversion and payout fees (1% Payoneer, $0.25 US ACH, etc.) are not included.
Patreon's real take is ~11–16%, not 8%
The advertised 8% platform fee is only half the story — payment processing adds roughly 2.9% + $0.30 per pledge. On a $5 pledge that's 8% + $0.45, an effective take of 17%. Smaller pledges get squeezed hardest because the per-transaction fixed fee is a bigger share.
This is the case against $1–2 tiers as your only offering: 100 patrons at $2 nets you roughly $150/month after all fees. The same 100 patrons at $8 nets ~$665. Tier structure matters more than patron count.
Pro vs Premium: when 12% is worth it
The Premium plan costs 4 percentage points more — on $800/month gross that's $32 — in exchange for merchandise-for-membership and a dedicated partner manager. Merch only pays off if you would otherwise run it yourself; for most creators Pro at 8% is the right tier until memberships are large enough that the manager's retention help justifies the cut.
Patreon vs the alternatives
Ko-fi takes 0% on donations (5% on memberships/shop on free plan), Buy Me a Coffee takes 5% flat, and Substack takes 10% + processing. Patreon charges the most but delivers the strongest discovery, retention tooling and member analytics. Many creators run Patreon as primary with Ko-fi as a fee-free tip jar for one-off support.
Frequently asked questions
- What percentage does Patreon take?
- 8% platform fee on Pro or 12% on Premium, plus ~2.9% + $0.30 payment processing per pledge — a real take of roughly 11–16% depending on pledge size.
- How much do I keep from a $5 pledge?
- On Pro: about $4.15 — Patreon takes $0.40 platform fee plus ~$0.45 in processing.
- Is Patreon or Ko-fi cheaper?
- Ko-fi is cheaper (0% on donations, 5% on memberships) but has less discovery and fewer retention features. Patreon's premium pays for tooling, not just processing.
- Does Patreon charge for free members?
- No — the platform fee applies only to paid pledges. Free members and followers cost nothing.
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