Patreon
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
Patreon firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Patreon
- Legal name
- Patreon, Inc.
- Website
- https://patreon.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Patreon industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Creator Monetization Platform
- NAICS
- Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210), Broadcasting and Content Providers (516)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Fan Membership, Subscriptions & Patronage Platforms (MPACABAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Creator Monetization Tools (Subscriptions, Tips, Merch) (BPAMALAH), Creator Monetization & Tipping Platforms (MPACABAE)
Keywords
Where Patreon is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Patreon business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Platform commission on subscriptions: 10% platform fee on creator earnings from memberships and offerings, plus payment processing, currency conversion, and payout fees
- Payment processing fees: Fees for processing payments from members, including recurring billing, recovering declined payments, and fighting fraud
- Payout fees: Fees for transferring money earned on Patreon to creators' specified payout methods
- Currency conversion fees: Fees for payments made in currencies other than the creator's payout currency
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free tier for creators and fans |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Monthly | 10% platform fee on creator earnings |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Patreon product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Patreon is an online membership and payments platform that enables independent content creators to monetize directly from their fans through tiered subscriptions and digital product sales. It provides creators with tools to publish exclusive content, host communities, distribute podcasts, livestream, and run online shops, while handling payments, payouts, tax collection, fraud, and chargeback protection on the creator's behalf. Patreon earns a 10% platform fee plus payment processing, payout, and currency conversion fees on the transactions flowing through its platform.
Product overview
Patreon is a unified creator membership platform providing a comprehensive suite of tools for content creators to monetize their work and build direct relationships with fans. The core platform centers on paid membership subscriptions (offering tiered access with exclusive benefits), digital product sales through an integrated shop, and online community features including group chats, direct messaging, and newsletters. Supporting features include podcast management tools with Spotify integration and episode syncing, native livestreaming (Go Live), the Quips short-form posting feature, automated growth tools (Autopilot), Clips for social media discovery, and business management tools handling payments, taxes, and chargebacks. The platform operates on a 10% platform fee model plus payment processing fees, with features accessible via web, mobile apps (iOS/Android), and RSS distribution. The ecosystem is expandable through third-party integrations with Discord, Vimeo, Mailchimp, Zapier, WordPress, and Spotify.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Patreon Platform
- Paid Membership
- Digital Products / Shop
- Online Community
- Patreon Growth Tools
- Newsletter
- Business Management Tools
- Patreon Mobile App
- Podcast Management
Quantifiable outcome
- Creators have earned over $10 billion on the platform since 2013
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Patreon
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Patreon technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration7 records
Feature5 records
Patreon partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Vox MediacoreVox Media partnered with Patreon to launch membership programs offering ad-free content and exclusive series to supporters. Reflects strategic shift in media companies leveraging creator platforms.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Patreon competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Buy Me a Coffee: Lightweight creator monetization platform offering memberships, tips, and one-off support. Competes with Patreon at the lower-fee, simpler-experience end of the creator-support market.
- Gumroad: Direct-to-creator platform for selling digital products, memberships, and content. Comparable to Patreon's digital shop and membership features for independent creators and solopreneurs.
- Ko-fi: Creator support platform offering memberships, one-time donations, commissions, and a shop with a low (0–5%) fee structure. Increasingly competitive with Patreon for cost-sensitive creators.
- Substack: Subscription-based platform enabling writers, podcasters, and video creators to monetize directly with fans via paid newsletters. Most direct head-to-head competitor in the fan-membership subscription model.
- Kickstarter: Creator funding platform with subscription (Kickstarter Patreon-like features) and project-based funding. Adjacent in helping creators raise money directly from supporters, though more project- than recurring-membership oriented.
- Mighty Networks: Platform for paid communities, courses, and memberships run by creators and brands. Competes with Patreon's community and membership tools for creators prioritizing community over content distribution.
- OnlyFans: Subscription platform enabling creators to monetize exclusive content from fans, with a similar creator-fan membership value proposition, differentiated primarily by content category focus.
Broad incumbents
- YouTube (Channel Memberships): YouTube's Channel Memberships, Super Chat, and Super Thanks features enable direct fan monetization at scale within the world's largest video platform—the most strategically threatening incumbent to Patreon's video creator base.
- Twitch: Live-streaming platform with native subscription, Bits, and creator monetization features. A much larger incumbent whose subscription products overlap directly with Patreon's livestreaming and membership offerings.
- Spotify: Spotify's podcast subscriptions, listener support features, and creator tools compete with Patreon for podcast monetization, and Spotify's prior exclusive-deal attempts (e.g., the $44M Joe Budden offer) demonstrate direct competitive overlap.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Patreon social profiles
Digital presencePatreon financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Patreon leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Patreon subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Patreon funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds10 records
Investors30 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Patreon M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A5 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Patreon
What does Patreon do?
Patreon is an online membership and payments platform that enables independent content creators to monetize directly from their fans through tiered subscriptions and digital product sales. It provides creators with tools to publish exclusive content, host communities, distribute podcasts, livestream, and run online shops, while handling payments, payouts, tax collection, fraud, and chargeback protection on the creator's behalf. Patreon earns a 10% platform fee plus payment processing, payout, and currency conversion fees on the transactions flowing through its platform.
Is Patreon a public or private company?
Patreon is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Patreon founded?
Patreon was founded in 2013. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Patreon based?
Patreon is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Patreon make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Platform commission on subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are payment processing fees, payout fees and currency conversion fees.
Who are Patreon's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Buy Me a Coffee, Gumroad, Ko-fi, Substack, Kickstarter, Mighty Networks and OnlyFans. Broad incumbents are YouTube (Channel Memberships), Twitch and Spotify.
Does Patreon have an API?
No public API is recorded for Patreon.
What industry is Patreon in?
Patreon's product category is Creator Monetization Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPACABAF, Fan Membership, Subscriptions & Patronage Platforms, with a secondary code of BPAMALAH, Creator Monetization Tools (Subscriptions, Tips, Merch). Its NAICS code is 516210.