Patreonvs
Pocketcasts
Pocketcasts: The powerful podcast player for serious listeners
Patreon
Membership platform for creators
As of 30 August 2026, Patreon is free to use. Patreon is the leading membership platform that enables podcasters to build sustainable income through recurring supporter subscriptions. Softwr lists it under Podcasting. Patreon is made by Patreon Inc, launched in 2013, available on Web, iOS, Android.
Overview
What Patreon does
Patreon is the leading membership platform that enables podcasters to build sustainable income through recurring supporter subscriptions. Creators can offer exclusive content, early access, bonus episodes, and community perks to paying members. Trusted by thousands of podcasters for direct audience monetization.
What people use it for
- Creator monetization
- Content creation platforms
- Fan support models
- Membership communities
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Patreon.
- Takes 10% of the income a creator earns on the platform
- Payment processing, currency conversion and payout fees are charged on top of that 10% and are not quantified on the pricing page
- The total deduction is therefore not calculable from the pricing page alone, and requires reading a separate support article
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Patreon
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- PatreonvsBuzzsprout
Buzzsprout: Simple and powerful podcast hosting made easy
- PatreonvsTransistor.fm
Transistor.fm: The podcast host built for professional broadcasters
- PatreonvsAdobe Podcast
Adobe Podcast: AI-powered podcast editing and recording
Capabilities
Features
Membership tiers
Exclusive content
Private podcast feeds
Community features
Analytics
Payment processing
Discord
Integration with Discord
Podcast apps
Integration with Podcast apps
Zapier
Integration with Zapier
Email platforms
Integration with Email platforms
Social media
Integration with Social media
Secure payments
Secure payments security feature
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
How much does it cost to start a Patreon?
Starting a Patreon is completely free. Creators can share their work immediately without any upfront costs or subscription fees. Patreon only charges when creators begin earning money from supporters on the platform.
SourceHow does Patreon's pricing model work?
Patreon charges a 10% platform fee on all income earned, plus payment processing, currency conversion, and payout fees along with applicable taxes. Creators earn through monthly subscriptions, membership tiers, and one-time payments from supporters, with Patreon handling all payment infrastructure and fraud protection.
SourceWhat features are included in all Patreon creator accounts?
All creator accounts include content creation tools for audio, images, video, and livestreaming, plus community features like chats, direct messages, and comments. Creators also get access to analytics, email newsletters, and podcast management capabilities at no additional tier cost beyond the 10% platform fee.
SourceBehind it
Who makes Patreon
- Company
- Patreon Inc
- Based in
- San Francisco, CA
Timeline
Patreon over time
Keep looking
Where to go from Patreon
- Patreon alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Patreon pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Patreon badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Podcasting softwareThe full category
- Best Podcasting softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Podcasting software for
Compare Patreon with
- Buzzsprout
- Pocketcasts
- Transistor.fm
- Adobe Podcast
- Glow.fm
- Fireside
- Libsyn
- Podbean
- Audioboom
- Captivate
- Megaphone
- RedCircle
- Castos
- Chartable
- Cleanfeed
- Headliner
- Glow.fm
- Fireside
Other Podcasting software
The podcast host built for professional broadcasters
Free, then $19/mo10 researched notes
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Patreon, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Patreon
Patreon alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
Patreon pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare Patreon
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Patreon badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
