Why your Patreon payout is lower than you expect
Patreon's posted fee is the platform fee only. Add 2.9% + $0.30 per patron for Stripe/PayPal, then 3–7% for failed pledges (expired cards, insufficient funds), and a creator on the 8% Pro plan typically nets 80–84% of gross — not 92%.
- • Annual billing reduces failed pledges by ~60%.
- • Promoting a single mid-tier outperforms splitting into 5 tiers.
- • Buy Me a Coffee charges 5% flat — better for sub-$1K/mo creators.
Pricing your tiers
The $5 tier should feel like a no-brainer. $15 needs one genuinely scarce perk (live Q&A, Discord access, early drops). $50 needs a 1:1 element — name in credits, monthly co-design, etc. Skip the $100+ tier unless you actively curate it.
Related guides
Long-form playbooks on the same topic, written by the RevenueLab editorial team.
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Read the guideFAQ
How much does Patreon take?
Patreon takes 5–12% platform fee depending on plan (Lite/Pro/Premium), plus payment processing (typically 2.9% + $0.30 per pledge). Real net is usually 80–87% of gross.
Is Patreon better than Buy Me a Coffee or Ko-fi?
Patreon wins above 100 patrons (better tier tools, analytics, community). Buy Me a Coffee (5% flat) and Ko-fi (0%) win at small scale or for one-off tips.
How do I reduce failed pledges?
Push annual billing — it cuts failures by ~60%. Send a friendly reminder before card expiry. Pause vs cancel for at-risk patrons.