Patreon has announced a significant update to its pricing structure, set to roll out on August 5, 2025. The company will consolidate its Pro and Premium plans into a single “standard” plan that takes a 10% cut of creators’ earnings on the platform. While existing Pro and Premium creators (and anyone who launches a page on or before August 4, 2025) will retain their current rates, new creators signing up after the deadline will face the higher 10% fee, up from the legacy 8% Pro rate. For those seeking features previously exclusive to Premium—such as coaching, enhanced support, and team accounts—Patreon will offer an optional add-on that tacks an extra 3% onto the base 10%, effectively creating a two-tier structure under the hood. As before, payment processing, currency conversion, payout fees, and applicable taxes will still apply on top of Patreon’s platform fee.

Patreon’s tiered pricing dates back to 2019, when it introduced the Pro and Premium plans at 8% and 12% respectively. Before that, a Founders or Lite tier at 5% existed for early adopters, but was sunset in 2023. Creators who joined before May 2019 and met certain conditions retained the founding tier, paying just 5% of earnings. In eliminating the Lite tier last year, Patreon signaled a willingness to streamline and adjust its pricing to reflect expanded services. Today’s announcement represents the most significant revamp since discontinuing Lite and setting Pro/Premium rates in 2019.

Patreon explains that since 2019, it has “expanded beyond just payments to include media hosting, community, and discovery,” and that the updated pricing is intended to support continued investments in platform features creators rely on. Indeed, Patreon’s toolkit now encompasses video hosting, deeper analytics, community engagement tools, and promotional/discovery mechanisms that were not part of the original offering. This expansion, Patreon contends, justifies the adjustment for new creators entering the ecosystem.

What exactly is changing on August 5, 2025?

• Standard plan for new creators: Starting August 5, any creator who publishes their page after August 4 will automatically be on the new standard plan, paying a 10% platform fee plus the usual payment processing and currency conversion fees.
• Legacy retention for existing creators: Creators on Pro (8%) or Premium (12%) as of August 4, 2025, will see no change to their rates. Pro users will have their plan upgraded to include features now bundled into the standard plan (coaching, support access, team accounts). Premium users will migrate to an 11% rate that includes their current features automatically, meaning many of them will actually see a reduction from 12% to 11% if they stay on the full-featured setup.
• Optional add-on for merch: Merch-based features—previously part of Premium—will not be included by default in the standard plan. Creators who want merchandise fulfillment assistance or related integrations can opt into a merch add-on for +3% on top of the 10%. Thus, in effect, a new “lite-plus” structure exists: 10% for everything except merch, 13% for everything including merch services. Some reporting indicates an effective 14% total for certain existing Premium users opting to maintain all previous features, likely reflecting a recalculation or rounding in specific conversion scenarios.
• Video pricing updates: Later this summer, Patreon will also revise video hosting terms. Currently in early access since its 2022 introduction, video tools initially offered 500 free lifetime hours (later cut to 100). Under the new model, eligible creators will receive 100 free hours of video per month, aiming to better support ongoing content needs without runaway storage costs.

Why now?

Patreon frames this shift as necessary to sustain and grow its expanded service offerings. Since 2019, the platform invested heavily in:

• Media hosting and delivery: Beyond payment processing, Patreon has built integrated hosting for audio, video, and image content to keep audiences on-platform rather than relying on third-party services.
• Community engagement tools: Enhanced comment systems, member forums, Discord integrations, and other features aim to foster tighter creator–patron relationships.
• Discovery and growth features: Early initiatives to surface creators to potential patrons, experimental promotion tools, and analytics dashboard improvements help creators scale.
• Support infrastructure: Coaching, dedicated support staff access, and educational resources have been rolled out to help creators maximize their earnings and community impact.

By consolidating tiers, Patreon argues it simplifies onboarding and ensures every new creator benefits from core tools from day one. It also aligns pricing with the broader suite of services, reflecting an evolution from a payments-only platform to a more comprehensive creator ecosystem.

In the wider creator economy, platforms have grappled with balancing fair cuts versus sustainable business models. Competitors and alternatives—such as Ko-fi, Buy Me a Coffee, Memberful, Substack (for written newsletters), and others—often tout lower fees or different revenue models. According to Blogging Wizard’s 2025 data, Patreon has paid out over $3.5 billion to creators to date, taking 5–12% cuts depending on legacy plans; the industry trend shows growing pressure on platforms to offer more value for fees charged.

For new creators, the jump from an 8% legacy rate (for those unaware or joining after August 4) to 10% may feel tangible, especially for smaller creators where every percentage point affects net income. Those planning merch offerings must factor in the additional 3% if they need Patreon’s fulfillment or integration services. However, the inclusion of coaching, dedicated support access, team account functionality, and community features from the outset may offset some cost concerns by potentially accelerating growth and retention.

Existing Pro creators locked in at 8% will benefit from feature upgrades without increased fees—a clear incentive to maintain their status. Premium creators at 12% will see their rate drop to 11% if they maintain feature parity, or can even migrate to an 8% equivalent by dropping the merch add-on, giving them flexibility. This transitional generosity suggests Patreon aims to minimize churn among its current user base.

That said, creators who unpublish their page or discontinue their membership temporarily risk losing legacy status and reverting to the 10% rate upon rejoining. Patreon’s help docs warn that to keep legacy pricing, a page must remain published after August 4, 2025; any lapse triggers migration to the new plan.