Last updated: September 23, 2026
Patreon lets fans pay creators directly through paid memberships and one-time purchases. Podcasters, video makers, writers, game developers and artists all use it. The platform has also changed its fees for new creators and cut staff. Here are the latest statistics on who uses Patreon, how much money moves through it, what creators earn and what the platform charges.
Top Patreon Statistics
- More than 10 million fans pay for Patreon memberships each month, Patreon said in 2026 (Patreon, About).
- More than 300,000 creators are on Patreon, according to its About page in 2026 (Patreon, About).
- Fans have sent $10 billion to Patreon creators since 2013, according to Patreon’s About page in 2026 (Patreon, About).
- More than $2 billion flows to Patreon creators each year, CEO Jack Conte said in August 2025 (Axios, 2025).
- Median earnings were $55 a month for Patreon-only creators earning over $10 in March 2024 (Strauss, Yang & Mazzucato, 2025).
- The podcast “the yard” earns $276,477 a month, the top public earnings on Graphtreon in September 2026 (Graphtreon, Top Patreon Earners).
- A 10% platform fee applies to creators who publish their Patreon page after August 4, 2025 (Patreon Help Center, standard platform fee).
How Many People Use Patreon?
Patreon reports its own size on its About page and in interviews. The figures below are the company’s counts.
1. More than 10 million fans pay for Patreon memberships each month, Patreon said in 2026 (Patreon, About).
2. More than 300,000 creators are on Patreon, according to its About page in 2026 (Patreon, About).
3. Patreon had more than 25 million paid memberships in August 2025, CEO Jack Conte told Axios (Axios, 2025).
Other Estimates of Patreon’s Size
Graphtreon is a third-party site that tracks Patreon pages and updates its figures daily.
In Graphtreon’s tracker, “paid memberships” excludes memberships that creators keep hidden.
In Graphtreon’s tracker, “estimated monthly payouts” excludes hidden earnings, and creators can opt out of the estimate.
4. Graphtreon estimates 18,472,105 paid memberships on Patreon as of September 22, 2026 (Graphtreon, Patreon Stats).
5. Graphtreon tracks 344,532 Patreon creators with at least one paying member as of September 22, 2026 (Graphtreon, Patreon Stats).
6. Graphtreon estimates $25,623,610 in monthly payouts to Patreon creators as of September 22, 2026 (Graphtreon, Patreon Stats).
How Much Money Flows Through Patreon?
These figures cover the money fans send to creators and where new members come from.
7. Fans have sent $10 billion to Patreon creators since 2013, according to Patreon’s About page in 2026 (Patreon, About).
Fans have sent $10 billion to creators on Patreon since 2013
Source: Patreon, About. Fans have sent $10 billion to creators since 2013.
8. More than $2 billion flows to Patreon creators each year, CEO Jack Conte said in August 2025 (Axios, 2025).
9. Patreon’s discovery tools drove over $200 million a year to creators as of March 2025 (Patreon Newsroom, March 2025). The tools include free membership, creator recommendations and an Explore page.
On Patreon’s About page, “free memberships” are for people who may not be ready to pay yet but still want to be part of a creator’s community.
10. Patreon has more than 100 million free memberships, according to its About page in 2026 (Patreon, About).
11. More than 700,000 Patreon members switch from free to paid each month, Jack Conte said in 2025 (Axios, 2025).
12. Patreon’s network sends 1.5 million new members to creators each month, Jack Conte wrote in July 2026 (Jack Conte, 2026).
13. More than 60% of people who sign up for a creator’s Patreon come from the Patreon fan network, Patreon said in December 2024 (Patreon Newsroom, December 2024).
Is Patreon Still Growing?
Graphtreon keeps a daily record of the Patreon pages it tracks. The figures below are from the start of each year.
14. Graphtreon tracked 16.1 million paid Patreon memberships on January 1, 2026, up from 2.9 million on January 1, 2018 (Graphtreon, Patreon Stats).
Paid Patreon memberships tracked by Graphtreon, January 1 of each year, 2018 to 2026
Source: Graphtreon, Patreon Stats. Daily series, January 1 of each year. Excludes hidden memberships. Data as of September 22, 2026.
15. Graphtreon tracked 288,393 Patreon creators with at least one paying member on January 1, 2026, up from 42,252 on January 1, 2018 (Graphtreon, Patreon Stats).
16. Graphtreon’s estimated monthly Patreon payouts were $24.1 million on January 1, 2026, up from $9.9 million on January 1, 2018 (Graphtreon, Patreon Stats). On January 1, 2022, the figure was $24.2 million.
How Much Traffic Does Patreon Get?
Similarweb is a web analytics company. These are its traffic and audience estimates for Patreon.com, plus Google Play’s download count for Patreon’s Android app.
17. Patreon.com had 146.1 million visits over the last three months, Similarweb reported for August 2026 (Similarweb).
18. Patreon.com ranked #264 among websites worldwide in August 2026 (Similarweb).
19. 40.94% of Patreon.com’s desktop web traffic came from the United States in August 2026 (Similarweb). Next came the UK (6.42%), Germany (4.39%), Canada (4.15%) and France (3.24%).
20. 71.18% of Patreon.com’s audience was male in August 2026, Similarweb estimates (Similarweb). The other 28.82% was female.
21. Patreon’s Android app has 10 million+ downloads on Google Play as of September 2026 (Google Play).
How Well Known Is Patreon?
YouGov Ratings track how many people have heard of a brand and how they feel about it.
In YouGov Ratings, “fame” is the share of people who have heard of a brand, and “popularity” is the share with a positive opinion of it.
22. 63% of people surveyed in the US have heard of Patreon, per YouGov Ratings as of September 2026 (YouGov US).
23. 29% of people surveyed in the US have a positive opinion of Patreon, per YouGov Ratings as of September 2026 (YouGov US).
24. 49% of people surveyed in the UK have heard of Patreon, per YouGov Ratings as of September 2026 (YouGov UK). 22% have a positive opinion of it.
How Many People Pay to Support Creators?
Patreon is one of several ways people pay creators. This survey covers direct support for creators in several countries, not only on Patreon.
25. 42% of respondents aged 18–64 in China paid a content creator through a subscription in the past 12 months (Statista Consumer Insights, 2026). Statista, a data company, surveyed 1,700 to 8,600 people per country from July 2025 to June 2026 about supporting creators, for example via Patreon or OnlyFans.
| Country (% of respondents aged 18–64 who supported content creators in the past 12 months, Jul 2025–Jun 2026) | Subscription | Donation | Event pass |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 42% | 22% | 11% |
| Australia | 27% | 11% | 5% |
| US | 26% | 11% | 5% |
| Brazil | 23% | 9% | 6% |
| South Korea | 19% | 9% | 13% |
| Germany | 13% | 10% | 3% |
| Italy | 11% | 10% | 4% |
Source: Statista Consumer Insights, 2026. 1,700 to 8,600 respondents per country. Support includes, for example, Patreon or OnlyFans.
How Much Do Patreon Creators Earn?
The figures below come from an academic study of Patreon earnings data and from Patreon’s own report. The median is the middle value: half of creators earn more and half earn less.
In the Strauss, Yang and Mazzucato study, “Patreon-only” creators are those with no other social media accounts. The study left out creators linked to more than one social media platform.
26. Median earnings were $55 a month for Patreon-only creators earning over $10 in March 2024 (Strauss, Yang & Mazzucato, 2025). The average was $307, across 37,961 creators, and missing earnings were estimated.
27. Median earnings were $72 a month for Patreon creators linked only to Twitter in March 2024 (Strauss, Yang & Mazzucato, 2025). For creators linked only to YouTube, the median was $43. Both groups cover creators earning over $10 a month.
28. Creators earn $110 a year on average per paying member on Patreon, per Patreon’s 2025 State of Create report (Patreon State of Create 2025, p.60).
29. Creators say their median annual income per fan is 40x bigger on Patreon than on TikTok, per Patreon’s 2025 report (Patreon State of Create 2025, p.60).
Who Are the Highest-Paid Creators on Patreon?
Graphtreon ranks creators by the earnings they show publicly.
30. The podcast “the yard” earns $276,477 a month, the top public earnings on Graphtreon in September 2026 (Graphtreon, Top Patreon Earners). Graphtreon’s ranking only includes creators who show their earnings.
| Rank | Creator | Public earnings per month, September 2026 | Paid members, September 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | the yard | $276,477 | 44,746 |
| 2 | Chapo Trap House | $195,179 | 46,395 |
| 3 | TrueAnon Podcast | $194,571 | 44,073 |
| 4 | Are You Garbage? | $144,806 | 17,238 |
| 5 | Last Podcast On The Left | $109,800 | 14,698 |
| 6 | Fear& | $108,381 | 22,363 |
| 7 | Cold Ones | $107,274 | 26,837 |
| 8 | Fornax (pixeldrain) | $89,349 | 24,827 |
| 9 | Zogarth | $84,612 | 10,583 |
| 10 | QAA | $82,166 | 19,157 |
Source: Graphtreon, Top Patreon Earners. Public earnings only. Snapshot September 23, 2026.
Graphtreon also ranks creators by paid members, including creators who hide their earnings.
31. Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast has 139,797 paid members, the most on Graphtreon’s top 1000 list by paid members in September 2026 (Graphtreon, Patreon Top 1000). Its earnings are hidden.
Which Creator Categories Earn the Most on Patreon?
These figures include Patreon’s own numbers for podcasters and video, plus Graphtreon’s estimates by creator category, which exclude hidden earnings.
32. Podcasters on Patreon earned over $472 million in the past year, Patreon said in April 2025 (Patreon Newsroom, April 2025). That came from over 6.7 million paid memberships, and Patreon called podcasting its highest-earning category.
33. Graphtreon estimates $4,885,011 in monthly payouts to Patreon video creators as of September 22, 2026 (Graphtreon, Video). The estimate excludes hidden earnings.
| Category | Estimated monthly payouts, September 22, 2026 | Paid memberships, September 22, 2026 | Paid creators, September 22, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video | $4,885,011 | 4,417,634 | 65,479 |
| Podcasts | $3,347,929 | 2,509,651 | 18,132 |
| Other | $2,885,215 | 1,696,760 | 57,542 |
| Adult Games | $2,395,312 | 1,403,323 | 10,358 |
| Games | $2,018,669 | 1,189,638 | 21,069 |
| Adult Other | $1,678,755 | 1,085,894 | 34,496 |
| Adult Drawing & Painting | $1,195,492 | 982,564 | 20,417 |
| Writing | $1,128,342 | 506,255 | 13,652 |
| Adult Comics | $963,098 | 803,365 | 9,008 |
| Adult Animation | $879,438 | 729,059 | 5,101 |
Source: Graphtreon, Video and Graphtreon’s other category pages. Top 10 of 33 categories by estimated payouts. Excludes hidden memberships and earnings.
34. 40,000 podcasters were earning an income on Patreon as of August 2024, Patreon said (Patreon Newsroom, August 2024).
35. Fans watched over 80 million hours of Patreon video in the past year, Patreon said in June 2025 (Patreon, 2025).
What Do Patreon Creators and Fans Say?
Patreon’s State of Create report surveyed creators and fans in the US. The figures below come from that survey.
36. 53% of US creators say reaching their followers is harder than five years ago, in a 2024 Patreon survey (Patreon State of Create). Patreon surveyed over 1,000 creators and 2,000 fans in the US in August 2024.
37. 51% of US creators say building a fan community is harder than five years ago, per Patreon’s 2024 survey (Patreon State of Create).
38. 78% of US creators say “the algorithm” affects what they create, per Patreon’s 2024 survey (Patreon State of Create).
39. 78% of US creators say burnout affects their motivation to be a creator, per Patreon’s 2024 survey (Patreon State of Create).
40. 86% of US creators would recommend being a creator to others, per Patreon’s 2024 survey (Patreon State of Create).
In State of Create, “core fans” are fans who actively want more, talk about a creator’s work and see their fandom as part of their identity.
41. 80% of US core fans are likely to pay creators, per Patreon’s 2024 survey (Patreon State of Create).
How Much Does Patreon Charge Creators?
Patreon takes a platform fee from creator earnings. It also lists payment processing, currency conversion and App Store fees.
In Patreon’s Help Center, the “platform fee” is a percentage of successfully processed memberships and one-time purchases, excluding sales tax.
42. A 10% platform fee applies to creators who publish their Patreon page after August 4, 2025 (Patreon Help Center, standard platform fee). Creators who published on or before that date keep their existing pricing as long as their page stays continuously published.
43. Creators who joined before May 7, 2019, can keep a 5% platform fee on Patreon’s legacy Founders plan (Patreon Help Center, creator fees). This applies only if they haven’t upgraded their plan or had their page unpublished.
44. Card payments cost 2.9% plus $0.30 each on Patreon’s standard plan for US-dollar payouts (Patreon Help Center, creator fees). Non-US PayPal and Venmo payments cost 3.9% plus $0.30.
45. Patreon charges a 2.5% currency conversion fee when a fan pays in a currency different from the creator’s payout currency (Patreon Help Center, creator fees).
46. Apple charges a 30% App Store fee on eligible purchases in Patreon’s iOS app (Patreon Help Center, creator fees). Fans in the US may be able to pay through Patreon’s mobile web checkout instead, which avoids the fee.
Patreon is also moving all creators to subscription billing.
In Patreon’s announcement, “legacy billing” means the first-of-the-month and per-creation billing models.
47. 4% of Patreon creators still used legacy billing in January 2026 (Patreon, 2026). Apple requires Patreon to move all creators to subscription billing by November 1, 2026.
Patreon Funding, Staff and Moderation
These figures cover Patreon’s funding, founding, staff and content moderation. A Series F round is a late-stage funding round for a startup.
48. Patreon was valued at $4 billion after its Series F funding round in April 2021 (Patreon press release, 2021).
49. Patreon raised $155 million in Series F funding in April 2021 (Patreon press release, 2021). Tiger Global Management led the round.
50. Patreon was founded in 2013 by Jack Conte and Sam Yam (Patreon press release, 2021).
51. Patreon cut 20% of its team, or 93 people, in July 2026, CEO Jack Conte wrote (Jack Conte, 2026).
52. Patreon laid off 80 people, about 17% of its staff, in September 2022 (Patreon Newsroom, 2022).
53. Patreon’s Trust & Safety team reviewed 103,041 creators in 2025, up from 71,022 in 2024 (Patreon Transparency Report 2026). Patreon says the rise was driven in part by expanded detection and moderation.
Conclusion
Graphtreon’s count of visible paid memberships on Patreon rose each year in the period shown above. Earnings vary widely, from the top podcasts to the median creator. The platform has also changed its fees for new creators and is moving creators to subscription billing. We’ll update this page as new data comes out.