If, for some strange reason, you don’t know what Patreon is, it’s basically a membership platform that helps creators get paid. In short, creators perform an artistic service or share some type of product. In return, its fans and supporters (aka patrons) use Patreon to support it by means of payments. This way, it’s easier for the creators to continue creating content as they can focus more time on creating content instead of looking for funding.
There are a number of business models that content creators can use on this crowdfunding or membership platform. These include community, educational, gated content, fan relationships, and pay-what-you-can donations.
Since it was founded in 2013, a lot has happened, and the company has grown to become one of the biggest platforms. Yet, according to Patreon’s CPO, Patreon doesn’t want to be a company that’s defined by the first eight years and not the next eight years too. So, what does the picture look like for Patreon in 2024 and beyond? Here are some of the most important Patreon creator statistics and facts about its revenue and users.
User Demographics
1. It attracts 100+ million monthly website visits.
According to SimilarWeb, Patreon recorded 102.2 million visits in June 2024. This figure is lower than May 2024's 105.5 million but higher than April 2024's 100.8 million.
2. More than 40% of Patreon users come from the US, followed by the UK and Germany.
US-based Patreon users sent the most traffic to the platform (42.64%) in June 2024. The rest of the top five contributed less than 10% each: the UK (6.39%), Germany (4.81%), Canada (4.18%), Japan (3.3%), and others (38.68%).
In Patreon's first-ever Creator Census conducted in 2022, the majority of creators came from North America (8,040), followed by Europe (2,752), APAC (733), Latin America (659), Australia/New Zealand (293), Middle East/Africa (98), and other (405).
3. Patreon primarily attracts a young audience.
The platform's audience is dominated by users in the 18 to 24 age group (42.85%), followed by those aged 25 to 34 (29.95%) and 35 to 44 (13.12%). Nevertheless, Patreon has pockets of users in the older age brackets: 45 to 54 (6.78%), 55 to 64 (4.19%), and over 65 years old (3.12%).
4. Around 70% of Patreon audiences are male.
More male users (70.14%) contribute to Patreon's traffic than women (29.86%) on desktop and mobile devices.
Creator Trends
5. 80% of Patreon creators work alone.
Of the 13,000 creators who responded to the first Patreon Creator Census, four out of five indicated that they work alone. Those who produce podcasts are more likely to work in teams with about 39% of them indicating that they are part of a team.
6. Videos and podcasts are the biggest categories.
According to data shared by Graphtreon, videos and podcasts are the categories with the most creators. As of July 2024, there are over 60,000 video creators on Patreon with estimated monthly payouts totaling over $5.49 million, excluding hidden earnings. That’s a slight dip from the previous year’s estimated monthly payouts.
While the podcast genre might not attract nearly as many patrons, the top Patreon creator runs a podcast (more about this later). As of July 2024, there were over 17,000 podcasters with at least one patron on Patreon. The estimated monthly payouts for this category add up to nearly $3.5 million.
While videos and podcasts might be the dominant categories on Patreon, there are several other categories (including a number of niche categories). Other popular categories include comics, adult games, adult animation, cosplay, writing, photography, and even 3D printing.
7. The top Patreon creator is Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast.
Now leading the ranks in Patreon is Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast, a dynamic weekly podcast hosted by Philly comedians Matt McCusker and Shane Gillis. Over the past year, they have climbed the ladder to secure the top spot, a remarkable leap from being in fifth place in 2022.
As of July 2024, they command a robust following with an impressive total of more than 98,000 patrons. This newfound position at the apex of Patreon creators marks a significant evolution from the days when True Crime Obsessed—in fourth place—held the top spot.
8. The longest-running Patreon creator is Pomplamoose.
Launched in May 2013, the members of Pomplamoose have been creating weekly music for 4,000+ days running. It’s actually the musical project of Jack Conte, the CEO and co-founder of Patreon. Together with his wife, Nataly Dawn, and a group of talented musicians, they regularly share mash-ups of popular songs. As of July 2024, Pomplamoose’s monthly income is estimated at $7,558 per month, slightly down from the previous year.
While impressive, it’s only in 5th place when measuring the earnings of music creators on the platform. According to data compiled by Graphtreon, The Petersens—a Missouri-based family band that composes and performs American roots music—is currently the “top-earning” music creator with estimated monthly earnings of around $15,616 and over 1,400 patrons.
The “second highest earning music creator” is American a cappella group and three-time Grammy awardee Pentatonix, with an estimated monthly earnings of $10,728.
9. 90% of Patreon creators are focused on growing their audience this year.
The 2022 census shows that the top aspiration of creators for the next couple of years is to grow their audience. A handful also aspires to collaborate more with other creators.
Patreon’s new logo highlights creator ownership as the core of the company's vision for the future.
Patreon rebranded in 2023, featuring a fluid, constantly morphing P-shaped blob as its new logo. The platform chose Australian-born, New York-based 3D digital artist David McLeod for the logo redesign.
McLeod collaborated with Wolff Olins for art direction and Dinamo Type Foundry, which developed Patreon's new wordmark. Every brand element was designed to reflect the Patreon community's energy, highlighting creators rather than the company. Creators can freely and uniquely present the Patreon logo's color and its typeface's thickness.
Creator Revenue Statistics on Patreon
10. The combined monthly earnings of Patreon creators rose as high as $100M+ in 2022.
Patreon stands as a pivotal force in the creator economy. As the world's premier membership platform, it unites millions of creators with an equally impressive number of patrons on a global scale.
More than $100 million was channeled to creators via Patreon monthly in 2022. However, Graphtreon's figures in June 2024 peg the monthly payouts to creators at $23.78 million, down from $24.66 million the year before.
The platform now processes payments to creators exceeding $1 billion each year. Marketing Scoop estimates that Patreon's annual payouts in 2023 reached $4.1 billion, up from $2.8 billion in 2022. Since Patreon's inception in 2013, it has facilitated a staggering $2 billion in revenue to creators. This outstanding achievement firmly places Patreon at the forefront of the rapidly developing creator economy, providing unparalleled support to creators worldwide.
11. Creators have earned $3.5 billion collectively.
Over 200,000 creators have collectively earned $3.5 billion to date, according to a blog post shared by Jack Conte, the CEO of Patreon. This revenue was generated directly via its fans. While it took six years for creators to earn their first $1 billion collectively, it took just over a year to earn their second billion dollars.
12. the yard is one of the top-earning creators.
With 35,705 patrons as of July 2024, the yard is among the top-earning creators on Patreon. Their monthly earnings in June 2024 reached $224,719, up from $200,664 during the same month in 2023, based on Graphtreon stats.
Launched in August 2021, the American comedy podcast is hosted by four visionaries – Ludwig Ahgren, Nick "Falco" Vercillo, Anthony "Slime" Bruno, and Aiden "Aimen" McCaig. The quartet believes they're "filling the gaping void of white podcasters in LA." They discuss various topics, from video games to drama and other media.
13. There are 273,000+ creators with at least one patron.
According to Graphtreon, as of July 2024, there are more than 273,000 creators with at least one patron.
To put this into perspective, at the end of 2020, there were about 185,000 creators with at least one patron. This means that in the past two years, the number of Patreon creators has grown by over 20%.
14. Creators who promote Patreon every day can earn as much as 75% more.
The frequency of promotion is directly related to potential earnings. Compared to creators who promote only once a month, creators who promote their Patreon accounts on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube earn 75% more while those who conduct a weekly promotion earn 31% more.
15. Offering free memberships can nearly triple a creator community's growth.
Starting in 2024, Patreon followers were converted to "free members." Non-paying subscribers can still view public content and chat with their favorite creators. Patreon claims that this engagement can boost community growth by up to 3x. This system encourages free members to upgrade their status to view exclusive content. Moreover, 80% of paid members who canceled have opted to stay as free Patreon members.
16. There are over 13 million individual paid memberships per month.
According to statistics by Graphtreon, Patreon acquired an average of 13.9 million paid memberships monthly in the past year (June 2023-June 2024), hitting a peak of 14.54 million in June 2024.
17. Of all Patreon categories, NSFW (not suitable for work) photo creators’ rewards in their lowest membership tier had the highest value.
Patreon creators can give members benefits or rewards based on their chosen subscription tier. They can be physical items (such as merch or collectibles) or digital (such as being mentioned in the credits of an upcoming video or live stream attendance).
The platform recommends tailoring benefits to each tier. For instance, rewards can rise in value as the tier goes up. Creators can offer bonus content or exclusive Discord community access for lower-tier members and custom merch for high-value members.
At the same time, benefits can range from low to high engagement, depending on the tier. For example, musicians can give lower membership fans access to exclusive pre-sale show tickets. Meanwhile, those in higher tiers can enjoy live-streamed masterclasses or detailed songwriting/production feedback.
Analytics by Okoa on the cost of Patreon creators’ lowest tier reward showed that NSFW photo creators offered the highest value at $8.07, followed by 3D printing ($7.76) and podcast creators ($4.67). The study covered the platform’s top 25 creators in each category. Meanwhile, the comics category's lowest reward tier had the lowest value at $1.66.
Revenue Insights for Patreon as a Company
18. Patreon has raised a total funding amount of $413.3 million.
According to Crunchbase, Patreon has managed to raise $413.3 million in funding over 10 rounds. Its most recent lead investors include Tiger Global Management, Lone Pine Capital, and Woodline Partners, which participated in a Series F round in April 2021 that amounted to $155 million raised.
With the help of this funding, they hope to concentrate on improving the experiences for creators and patrons on desktop as well as mobile.
19. Patreon has acquired five organizations.
Patreon has acquired five organizations, based on Crunchbase’s latest data. Its first acquisition was Subbable, a video subscription service, in March 2015. Three years later, Patreon acquired Kit, a community of creators sharing products, and Memberful, a professional membership software used by web creators.
In 2021, tech recruitment firm Clear Talent became part of the company. Moment House—a live-streaming platform for ticketed events—is Patreon’s latest acquisition, coming under its wing in 2023.
20. The average estimated annual salary for Patreon employees is $149,622.
According to Comparably, the average estimated annual salary of Patreon employees is $149,622. This works out to about $71 per hour. The highest paid job is that of a General Counsel at over $300K per year, while the lowest paid employees are Admin Assistants earning roughly $45K per year.
What might come as a surprise is that the marketing department’s salaries ($199,868) add up to more than that of the engineering department ($196,330). According to Indeed, average annual salaries can range from $62K for a social media specialist to $194K for a senior marketing manager.
21. In 2022, Patreon’s valuation dropped by 70%.
In a 2022 staff memo, Patreon's SVP Carlos Cabrera revealed that the company's valuation dropped by 70% from its April 2021 valuation of $4 billion. This drop is largely attributed to the effects of the COVID recovery period, contrasting the boost many companies experienced during the COVID lockdowns. The current valuation of Patreon, after this drastic decrease, stands at less than $1.5 billion.
Patreon Announces Major Layoffs Amidst Valuation Dip
In September 2022, Patreon laid off 80 employees, or about 17% of its workforce, with CEO Jack Conte citing an economic slowdown coming on the heels of a COVID-driven expansion by the creator-monetization company.
The San Francisco-based company’s layoffs affected staffers in Patreon’s go-to-market, operations, finance, and HR teams.
As part of the cost-cutting steps, Patreon closed its offices in Berlin and Dublin and announced reducing the size of its creator-partnerships operations.
22. Interest in Patreon is increasing again after a slight decline in 2021.
According to Google Trends, interest in Patreon has slightly declined in 2021. At the end of June 2020, the search term “Patreon” had a value of 90, but this value dropped to 67 at the end of June 2021. By January 2022, interest soared to 93. Interest reached an all-time high of 100 during the first week of August 2022.
This enthusiasm remained high by December 2023 (score: 92) and July 2024 (score: 90), indicating the continued relevance of Patreon in the creator economy.
Fast Company named Patreon as one of its 10 most innovative companies in social media for 2024.
For 2023, Fast Company chose apps that have drawn huge followings for helping users find belonging. In describing Patreon, the online business magazine cited the platform's diverse features released that year, which made fans feel like "joining a club" instead of subscribing to a newsletter. In particular, FC said that free membership tiers and 7-day trials were "overdue." Special mention also went toward chat rooms (for all member types), creator profile customization, and digital product sales.
Trust and Safety Compliance
23. Patreon users must be at least 13 years old while creators and patrons must be aged 18 and above.
Anyone aged 13 and above can use Patreon. However, joining the platform as a creator or patron requires one to be at least 18 years old. Those below that age must show parental or a guardian's permission.
Creators whose work doesn't contain sexually explicit or nude content will fall under the "Safe for All Audiences" category. Meanwhile, creators whose visual (animation, video, or photography), audio, or text content shows nudity or is sexually explicit will be categorized under the "Adult/18+" category—updated to "Sexually Graphic Works" in 2024—and must undergo age verification. Patreon's Help Center lists alternative identity documents if one cannot present a government-issued ID.
As part of the platform's trust and safety guidelines, creators of sexually graphic works must secure formal consent from human participants. A consent template is available from Patreon's Help Center.
24. Patreon suspended 3,638 accounts for guideline violations in 2023.
In its inaugural Transparency Report published in 2024, Patreon reported the outcome of its Trust and Safety Team's review of over 38,000 creator pages in 2023. The company suspended 3,638 accounts for breaching guidelines. Meanwhile, it took down or gave modification orders concerning 3,089 creator pages.
The majority of violators were sanctioned for breaking teen safety policies (2,629 creators were penalized), followed by "sexually gratifying works" (2,217) and illegal and regulated activities (431).
New AI-related policies announced
Based on its March 2024 guideline update, Patreon no longer supports AI or ML-run creator products that generate nudity or sexually explicit imagery. Meanwhile, in its December 2023 policy update, the company announced that it has started blocking OpenAI and similar generative AI from scraping its creators' content to feed and train ML models.
Wrapping Things Up
Patreon has achieved some pretty impressive results since it began a little over a decade ago. Its creators are the real drivers of its success story.
As Conte put it in one interview, Patreon will continue to be "a piece of the ecosystem" that helps creators build reach and awareness. As the company sustains ongoing research on fandoms and feedback from creators, current and future users can expect the platform to evolve as a vehicle that balances creativity and financial sustainability.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there many professional creators?
According to Influencer Marketing Factory, approximately 45+ million of 207+ million creators view themselves as professional creators and are in the position to state that being a creator is their full-time job. This means that the vast majority still regard themselves as merely amateurs. However, it is expected that this number will change with the number of creators increasing rapidly at the moment.
How can you work out how much money you can potentially make on Patreon?
To estimate how much money you can make via Patreon, you can check out Influencer Marketing Hub’s Patreon Money Calculator. This simple tool will calculate your estimated earnings potential by taking into account your number of followers, engagement rate, and average value per patron. All you have to do is type in these numbers and the calculator will work out your total monthly earning potential in seconds.
What factors can impact your earning potential on Patreon?
Several factors determine how much money you can earn via Patreon. These include your marketing strategy, niche, and understanding of your target audience. Successful creators understand their target audience and know what will interest them. They also manage to create a Patreon page that highlights their areas and tells a story.
Does Patreon take a cut of your earnings?
Patreon has structured fees for creators earning money on Patreon. Patreon creators have the prerogative to charge per month or per creation. Depending on the plan you choose, Patreon takes 5% to 12% of your earnings as a platform fee. Additional charges may also be required including a processing fee of 2.9% + $0.30 for transactions over $3, and 5% + $0.10 for transactions of $3 or less.
Are there any integrations and apps for creators on Patreon?
There are several apps and integrations which can help creators on Patreon to earn money. These include Vimeo, Crowdcast, Sellfy, Community, Streamlabs, Goodbits, and Discourse. With the help of these tools, users can expand the functionality of their Patreon page to offer more value to their patrons and scale their business.