If, for some strange reason, you don’t know what Patreon is, it’s basically a membership platform that helps creators to 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 relationship, 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.
Patreon Statistics You Need to Know:
- 1. Creators on Patreon earn $100M+ per month
- 2. There are 228,000+ creators with at least one patron
- 3. Videos and podcasts are the biggest categories
- 4. There are about 12 million individual pledges per month
- 5. It attracts 120+ million monthly website visits
- 6. Interest in Patreon is increasing again after a slight decline in 2021
- 7. Patreon has raised a total funding amount of $413.3 million
- 8. Creators have earned $3.5 billion collectively
- 9. The top Patreon creator is Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast
- 10. The longest running Patreon creator is Pomplamoose
- 11. the yard is one of the top-earning creators
- 12. Patreon’s valuation dropps by 70%
- 13. Patreon has acquired four organizations
- 14. The average estimated annual salary for Patreon employees is $149,622
- 15. 80% of Patreon creators work alone
- 16. Creators who promote Patreon every day can earn as much as 75% more
- 17. 90% of Patreon creators are focused on growing its audience this year
- Frequently Asked Questions
Patreon Statistics You Need to Know
1. Creators on Patreon earn $100M+ per month
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. The platform now processes payments exceeding $1 billion to creators each year. Each month, more than $100 million is channeled to creators via Patreon, a testament to its unprecedented influence in the creator economy. 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.
Source: graphtreon.com
Though, Graphtreon estimates that the monthly payouts are only $25 million (excluding hidden earnings), as of July 2023. To put this into perspective, at the end of July 2022, this amount was estimated at about $24.6 million.
2. There are 228,000+ creators with at least one patron
According to Graphtreon, as of July 2023, there are more than 228,000 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 over 20%.
3. 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 2023, there are almost 54,000 video creators on Patreon with estimated monthly payouts totalling over $6 million, excluding hidden earnings. That’s a slight dip from the previous year’s estimated monthly payouts.
Source: graphtreon.com
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 2023, there were nearly 16,000 podcasters with at least one patron on Patreon. The estimated monthly payouts for this category add up to nearly $3.6 million.
Source: graphtreon.com
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.
4. There are about 12 million individual pledges per month
According to statistics by Graphtreon, Patreon generated an average of 14 million individual pledges in the past year, hitting a peak of 13.6 million in June 2023.
Source: graphtreon.com
5. It attracts 120+ million monthly website visits
According to SimilarWeb , Patreon’s average monthly website visits for July 2023 was 100.6 million visits.
6. 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.
Notably, as of June 2023, this enthusiasm remains high, with a score of 91, indicating the continued relevance of Patreon in the creator economy.
7. 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 eight 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.
8. 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.
9. 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 their rank of 5 a year ago. As of now July 2023, they command a robust following with an impressive total of 68,516 patrons. This newfound position at the apex of Patreon creators marks a significant evolution from the days when True Crime Obsessed held the top spot.
Source: graphtreon.com
10. The longest running Patreon creator is Pomplamoose
Launched in May 2013, the members of Pomplamoose have been creating weekly music for 3,400+ 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 2023, Pomplamoose’s monthly income is estimated at $8.728 per month, slightly down from the previous year.
Source: graphtreon.com
While impressive, it’s only in 5th place when measuring earnings of music creators on the platform. According to data compiled by Graphtreon, Bernth, creator of online guitar lessons, is currently the “top-earning” music creator with estimated monthly earnings of $20,000 - $82,000 and over 9,100 patrons.
The “second highest earning music creator” is HTHAZE, with an estimated monthly earnings of $26.000 - $115.000! His claim to Patreon fame is creating music reviews and reactions.
11. the yard is one of the top-earning creators
With 31,528 patrons as of July 2023, the yard is among the top-earning creators on Patreon. Graphtreon estimates the yard’s earnings to amount to $205,790 per month.
Launched in August 2021, the American podcast is hosted by four visionaries - Ludwig, Nick, Slime, and Aiden, whose mission is to bring a fresh perspective to the LA podcasting scene.
12. Patreon’s valuation dropps by 70%
Patreon's valuation has experienced a significant decrease over the past year. In a staff memo, Patreon's SVP Carlos Cabrera revealed that the company's valuation has 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
Last September, 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 announcedl reducing the size of its creator-partnerships operations.
13. Patreon has acquired four organizations
According to Crunchbase, Patreon has acquired four organizations. 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. Its latest acquisition was at the end of August 2021 when it acquired Clear Talent for an undisclosed amount.
14. 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 add up to more than that of the engineering department.
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. 90% of Patreon creators are focused on growing its 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 aspire to collaborate more with other creators.
Wrapping Things Up
Patreon has been in business for nearly a decade already. During this time, it has achieved some pretty impressive results. That being said, the real focus should be the countless creators that it has managed to help. That’s its real success story.
It would be interesting to recap these statistics in a year’s time considering all the features that Patreon is planning to introduce in 2024. Plus, with TikTok’s growth in the past year, this year promises to be even more eventful than the previous year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there many professional creators?
According to SignalFire, approximately only two million of the 50 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. Though, 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?
There are a few factors that will play a role in 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 chose, Patreon takes 5% to 12% of your earnings as platform fee. Additional charges may also be required including a processing fee of 2.9% + $0.30 for donations over $3, and 5% + $0.10 for donations 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.
