Patreon vs Substack Fees

How Patreon charges

Patreon's cut has two distinct parts: a platform fee that depends on the plan you pick, and a separate payment-processing fee(a percentage plus a fixed amount per transaction). Currency conversion can add a third layer at payout. Because the platform fee is plan-based, you have some control over it — but you're paying for the extra features that come with the higher tier.

How Substack charges

Substack uses a single, flat platform percentage on paid-subscription revenue — there's no plan to choose — and then Stripe's payment-processing fee(again, a percentage plus a fixed per-transaction amount) comes out on top. So the model is "flat platform cut + processing" rather than Patreon's "plan-based cut + processing".

The structural difference that matters

On both platforms, the processing layer behaves the same way — the fixed per-transaction component means lots of small pledges cost you proportionally more than fewer large ones. Where they diverge is the platform layer: Patreon's is a lever you can pull by choosing a cheaper plan (at the cost of features), while Substack's is fixed.

Patreon also leans toward tiered membership and perks; Substack leans toward newsletter publishing. The right choice usually comes down to product fit first, fees second — but knowing the fee shape helps you model the difference. Treat the specific percentages as "as of 2026 — check each platform's current rates".