platform comparison · 2026-06-13
Patreon vs Memberful 2026: fees, WordPress integration, and the Apple Tax
Patreon and Memberful both let creators charge recurring memberships — but they target different creator types. Patreon is a consumer marketplace with discovery features and a mobile app. Memberful is a white-label membership tool designed for creators who already have an audience and a website, most commonly WordPress. The right choice depends on where your fans find you and how you want to own the relationship.
Fee comparison: Patreon vs Memberful
| Platform / Plan | Monthly fee | Transaction cut | Stripe fees | Net at $1,000/mo gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patreon Free | $0 | 5% | ~2.9% + $0.30/txn | ~$918 |
| Patreon Pro | $0 | 8% | ~2.9% + $0.30/txn | ~$886 |
| Patreon Premium | $0 | 12% | ~2.9% + $0.30/txn | ~$851 |
| Memberful Starter | $0 | 10% | ~2.9% + $0.30/txn | ~$869 |
| Memberful Pro | $25 | 4.9% | ~2.9% + $0.30/txn | ~$901 (after $25 fee) |
| Memberful Business | $100 | 0% | ~2.9% + $0.30/txn | ~$871 (after $100 fee) |
The crossover point where Memberful Pro ($25/mo + 4.9%) becomes cheaper than Patreon Pro (0 + 8%) is around $520/month gross revenue. Above that threshold, Memberful Pro is cheaper in absolute dollars. Below it, Patreon Pro's zero monthly fee is simpler for smaller operations.
The Memberful Business plan ($100/mo + 0% transaction fee beyond Stripe) only beats Patreon Pro at revenues above $2,500/month, and only beats Patreon Free at revenues above $3,200/month. Most creators should ignore Memberful Business unless they are processing high volume and the Stripe fee alone is the primary cost to optimize.
The Apple Tax: how each platform handles November 2026
Starting November 1, 2026, Apple takes 30% of every Patreon subscription processed through the Patreon iOS app. This changes the fee math above for any creator with a meaningful iOS audience.
Memberful does not have a consumer iOS app. Memberships are processed via web checkout. This means Memberful subscriptions are not subject to the Apple iOS billing fee — a fundamental structural advantage over Patreon for creators concerned about the November 2026 deadline.
The practical implication: a creator currently on Patreon Pro who earns $1,000/month with 55% iOS exposure will effectively lose $165/month to Apple starting in November (30% of the iOS-attributed portion). The same creator on Memberful Pro (web-only checkout) loses nothing to Apple. At 55% iOS penetration, the annual Apple Tax burden on a $1,000/month Patreon is $1,980/year.
WordPress integration
Memberful's strongest differentiation is its native WordPress plugin. Content gating on WordPress with Memberful works at the post, page, or category level — a creator can make every post in a specific category patron-only for a specific tier, with a single rule. The plugin creates a seamless experience for the fan: they see a paywall prompt on any gated post, click to become a member, and return to the content immediately after subscribing.
Patreon has no native WordPress plugin. Third-party plugins exist that gate content based on Patreon tier, but they are maintained by independent developers and are not official Patreon products. The integration quality is inconsistent, and breaking changes in either the plugin or Patreon's API can interrupt content gating without warning.
For a creator who runs a WordPress blog or newsletter site and wants to add a membership layer, Memberful is substantially easier to implement and maintain than Patreon. For a creator who does not have a website and is starting from scratch, this advantage disappears — Patreon's hosted creator page requires no external site.
Discovery: Patreon has it, Memberful does not
Patreon is a consumer marketplace. Fans can browse creators on Patreon.com, discover creators through search, and find new people to support without already knowing who they are. For a creator in the early stages of building an audience, Patreon's browse and discovery features can generate organic patron growth from fans who were browsing the platform, not specifically looking for that creator.
Memberful is not a marketplace. There is no Memberful.com directory of creators. Patrons find a Memberful creator through the creator's own channels — their website, their YouTube channel, their newsletter — not through Memberful. For a creator with an established audience, this is not a disadvantage; their audience already knows who they are. For a creator building from zero, it is a real gap.
The practical implication: Patreon is better for audience-building; Memberful is better for audience-monetizing. Creators who want platform discovery use Patreon. Creators with an established off-platform presence who want to maximize net revenue use Memberful.
Custom domain memberships
Memberful Pro and Business plans allow a custom domain for the membership
checkout page (e.g., members.yourbrand.com). This keeps the
creator's brand intact throughout the subscription flow and avoids sending
patrons to a Memberful-branded URL.
Patreon does not support custom domains for creator pages on any plan.
Your Patreon page is always at patreon.com/yourcreatorname.
Fans are on Patreon's domain, under Patreon's brand, subject to Patreon's
UI and policy changes.
For creators who prioritize brand ownership and the ability to move their subscription infrastructure without disrupting patron-facing URLs, Memberful Pro's custom domain support is a meaningful differentiator.
Discord integration
Patreon has a native Discord integration that automatically assigns and removes Discord roles when a patron subscribes or cancels. Setup takes minutes: connect your Discord server, map Patreon tiers to Discord roles, done. No webhooks, no code, no third-party services required.
Memberful does not have a native Discord integration. Memberful sends webhooks on membership events (subscribe, cancel, renewal), which can be routed through Zapier or custom code to assign Discord roles. This works but requires more setup than Patreon's native integration. For creators whose primary patron benefit is Discord access, this is a real operational difference.
Which platform fits which creator
| Creator type | Better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Building audience from scratch | Patreon | Discovery features, consumer marketplace, existing fan base to tap |
| WordPress site with established readership | Memberful | Native WordPress plugin, content gating, custom domain |
| High revenue (>$2k/mo) wanting lower fees | Memberful Pro | 4.9% at $25/mo beats Patreon Pro 8% at higher volume |
| Discord-primary patron community | Patreon | Native Discord role assignment, no code required |
| iOS-heavy audience (55%+ mobile) | Memberful or KeepTier | Web-only checkout avoids November 2026 Apple Tax entirely |
| Brand-first creator who owns their audience | Memberful or KeepTier | Custom domain, no platform branding in checkout flow |
The third option: KeepTier
Both Patreon and Memberful add platform fees on top of Stripe's processing costs. KeepTier charges a flat $9/month for a hosted, custom-domain membership page with Stripe Checkout built in — the only recurring fee beyond Stripe's standard 2.9% + $0.30 is KeepTier's $9/month. There is no transaction percentage. Discord role webhook is included.
At $500/month gross Patreon revenue, Patreon Pro takes $40/month in platform fees. At $1,000/month, it takes $80/month. KeepTier takes $9/month at any revenue level. For creators above roughly $110/month in gross subscription revenue, KeepTier's flat fee is cheaper than Patreon Pro's 8%.
KeepTier also has no iOS app and no Apple Tax exposure — web-only Stripe Checkout, no iOS billing system, no Apple 30% cut starting November 2026.
The comparison for an established creator:
- Patreon Pro at $1,000/mo gross: ~$886/mo net, pre-Apple Tax. With 55% iOS post-November 2026: ~$721/mo net.
- Memberful Pro at $1,000/mo gross: ~$901/mo net, Apple Tax immune (web checkout).
- KeepTier at $1,000/mo gross: ~$962/mo net ($9/mo + Stripe 2.9%), Apple Tax immune.
See Patreon alternatives for creators for a broader comparison including Substack, Ko-fi, Ghost, and Beehiiv.