Patreon

Patreon, Inc. is an American monetization and membership platform that lets creators run subscription services for their audiences and sell individual digital products. Fans, called patrons, pay a fixed amount on a monthly basis or, alternatively, each time a creator releases a new work, and receive membership benefits such as exclusive or behind-the-scenes content organized into monetary tiers. The company charges a commission on creator income — reported as 8-12% of monthly income plus payment processing fees, and elsewhere described as a 5-12% fee depending on which services a creator uses. Registration is required to use the site, which is available in English.

Beyond memberships, Patreon offers online shops for selling items such as videos and podcast episodes, community features including real-time group chats, comments, direct messages and email contact with fans, and analytics and relationship-management tools for creators. Content on the platform spans videos, podcasts, writing, art, music, recipes, tabletop and video games, handicrafts, education and other categories; as of 2022 the four largest categories were videos, podcasts, music and gaming, together accounting for roughly half of Patreon profiles.

The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and was founded in 2013 by musician Jack Conte, who serves as CEO, and developer Sam Yam. Wikipedia lists 400 employees as of 2021, while a third-party startup directory lists a 1,001-5,000 employee band.