Patreon vs. Substack

Choose Patreon if you want recurring memberships, tiered perks, and community around mixed media; choose Substack if your paid product is an email newsletter. Both publish a 10% platform fee before payment processing, but their tools serve different workflows. Neither is designed primarily for followers who want to pay once for one interaction. Paid Questions let a follower pay upfront to ask one private question, and you send one written reply on your own time — no live call or scheduling.

Which should I pick: Patreon or Substack?

Pick Substack if your core product is writing—especially a newsletter that readers want delivered to their inbox—and you would rather build a subscriber list than manage membership tiers and community features. Substack's own about page reports the platform has reached 5 million paid subscriptions, with more than half of new subscribers arriving through Substack's built-in recommendation network (Substack about page). Beside the newsletter, a reader who will not subscribe can still pay once for an answer, a commission or a goal.

Pick Patreon if you publish across formats such as video, audio, posts, and behind-the-scenes content and want membership tiers, a members-only feed, and community tools in one place. Patreon's company page states more than 300,000 creators use the platform and that followers have sent creators over $10 billion since Patreon launched in 2013 (Patreon story page). A follower pays once for one question, one commission or one video, and nothing is owed afterwards — so the people who were never going to subscribe can still pay you, beside the Patreon you already run.

The platforms overlap in that both let followers pay creators monthly, but their core products differ by design: Substack centers a newsletter publishing workflow, while Patreon centers a membership and community workflow across mixed media — a distinction visible on each company's own about page cited above.

Neither is primarily built for a follower who wants to pay once for a specific interaction, such as an answered question, personalized video, or tip. That model is covered below and in Brillay vs. Patreon.

How do Patreon and Substack compare?

How do Patreon and Substack fees compare?

Patreon’s standard platform fee is 10% of creator earnings. Patreon also charges standard payment processing of 2.9% + $0.30 per payment, before applicable taxes and currency fees.

Legacy Patreon creators may remain on 5%, 8%, or 12% platform tiers, depending on when their pages launched.

Substack’s platform fee is 10% of subscription revenue. Its official cost page also lists Stripe payment processing of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction and an additional 0.7% recurring-billing fee (Substack cost explainer).

Based on those published figures, Patreon’s standard percentage-based cost works out to 12.9% plus $0.30 per payment, while Substack’s works out to 13.6% plus $0.30 per payment — a simple sum of each platform’s published percentages that excludes taxes, currency conversion, pledge type, and legacy fee tiers, any of which can change the effective rate a given creator pays. On that simplified basis, Substack costs 0.7 percentage points more than Patreon’s standard plan because of Stripe’s recurring-billing fee.

Neither platform charges a monthly software subscription simply to maintain a page. A review of Patreon’s official pricing and creator-fees pages and Substack’s official cost page found no published follower minimum as of August 2026.

Payout mechanics also differ. Patreon requires a $10 minimum balance before it will process a payout, and automatic payouts run on the 5th of each month for creators who enable them. Substack sets a $5-per-month or $30-per-year minimum subscription price for US-dollar Stripe accounts, which puts a floor on how little a paid Substack subscription can cost (Substack paid-publication setup guide). For comparisons with other tools, see creator platform fees compared.

Is Patreon or Substack better for a small creator?

The better choice depends more on what you make than on the size of your audience.

Substack fits creators with a consistent writing habit and an audience willing to pay for regular newsletter issues. Patreon fits creators publishing a mix of video, audio, posts, and behind-the-scenes material, especially when membership tiers and community access are part of the offer.

Both platforms require an ongoing reason for subscribers to continue paying. That can make either option difficult for a small or irregular creator who does not yet have a sustainable publishing schedule. A Patreon membership or Substack subscription has to keep earning the next payment; a paid question is answered once and finished, so getting paid does not depend on publishing again next week.

The minimums make the small-creator math concrete. At Substack's $5-per-month minimum price, a creator needs roughly 200 paying subscribers to reach $1,000 in monthly revenue before Substack's 10% fee and Stripe's processing charges are deducted. A Patreon creator charging a comparable $5-per-month tier needs a similar member count to hit that same $1,000 before Patreon's 10% platform fee and 2.9% + $0.30 payment processing are deducted.

If you do not have a steady publishing rhythm, a recurring subscription may be the wrong first product. With no follower minimum, Brillay lets followers pay per request rather than per month, as described in its how-it-works information.

Where does a one-off paid-interaction model fit?

Patreon and Substack primarily answer the question, “How can followers pay me every month?” A one-off platform answers a different question: “How can a follower pay me once for one specific thing?”

Brillay supports Paid Questions, Personalized Videos, Custom Work, and Tips. Followers can buy once without creating an account or starting a membership. Creators do not have to keep publishing recurring content to justify a monthly charge.

No monthly fee, you only pay a small platform fee when you get paid. 8% platform fee when a follower pays for work, 5% platform fee on tips and goals. Card processing is separate (pricing). Brillay publishes no follower minimum and uses Stripe for payouts.

The products serve different purchasing patterns: Patreon and Substack support recurring revenue, while Brillay gives followers a one-time option for specific requests.

A creator can also use the models together—for example, a Patreon membership or Substack newsletter for regular subscribers, plus a Brillay link where followers can pay as guests for one specific request without starting a membership. If that matches your audience’s behavior, create your free Brillay page.

Frequently asked questions

Do Patreon and Substack charge the same fee?

Both publish a 10% platform fee, but their total transaction costs differ. Patreon adds 2.9% + $0.30 per payment on its standard plan. Legacy Patreon pages may instead have a 5%, 8%, or 12% platform fee.

Substack adds Stripe’s 2.9% + $0.30 payment-processing charge and a 0.7% recurring-billing fee to its 10% platform fee. On the published figures, Substack’s percentage-based cost is 0.7 percentage points higher than Patreon’s standard plan before other applicable charges.

Can I use Patreon and Substack together?

Yes. A creator can use Substack for paid written newsletters and Patreon for video, audio, community access, or other membership perks. The practical consideration is whether the audience sees enough distinct value to maintain two separate subscriptions.

Is there a follower minimum for Patreon or Substack?

No published follower minimum was found on Patreon’s pricing page, Patreon’s creator fees overview, or Substack’s official cost page as of August 2026.

That does not guarantee a recurring product will be economical at every audience size. A membership or paid newsletter still needs consistent output and enough engaged subscribers to sustain monthly payments.

What if my followers do not want a monthly subscription?

If followers prefer to pay once for a question, a Personalized Video, a custom request, or a tip, a one-off paid-interaction model may fit better than a recurring membership or newsletter. It captures individual purchases without asking the follower to maintain a subscription.

What should I read next?

For a direct comparison that includes the one-off model, see Brillay vs. Patreon. For the broader market, see Best Creator Monetization Platforms in 2026 and creator platform fees compared.

If what you actually want is for followers to pay once for a specific interaction—a question answered, a Personalized Video, or a tip—rather than committing to a monthly membership or newsletter, that is what Brillay is built for. Create your free Brillay page