Patreon has made new creator plans. The new plans are called Patreon Lite, Patreon Pro, and Patreon Premium. Podcasters who are considering using Patreon for the first time should take a close look at these plans.
Patreon Lite is rather skimpy. Patreon describes it as “simple tools to set up recurring support from your audience.”
Patreon Lite includes:
- Hosted creator page
- Patreon workshops
- Patron communication tools
Patreon Pro offers everything in Patreon Lite and more. It appears to be for Creators who want “to build a thriving membership business that provides meaningful income for you and a rewarding experience for your patrons.”
Patreon Pro includes:
- Membership tiers
- Analytics and Insights
- Unlimited app integrations
- Creator-led workshops
- Special Offer promo tool
- Priority customer support
Patreon Premium is the top tier of Creator Plans. It offers everything in Patreon Pro and more. It is described as “dedicated coaching and support for established creators and creative businesses, plus premium features that save time and reward patrons.”
Patreon Premium includes:
- Dedicated Partner Manager
- Team Accounts
- Merch for Membership
The Premium plan is for established Creators and creative businesses. It will have limited openings at launch, and will be rolled out gradually as spots become available.
Patreon Premium requires:
- Full time creator, earning or expects to earn $2,500 a month or more on Patreon
- Has an engaged audience of at least 100K followers on a social platform
- Has team members that help manage your page
In addition, Patreon is changing the payment processing rates on pledges. These changes will affect future Creators. Founding Creators will have the same processing rate that they currently have.
For future Creators, there will be two payment plans:
- For pledges of $1 to $3: 5% plus 10 cents per successful pledge
- For pledges over $3: 2.9% plus 30 cents per successful pledge
- For all pledges from patrons outside of the US who use PayPal, regardless of the amount: An additional 1% per successful pledge.
The payment plans are a little confusing. It is different from the December 2017 fee changes Patreon made. Patreon says that it learned that “the right way to build a sustainable Patreon is to charge creators, not their patrons.” Personally, I think these three new plans are designed to push out smaller Creators so that Patreon can make more money off of the “whales”.