Should I use Patreon or Substack?

Use Patreon if you need tiered membership perks and community posts for podcasts, video, or art; use Substack if you're a writer who wants a flat 10% fee and built-in subscriber discovery.

Is Patreon cheaper than Substack?

For new creators, they're roughly equal at a flat 10% platform fee, but legacy Patreon creators from before August 2025 can pay as little as 5%, cheaper than Substack's flat 10%.

Does Patreon or Substack take a bigger cut of revenue?

New creators on both platforms pay a flat 10% platform fee; the difference comes from Patreon's legacy tiers, where pre-August-2025 creators can pay 5%, 8%, or 12% depending on when they joined and which tier they kept.

Which has better reviews, Patreon or Substack?

The available data shows Substack with a 3.8/5 Product Hunt rating from 13 reviews, while Patreon's Product Hunt rating is 1.0/5 from a single review, though Patreon's Trustpilot rating (around 1.2/5 from 800+ reviews) is also notably low.

Patreon vs Substack (2026)

By Noahlast updated September 14, 2026

Verdict: Choose Patreon if you want purpose-built tiered-membership infrastructure for community posts, perks, and payouts across podcasts, video, or art. Choose Substack if you're a writer or journalist who wants a lower 10% flat fee and a built-in discovery network to find new paid subscribers. Fee structure and discovery are the deciding factors: Substack's flat 10% cut beats Patreon's new 10% platform fee once you account for Patreon's legacy tiers going as low as 5%, but Substack adds a built-in Notes discovery feed Patreon does not offer.

Patreon

A membership platform where creators sell paid subscription tiers directly to fans, taking a percentage-based platform fee plus payment processing on every pledge.

Pricing: Free
License: Freemium
Best for: creators (podcasters, YouTubers, writers, musicians, artists) who want to sell recurring paid membership tiers directly to their existing fan base instead of relying on ad revenue or one-off sales

1/5 on Product Hunt (1 reviews)

Details patreon.com

Substack

A newsletter publishing platform where writers build a paid or free subscriber list and Substack takes a 10% cut of paid subscription revenue.

Pricing: Free
License: Freemium
Best for: independent writers and journalists who want to monetize a newsletter with paid subscriptions without paying a monthly platform fee, in exchange for giving up 10% of revenue

3.8/5 on Product Hunt (13 reviews)

Details substack.com

Choose Patreon if…

You're a podcaster, YouTuber, musician, or artist who needs tiered membership perks beyond a simple newsletter
You joined before August 4, 2025 and can keep a legacy 5% or 8% platform fee instead of the new flat 10%
You want built-in community chat and post feeds as part of the membership experience, not just email
You need iOS and Android apps for members alongside the web

Choose Substack if…

You're a writer or journalist who wants a flat 10% platform fee with no tiered legacy structure to navigate
You want a built-in discovery network (Notes, cross-publication recommendations) to find new paying subscribers without an existing audience
You want to fully own and export your subscriber list at any time
You want live chat with readers and podcast hosting included on every publication with no add-on fees

Patreon vs Substack: feature comparison

Feature	Patreon	Substack
Starting price	Yesfree to sign up; 10% platform fee on paid membership revenue (new creators)	Yesfree to publish; 10% platform fee on paid subscription revenue
Free tier	Yesfree for fans to browse, free for creators to set up	Yesfree to write and send a newsletter with no paid subscriptions
Platforms	Yesweb, iOS, Android	Yesweb, iOS, Android
License	Partialfreemium, closed-source	Partialfreemium, closed-source
Platform fee (new creators)	Yesflat 10% (since Aug 2025)	Yesflat 10%, no tiered structure
Legacy lower fee option	Yes5% Lite for creators who joined before Aug 4, 2025	Nonot a listed feature
Payment processing fee	Yes2.9% + $0.30/charge (or 5% + $0.10 under $3)	YesStripe standard, ~2.9% + $0.30/transaction
Payment processor options	Unknownnot specified beyond standard processing	NoStripe only, excludes writers where Stripe isn't available
Built-in discovery network	Nonot a listed feature	YesNotes feed and cross-publication recommendations
Tiered membership structure	Yescreators set multiple paid tiers with distinct perks	Partialfree and paid tiers, but simpler structure than Patreon's
Podcast hosting	Unknown	Yesincluded on every publication
Live chat with audience	Unknown	Yesincluded on every publication
Subscriber list ownership/export	Unknown	Yeswriters retain full ownership and can export anytime
External rating (Product Hunt)	Yes1.0/5 from 1 review	Yes3.8/5 from 13 reviews

Patreon vs Substack pricing: which costs less?

Substack is cheaper for new creators on both platforms' current terms, since its flat 10% fee has no tiered increase, while Patreon's new creators also pay 10% but can rise to 12% under legacy Premium terms for larger operations.

New Patreon creators (joining after August 4, 2025) pay a flat 10% platform fee, matching Substack's flat 10% cut. Creators who joined Patreon earlier keep legacy rates of 5% (Lite), 8% (Pro), or 12% (Premium) depending on their plan, so early Patreon adopters on the Lite tier pay less than Substack, while those on Premium pay more. Both add standard payment processing fees (roughly 2.9%+$0.30 per charge) on top of the platform cut.

Which has better audience discovery, Patreon or Substack?

Substack has better built-in discovery, with its Notes short-form feed and cross-publication recommendation network explicitly designed to help new writers find paying subscribers.

Substack's standout feature is this discovery layer, which helps writers without an existing following start acquiring subscribers. The Patreon bundle data does not list an equivalent discovery or recommendation feature; Patreon creators are expected to bring their own audience from other platforms (YouTube, podcasts, social media).

Which has better customer support, Patreon or Substack?

The data suggests Patreon has more support complaints, with a Trustpilot rating around 1.2/5 citing duplicate billing, account suspensions, and slow issue resolution; Substack's support quality isn't detailed to the same degree in the data.

Patreon's biggest weakness explicitly names support and billing complaints as recurring issues on Trustpilot. Substack's listed weaknesses focus on its Stripe-only payment processing and a basic post editor rather than support responsiveness, so a direct support-quality comparison beyond Patreon's documented complaints isn't available from the bundle data.

Can Substack replace Patreon?

Yes for writers and journalists monetizing a newsletter, but not fully for podcasters, video creators, or artists relying on Patreon's tiered perks and community post format.

Substack covers paid newsletter subscriptions with a flat 10% fee and adds built-in discovery Patreon lacks. However, Patreon's tiered membership model with multiple perk levels and its community-post format built for podcasters, YouTubers, and musicians isn't matched by Substack's simpler free/paid tier structure, so creators relying on Patreon's more granular tiering may not find a full replacement.

Strengths and weaknesses

Patreon

Pros

No fee to sign up or browse; Patreon only takes a cut once a creator starts earning.
Built-in tiered membership, community post, and payout tooling purpose-built for creators.
iOS and Android apps in addition to the web, with mobile payouts gradually rolling out.
Legacy creators who joined before August 2025 can keep a lower 5% platform fee.

Cons

Trustpilot rating around 1.2/5 from 800+ reviews, with duplicate billing and slow customer support as recurring complaints.
New creators pay a flat 10% platform fee plus separate payment processing (2.9%+$0.30, or 5%+$0.10 on small pledges).
iOS purchases are often routed through Apple's in-app purchase system, adding Apple's own cut on top of Patreon's fee.
Account suspensions are a frequently cited complaint, cutting off a creator's income with limited recourse reported by reviewers.

Substack

Pros

No monthly fee; Substack only makes money when a writer earns paid-subscription revenue.
Writers keep full ownership of their subscriber list and can export it to another platform at any time.
Built-in discovery through Notes and cross-publication recommendations helps new writers find readers.
Free and paid tiers, live chat, and podcast hosting are included on every publication with no add-on fees.

Cons

10% platform fee plus Stripe processing costs eat into revenue at every price point, more expensive at scale than flat-fee platforms like Ghost.
Payment processing is Stripe-only, excluding writers in countries where Stripe doesn't operate.
The post editor is basic: limited layout control, no custom HTML, fewer formatting options than WordPress or Ghost.
Established writers with large paid lists often migrate to flat-fee platforms once the percentage cut exceeds a fixed subscription cost.

Which fits your use case?

Use case	Pick	Why
Writer or journalist starting a newsletter with no existing audience	Substack	Substack's built-in Notes discovery network and cross-publication recommendations are designed to help new writers find their first paying subscribers.
Podcaster or YouTuber wanting multiple membership tiers with distinct perks	Patreon	Patreon's tiered membership infrastructure with community posts and perks is purpose-built for creators beyond text-only newsletters.
Creator who joined Patreon before August 2025 wanting the lowest possible fee	Patreon	Legacy Patreon creators can keep a 5% Lite platform fee, lower than Substack's flat 10%.
Writer in a country where Stripe isn't supported	Patreon	Substack only supports Stripe for payment processing, excluding writers where Stripe doesn't operate; the Patreon data doesn't list the same single-processor restriction.
Creator who wants full ownership and portability of their subscriber list	Substack	Substack explicitly guarantees writers can export their subscriber list and migrate off the platform at any time; this isn't a listed Patreon feature in the data.

Neither a match?

Both lists carry verified pricing and honest weaknesses for every option.

4 alternatives to Patreon 3 alternatives to Substack

Popular comparisons

Patreon vs Substack: migration FAQ

Should I use Patreon or Substack?: Use Patreon if you need tiered membership perks and community posts for podcasts, video, or art; use Substack if you're a writer who wants a flat 10% fee and built-in subscriber discovery.
Is Patreon cheaper than Substack?: For new creators, they're roughly equal at a flat 10% platform fee, but legacy Patreon creators from before August 2025 can pay as little as 5%, cheaper than Substack's flat 10%.
Can Substack replace Patreon?: Yes for newsletter-focused writers, since Substack covers paid subscriptions with lower administrative complexity, but it lacks Patreon's tiered membership perks and community-post format built for podcasters and video creators.
Does Patreon or Substack take a bigger cut of revenue?: New creators on both platforms pay a flat 10% platform fee; the difference comes from Patreon's legacy tiers, where pre-August-2025 creators can pay 5%, 8%, or 12% depending on when they joined and which tier they kept.
Which has better reviews, Patreon or Substack?: The available data shows Substack with a 3.8/5 Product Hunt rating from 13 reviews, while Patreon's Product Hunt rating is 1.0/5 from a single review, though Patreon's Trustpilot rating (around 1.2/5 from 800+ reviews) is also notably low.