← ALL COMPARISONS
[ COMPARE ]
Patreon vs Substack
Side-by-side comparison of Patreon and Substack referral programs. Which one earns you more? Here are the facts.
[ HIGHER PAYOUT ]
Patreon offers up to 95% revenue share (lifetime).
Patreon
Substack
CATEGORY
CREATOR
CREATOR
COMMISSION
5-12% commission (you keep 88-95%)
Keep 90% of paid newsletter revenue
MODEL
revenue-share
revenue-share
MAX REV SHARE
95%
90%
PAYOUT
fiat
fiat
MIN PAYOUT
$1
$10
FREQUENCY
MONTHLY
WEEKLY
FIRST PAYOUT
~30d
~7d
COOKIE
LIFETIME
LIFETIME
KYC
YES
YES
GEO BLOCKED
NONE
NONE
RISK
LOW
LOW
RATING
4/5 (1400)
4.4/5 (850)
PROGRAM AGE
13y
8y
Patreon
PROS
- +Recurring income from fans
- +5-12% commission (lower than most)
- +Tiered membership model
CONS
- −Need engaged fanbase first
- −Discovery is poor
- −Churn requires constant content
Substack
PROS
- +Keep 87% of revenue (after Stripe)
- +Own your email list
- +No upfront cost
CONS
- −Need to grow your own audience
- −Discoverability is weak
- −Slow growth without existing platform