Patreon logo
Patreon warns users that channel memberships purchased through its platform will iPhone app will soon be subject to Apple's 30% in-app payment fee.
Patreon is a service that allows content creators to have members who pay a subscription fee to receive exclusive content. Until now, this could be done through its iOS app without costs Apple's regular costs.
In a blog post — and now emails to its users — Patreon has announced that it will be forced to pay the 30% fee.
“Unfortunately, Apple is requiring us to switch to their in-app purchase system for all iOS transactions, or we risk being kicked out of the app. App store “total,” the company writes“and their in-app purchase system isn't built with the same level of creator-first flexibility.”
This isn’t the first time Patreon has warned users about the coming change. It announced in December 2023 that Apple would be applying the fee to new memberships starting in November 2024.
“Before we go any further, we want to make one thing crystal clear: Apple’s charges will not impact your existing members,” the company says. “It will only impact new memberships purchased in the iOS app starting in November.”
As the November date approaches, Patreon has issued advice to its creator users on how to manage the change. Central to this is that if a creator on Patreon chooses to do nothing, the service will automatically raise prices in the iOS app to offset the cost.
However, Patreon also gives creators the option to keep their membership prices as they were, and instead absorb the fee. “We don’t recommend this, as it means you’ll earn less per membership on in-app iOS transactions,” the company says, “but ultimately we think it’s important to give you the ability to make your own decisions.”
Patreon now offers creators the option to raise fees or absorb Apple's costs
Nothing will change for existing memberships. Furthermore, the change only affects new members who sign up through the iOS app — and Patreon CEO Jack Conte previously said that only “a small fraction of pledges” are made this way.
There's no clear reason why Patreon hasn't always had to pay the App Store's regular 30% in-app purchase fee for its memberships. In 2021, Conte even publicly said that he didn't know why it was exempt.