Gumroad vs Patreon
We give Gumroad a 2.6 GPA and Patreon a 3.0, out of 4.0. Patreon grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Patreon
Paid memberships, a shop and community for creators and their fans
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAGumroadGood | 3.0GPAPatreonVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DNo monthly fee, but Gumroad keeps 10% + 50¢ of each direct sale: $100 on $1,000, plus 50¢ an order. Card processing of 2.9% + $0.30 comes on top and isn't counted. That's in this category's dearest tenth, though it does handle sales tax for you. | DGraded against its own alternatives, fan-support platforms. Patreon keeps 10% of what you earn, so $1,000 a month costs $100, with processing and payout fees on top (not counted). That's double Ko-fi's and Buy Me a Coffee's 5%, and in this category's dearest tenth. |
| Free plan and trial | ANothing to pay until you sell, with every feature, unlimited products and no cap a normal person would reach. The fee comes out of each sale instead, and the value grade counts that. | AStarting a Patreon is free, with no monthly fee and nothing held back. You only pay a share once you earn, and the value grade counts that. |
| Features | BDownloads, memberships, courses, license keys, pay-what-you-want, email broadcasts and workflows, affiliates and a Discover marketplace. Physical goods aren't allowed, but that's outside this job, so nothing's missing from the core. | BAgainst its alternatives it does the most: member tiers, free trials, a shop for downloads, native video, livestreams, podcasts with Spotify, newsletters and group chats. Not an A, because buyers need a Patreon account to purchase anything. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record. You build a profile store with a page editor and set up products on the web; the iPhone and Android apps only track sales and open purchases. | A4.9 from about 580,000 App Store ratings, the best here. Getting started is free, and Patreon takes care of payments, chargebacks and most taxes for you. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Stripe, PayPal, Zapier, Discord and Circle, plus a checkout you can embed on your own site. No desktop app, which an A needs. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Discord, Spotify, YouTube, Vimeo, Zapier, ConvertKit, WordPress and Crowdcast. No desktop app, which an A needs. |
| Best for | a first digital product with no monthly bill | memberships funded by fans |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Gumroad and Patreon. How we grade
Price against what you get
Gumroad has no paid plan and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Patreon has no paid plan and scores 3.3.
Patreon scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other tools for selling digital products on the chart, none scores higher than Gumroad for less, and none scores higher than Patreon for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Gumroad is free. Patreon is free.
- Gumroad also covers email campaigns, affiliate tracking and merchant of record.
- Patreon also covers paid newsletters and community.
At a glance
| Gumroad | Patreon | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | No monthly fee. Gumroad keeps 10% + $0.50 of each direct sale plus card processing (2.9% + $0.30), or a flat 30% on sales made through its Discover marketplace. | Starting a Patreon is free. Patreon keeps 10% of the income creators earn, plus payment processing, currency conversion and payout fees and applicable taxes. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Gumroad, Inc. | Patreon |
| Price read from | gumroad.com | patreon.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Gumroad
- Creators testing a first product who want no monthly bill
- Sellers who want sales tax and VAT handled for them
- Software makers who need license keys with each sale
Patreon
- Podcasters, video makers and artists funded by monthly members
- Creators who want payments, fraud and tax handled for them
- Creators selling extra digital products to the same fans
Worth knowing
Gumroad
- Gumroad keeps 10% + $0.50 of every direct sale plus 2.9% + $0.30 card processing; Discover marketplace sales cost a flat 30%.
- Physical goods are not allowed: Gumroad is for digital products, memberships and services only.
- Payouts go out by direct deposit or PayPal depending on the seller's country.
- The mobile apps track sales and open purchases, but accounts and products are set up on the web.
Patreon
- Patreon keeps 10% of creator income, and payment processing, currency conversion and payout fees come on top.
- Buyers need a Patreon account to purchase products, so fans pay inside Patreon rather than on your own site.
- The pricing page lists a single rate, 10% of earnings, with no monthly plan that lowers it.
Key features
Gumroad
- Profile store or embedded checkout
- Build a storefront with Gumroad's page editor on a custom domain, or embed its checkout and follow button on a site you already have.
- Memberships and subscriptions
- Charge monthly, quarterly, twice a year or yearly, or a fixed number of payments, with members keeping access to a content library while subscribed.
- Merchant of record
- Gumroad collects and remits sales tax, VAT and GST on sales where it has an obligation, so sellers have no tax settings to manage.
- Software and file options
- License keys for software, several versions of one product (PDF, ePub or lossless audio), pay-what-you-want pricing and light DRM.
- Audience tools
- Import an email list, post updates, send email broadcasts and automated workflows, run an affiliate program and read sales analytics.
- Mobile apps
- iOS and Android apps show daily, monthly and all-time sales with push notifications, and let buyers open or download their purchases.
Patreon
- Memberships
- Membership tiers billed monthly or annually, one-time payments, free trials, discounts and sales, with member analytics.
- Shop for digital products
- Sell video, audio, images, downloadable files and collections one at a time, with no listing fee, or make them free for members.
- Posts, video and newsletters
- Publish audio, images and rich text, host video natively, livestream, and send posts as email newsletters.
- Podcasts
- Import and sync podcasts, run several shows, distribute episodes by RSS, and use the Spotify integration with synced feeds.
- Community
- Group chats, direct messages and comments for members, with exportable email lists and Discord integration.
- Payments handled by Patreon
- Patreon processes payments, handles chargebacks, disputes and fraud, collects and remits most taxes, and supports 16+ currencies.
Plans
Gumroad
Direct sales$0
No subscription. The seller pays 10% + $0.50 of each sale through a profile or direct link, plus card processing of 2.9% + $0.30 or PayPal fees.
Discover marketplace$0
Sales to new customers who find you through Gumroad's Discover marketplace carry a flat 30% fee, which includes processing.
Patreon
Patreon$0
No monthly fee. Patreon keeps 10% of what creators earn from memberships and shop sales, plus processing, currency conversion and payout fees.
Ways to pay less
Gumroad
- Other savings
Lower fee above $20,000 in monthly sales
Once paid sales in a calendar month reach $20,000, new direct sales that month cost 5% + $0.50 instead of 10% + $0.50; it resets each month.
Patreon
No public discounts listed.
