Memberful vs Patreon
We give Memberful a 2.0 GPA and Patreon a 3.0, out of 4.0. Patreon grades higher on the free plan, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Memberful
Membership platform for paid newsletters, podcasts and communities
Patreon
Paid memberships, a shop and community for creators and their fans
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAMemberfulFair | 3.0GPAPatreonVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$49 a month plus Memberful's 4.9% of every charge, $49 more on $1,000, comes to $98 a month, with Stripe's fee on top (not counted). That's in this category's dearest tenth, about level with Patreon's 10%. | 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 | CNo free plan, but test mode is free for as long as you like: you can build everything, and billing starts only when you connect Stripe and go live. | 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 | CMemberships of every shape, paywalls, a website and newsletter builder, Discord and Discourse access, email sync, referrals and global tax collection. It does the membership job fully, but it's a smaller job: no upsells, order bumps or affiliates in the listing. | 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'll connect Stripe, set up plans and either build a site or wire it into WordPress before members can join. | 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, with Stripe, WordPress, Discord, Discourse, Mailchimp, Kit, ActiveCampaign and Google Analytics. No phone or desktop app is listed. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Discord, Spotify, YouTube, Vimeo, Zapier, ConvertKit, WordPress and Crowdcast. No desktop app, which an A needs. |
| Best for | paid memberships on your own website | 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: Memberful and Patreon. How we grade
Price against what you get
Memberful starts at $49 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Patreon has no paid plan and scores 3.3.
Patreon scores higher and starts $49 a month lower. Of the other tools for selling digital products on the chart, 8 score higher than Memberful 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
- Memberful starts at $49 per month. Patreon is free.
- Patreon has a free plan. Memberful does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Patreon lists iOS and Android apps.
- Memberful also covers online courses.
At a glance
| Memberful | Patreon | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free |
| Starts at | $49 per month | Free |
| Free plan | None | 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 | Free in test mode for as long as you like; billing starts when you connect Stripe and go live | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Memberful LLC | Patreon |
| Price read from | memberful.com | patreon.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Memberful
- Writers and publishers running a paid newsletter on their own site
- Podcasters selling members-only episodes
- WordPress sites that need a paywall for members
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
Memberful
- Memberful takes 4.9% of every successful charge on top of the $49 monthly fee, and Stripe adds its own fee, typically 2.9% + $0.30.
- A Stripe account is required: Stripe processes the payments and transfers the money to your own bank account.
- There is one self-serve plan; volume pricing and migration help are only on the custom Enterprise plan.
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
Memberful
- Flexible memberships
- Weekly, monthly or annual subscriptions, one-time payments, group plans, gifts, free and paid trials, free registration and pay-what-you-want pricing.
- Content behind a paywall
- Gate newsletters, podcasts, courses, downloads and community access, with dynamic paywalls and integrated comments.
- Website and newsletter builder
- Build a site and landing pages on a custom domain with your own theme, or protect members-only content on a WordPress site.
- Community integrations
- Paid members are invited to a Discord server or Discourse forum and lose access automatically when their subscription ends.
- Email list sync
- Keeps members in sync with Mailchimp, Kit, ActiveCampaign, Klaviyo, MailerLite, Campaign Monitor, Drip or Sailthru, segmented by plan.
- Retention and growth tools
- Coupons, a built-in referral program, automated retention discounts, cancellation surveys, global tax collection and growth reports.
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
Memberful
Standard$49
per month
Everything Memberful offers, unlimited members. Memberful also takes a 4.9% transaction fee on each successful charge, plus Stripe's processing fee.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom volume-based pricing, premium services and success management, and custom migration and implementation support.
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.
