Passes vs Patreon (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Patreon grades higher than Passes: 3.0 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Passes grades higher on value for money. Patreon grades higher on the free plan, features, ease of use 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
Free
Which one is for you
Pick Passes if
- Fits if you are a creator who wants paid DMs and calls beside memberships
- Works for people who prefer a share of earnings to a monthly fee
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: the homepage only says up to 90%, and no pricing or fees page was found
- Skip it if you need to know your cut before signing up, because the split depends on the account
- Not for you if you want to join straight away, as creators apply and the FAQ lists follower requirements
- Watch out: whether iPhone and Android apps exist is not clear from the pages we could read
Pick Patreon if
- Fits if you're a podcaster, video maker or artist funded by monthly members
- Works for creators who want payments, fraud and most sales tax handled, for 10% of earnings
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you earn a lot, as 10% of every dollar goes to Patreon with no plan to lower it
- Watch out: processing, currency conversion and payout fees come on top of the 10%
- Not for you if you want buyers paying on your own site, since they need a Patreon account
- Not for you if you want a desktop app, as it's web, iPhone and Android only
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAPassesFair | 3.0GPAPatreonVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price is published beyond the homepage line that creators keep up to 90%, so there is nothing to grade against the category. C is where no price is published. | 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 | BNo subscription fee, so a creator pays only through a share of earnings. Creators apply to join, so it isn't open to everyone. | 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, paid DMs and calls, a vault, mass DMs, livestreams, merch and digital goods. The FAQ answers on apps and the Creators+ terms could not be read. | BMember tiers, free trials, a shop for downloads, native video, livestreams, podcasts with Spotify, newsletters and group chats, more than its alternatives list. Not an A, because buyers need a Patreon account to purchase anything. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and it is a web app where the work is building a page and its tiers, so it sits at C. | A4.9 from about 580,000 App Store ratings, the highest here. Getting started is free, and Patreon takes care of payments, chargebacks and most taxes for you. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only on record. The FAQ lists a question on iPhone, iPad and Android apps, but its answer could not be read. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Discord, Spotify, YouTube, Vimeo, Zapier, ConvertKit, WordPress and Crowdcast. No desktop app, which an A needs. |
| Best for | creator memberships with paid messages and calls | 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: Passes and Patreon. How we grade
Price against what you get
Passes has no paid plan and scores 2.0 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 Passes 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
- Patreon also covers paid newsletters.
In commonFree planWebCommunityDigital downloads
At a glance
| Passes | Patreon | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | No subscription fee is listed; the homepage says creators keep up to 90% of what they earn, and the exact split by account type is not shown in the page text read. | 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 | Passes Inc. | Patreon |
| Price read from | passes.com | patreon.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Passes
- The revenue split depends on the account; the homepage only says creators keep up to 90%, and the FAQ answers were not readable here.
- No pricing or fees page was found, so the share Passes keeps could not be confirmed.
- The FAQ lists a question on iPhone, iPad and Android apps, but the answer was not readable; only the web is recorded.
- Creators apply to join; the FAQ lists questions on eligibility and follower requirements.
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
Passes
- Memberships
- Recurring tiered access for fans, listed as the most popular revenue stream.
- Paid DMs and 1:1 calls
- Creators can charge for direct messages and book paid calls, with an example 30-minute session shown on the homepage.
- Content vault and scheduling
- A vault to organize, price and lock exclusive content, with a smart scheduler for planning posts ahead.
- Mass DMs
- Targeted messages and promotions that reach many fans at once.
- Livestreams and group chats
- Paid livestreams and group chats for exclusive communities.
- Merch, digital goods and discounts
- Sells merchandise and digital items, with discounts and trials to convert fans.
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
Passes
Creator account$0
Passes keeps a share of earnings; the homepage says creators keep up to 90%. A Creators+ program is listed in the FAQ, but its terms were not readable.
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.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Passes or Patreon?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Passes and Patreon are free to use.
Which has a free plan, Passes or Patreon?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Passes and Patreon have a free plan.
Which platforms do Passes and Patreon run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Patreon lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.