Compare
Patreon vs YouTube memberships.
Where your fans should pay you each month.
YouTube channel memberships put a Join button next to your videos, where your audience already is. Patreon gives you a separate membership home with posts, chat, video and podcasts, for a smaller platform share. The right answer depends on where your fans watch and what you give them for the money.
Video hosting for filmmakers · 5 GB free · Paid plans from USD 9/month
By uncompressed.io · Updated October 2026
Short answer
Patreon vs YouTube memberships: which pays creators more?
Patreon leaves more of each dollar with the creator: its platform fee is 10% before processing and payout fees, while YouTube pays creators 70% of net membership revenue. YouTube's advantage is reach, since the Join button sits on every video your audience already watches, but it requires eligibility and limits which perks you may offer.
- YouTube: creators receive 70% of net membership revenue
- Patreon: 10% platform fee, plus processing and payout fees
- YouTube needs eligibility; Patreon is open to anyone
- YouTube's Join button sits on your videos
- Patreon adds posts, chat, podcasts and native video
- Both re-host your video inside their own app
The money
What each platform keeps
on USD 1,000 a month
Platform share only. Patreon also lists processing, currency conversion and payout fees; YouTube's 70% is of net revenue, after transaction taxes such as sales tax or VAT.
USD 900
Creator keeps on Patreon
after the 10% platform fee, before processing
USD 700
Creator keeps on YouTube
70% of net membership revenue
USD 200
Difference each month
on the platform share alone
The gap is real, but it is not the whole decision. A YouTube viewer can join in one click without leaving the video, and many never would have followed a link to Patreon. If the Join button converts twice as many viewers, the lower share can still earn more. Test it: run both for a few months and compare what lands in your account, not the percentages.
Side by side
Patreon and YouTube memberships
from their own pages
Patreon figures from patreon.com/pricing; YouTube figures from YouTube Help articles 72902 and 7636690; all read 12 October 2026.
Fit
Which one suits you
by audience
YouTube memberships suit
Channels with a large, loyal audience that lives on YouTube, where members want badges, emoji, early videos and member-only live chats. The Join button does the selling for you.
Patreon suits
Creators who want a bigger share, a direct relationship, perks YouTube does not allow, posts and podcasts, or a membership that does not depend on one platform's eligibility rules.
When neither is the right tool
Deciding
A quick test
in four questions
Where do your fans watch?
If almost entirely on YouTube, start with the Join button.
What do they pay for?
Access and recognition suit YouTube; depth and direct contact suit Patreon; films suit a storefront.
Are you eligible?
Check YouTube's fan-funding requirements before planning around the Join button.
What does each keep?
Compare 70% of net against 90% before fees, at your real conversion rate.
The video-first option, in one table
Read from the live price list. Verified 2026-10.
| Commission on sales | 0 percent, at any volume. Buyers pay into your own payment account; your card processor's fee applies. |
|---|---|
| What you can sell | Purchases (stream forever), downloads, rentals with a viewing window, memberships with monthly or yearly tiers, bundles and series. |
| Member tools | Free trials per tier, coupon codes, gift memberships, refunds and free access from your earnings page. |
| Your storefront | A shop under your name at yourname.uncompressed.io/on-demand, or on your own domain. Buyers need no account. |
| Picture quality | Films stream as you exported them: no re-encode of video or audio, with an optional lighter copy for slow connections. |
| Viewing hours included | Lite 1,000, Pro 5,000, Max 15,000, Studio 25,000 hours a month, then USD 29 per extra 20,000-hour block. Playback never pauses. |
| Plans | Starter free (5 GB, one film at a time); Lite USD 9, Pro USD 39, Max USD 99, Studio USD 219 a month; yearly is one month free. |
| Leak Shield (optional) | Every buyer gets their own invisibly marked copy; the open web and torrent indexes are searched; a confirmed leak names and blocks the buyer and sends the takedown. USD 99 a month or USD 1,188 a year, any paid plan. |
| Inclusion window | The streaming platform is included with every paid plan for members who switch it on before 31 December 2026, and stays included for them afterwards; after that date new activations add USD 39 a month. |
Plans and add-ons: pricing. The whole cluster starts at the creator platform guide.
Questions
Frequently asked
Does Patreon or YouTube take more from memberships?
YouTube takes more. YouTube's help center states it pays creators 70% of net revenues from channel memberships, so it keeps 30%. Patreon's pricing page shows a 10% platform fee, plus payment processing, currency conversion and payout fees and applicable taxes.
Can anyone turn on YouTube channel memberships?
No. YouTube lists eligibility rules: meet the minimum requirements for fan funding features, live in an available location, have a channel that is not set as made for kids and does not have a significant number of ineligible videos, and accept the Commerce Product Module. Patreon has no audience threshold to start.
What perks can I offer on YouTube memberships?
YouTube allows badges, emoji, members-only posts, videos and live chats. It does not allow downloads of content that is available on YouTube, in-person one-on-one meetings, or perks given at random such as contests.
Should I use both Patreon and YouTube memberships?
Many creators do. The Join button converts viewers who never leave YouTube; Patreon serves fans who want more depth, direct contact or content outside YouTube. Price the tiers so neither undercuts the other.
Which is better for full-length films or a video library?
Neither was designed as a film storefront. YouTube re-encodes uploads and keeps members inside YouTube; Patreon presents video as posts in a feed. A video platform with your own storefront, such as uncompressed.io, sells films, rentals and memberships at 0% commission and streams the file as exported.
Which terms govern YouTube membership payouts?
YouTube's 70% share applies to partners who accept the Commerce Product Module of its partner program terms. Patreon pays out to you from its own platform, with payout fees listed on its pricing page.
When the paid part is the films themselves.
uncompressed.io runs memberships, rentals and sales for video at 0% commission on every paid plan (Lite USD 9, Pro USD 39, Max USD 99, Studio USD 219 a month). Start free with 5 GB.
Sources
- 1.YouTube partner earnings overview, YouTube Help (read 12 October 2026)
- 2.Channel memberships eligibility and perks, YouTube Help (read 12 October 2026)
- 3.Patreon pricing (read 12 October 2026)
- 4.Introducing Patreon Video, Patreon news (dated 3 November 2022, read 12 October 2026)