Everyone hates Patreon’s new fee

Yesterday, Patreon sent out an email about changes it’s making to its pledge system. The membership platform enables fans to become “patrons” and support creators directly by committing to tiers of payment starting from $1. Creators are currently responsible for payment processing fees, which range from 2 percent to 10 percent and come out of their cut of each pledge. However, starting on December 18, those fees will be transferred to patrons instead.

In addition to the transaction fees coming out of pledges, Patreon also takes 5 percent. After factoring in processing fees, creators typically take home 80 percent to 88 percent of each pledge. In the new model, creators receive 95 percent of money pledged, Patreon continues taking 5 percent, and patrons are responsible for paying 2.9 percent plus a $0.35 fee for each pledge they make.