Whether you’re taking a well-deserved break or had an unexpected delay in delivering benefits, you can put a pause on billing your patrons for a month at a time. Keep reading to learn more about how to pause and what you can expect.
Article contents:
How do I pause billing my patrons?
- While logged in, click on the Settings link from the left navigation
- In your Creator Account settings, click the Pause billing cycle button
- Click the Confirm button to pause your current billing cycle
We’ll display a yellow banner on your account settings page, letting you know that we have paused your billing. A similar message will let patrons know that they won’t get billed.
Enjoy your break – when you’re ready to come back, we’ll be here!
Important things to note about pausing
- If you bill upfront, new patrons will still pay on signup for access to your backlog. Additionally, patrons will be charged when they upgrade their membership since they immediately unlock access to the upgraded membership benefits
- If you are on a subscription billing model, new patrons will not be able to sign up while your page is paused
- Pausing your account will only prevent patrons from being charged. Charge dates are not affected by pausing (subscription billing)
- Once a billing cycle has been paused, you will not be able to charge patrons for that time retroactively
- Patrons will be able to access your page and posts while your billing is paused – your page is live; we’re just not billing your existing patrons for the month
- If you’d like to pause multiple months in a row, you’ll need to log in after your pause month has ended and request to skip the month again. For subscription billing creators, this will depend on the date that you paused (i.e. if you pause on 10 March, you’ll need to log in after 10 April to pause again). If you bill monthly, you can log in after the 1st and request to skip the next month
- You can choose to resume billing at any time before your pause month is over
How do I resume billing patrons again?
If you are charging monthly (non-upfront) or upfront, automatic billing resumes after 1 billing cycle (i.e. the 2nd of the following month).
If you are on a subscription billing model, existing patrons will not be charged for 1 month starting from the day you pause. Billing automatically resumes on/around the same calendar day the following month. (i.e. if you pause on 5 July, billing will resume on 5 August).
If you paused but decide to un-pause it within the same month, here’s how you can do that:
- While logged in, click on the Settings link from the left navigation
- In your Creator Account settings, click the Resume (this month) Billing button
- Click the Confirm button
We recommend letting patrons know that you’ll be pausing their subscription billing for 1 month. You can do this with a post or by sending a bulk message through your relationship manager.
Frequently asked questions
Will pausing stop all payment processing for my page?
We won’t process payments for your existing patrons when you pause your creator page.
If you are on the subscription billing model, new patrons will not be able to sign up while you are paused. Learn more about subscription billing here: Subscription billing FAQ
If you bill upfront, new patrons will still pay when they signup for access to your backlog of content. Additionally, patrons will be charged when they upgrade their membership since they immediately unlock access to the upgraded membership benefits.
If you’d like to prevent any earnings or membership changes from happening while you’re paused, you can also set a cap on the number of patrons you’ll allow in each tier and set the limit to the current patron count in each tier. Alternatively, you can unpublish your tiers until you’re ready to accept new patrons again. While prospective patrons could still join with the “No tier/Custom pledge” option, you won’t be obligated to fulfil benefits related to your tiers. Here’s how to unpublish a tier:
- Navigate to your Membership tiers page, and click the Edit tier button
- Scroll to the bottom and click the Show more tier options "..." button
- Click the Unpublish tier button. Your tier will still be editable, but it won’t populate on your page for patrons to choose from
How long can I pause my page?
Patreon’s pausing feature allows you to skip 1 billing cycle. You can continue to enable our pause feature; however, you’ll need to log in each month to re-enable it.
I skipped billing on accident. Can I still bill my patrons if their charge date has passed?
Even the best-laid plans can go awry, but once you’ve paused billing, we’re unable to charge your patrons retroactively.
What if I want to take an extended break?
If you are taking an indefinite break, you have 2 options:
- You can manually pause billing after each billing cycle has been skipped
- Or, you can unlaunch your creator page. Unlaunching your page lets you take a break without the worry of needing to re-pause or billing new patrons if you charge upfront
Learn more about launching your page here: Unlaunch my creator page
How does pausing affect creators that are on the subscription billing model?
Starting from the day you pause your page, existing patrons will not be charged for one month. Billing will automatically resume on/around the same calendar day the following month.
Account pauses will only prevent patrons from being charged. Charge dates are not affected by pausing. When the Pause ends, patrons will resume their previous billing schedule.
If you resume billing within a month of when you paused, you won’t be able to go back and charge patrons whose billing date was skipped while you were paused.
New patrons will not be able to sign up while you are paused
How does pausing affect monthly billing creators (non-charge upfront)?
Our pause feature works nearly the same; you can pause 1 billing cycle/month at a time. Billing will automatically resume for the next billing cycle. The difference with non-charge upfront billing is that you won’t need to worry about new patrons getting charged on signup.
How does paused billing affect annual patrons?
When you pause billing, annual patrons’ memberships extend by one month if you are on a subscription billing model.
For example, say a patron has an annual subscription set to end on 1 November 2025. If you pause your billing cycle in August 2025, their membership will extend by 1 month and now ends on 1 December 2025.
If you are on a Legacy billing model (monthly and/or charge upfront) and manually resumed billing during a paused month, the extension is retroactively removed.
For example, say a patron has an annual subscription set to end on 1 November 2025. If you pause your billing cycle in August 2025, their membership will not extend by 1 month and ends on 1 November 2025 as expected.
How does paused billing work if I bill per creation?
Our pause feature isn’t available with our per creation billing option. Why? To pause billing patrons on the per creation model, all you need to do is stop making paid posts.
Can I post during my pause?
Yes! You can still post content even if you’ve paused billing. Patrons can still access your page and posts during a paused billing cycle. Additionally, you and your patrons can still interact through comments and direct messages.