Commerce

Now, creators can sell digital products like videos, podcast episodes, images, and other files directly to customers, whether they’re a member or not, through their Shop tab. Selling digital products unlocks new revenue streams for creators and allows fans to support creators’ work in a new and direct way. Remember, any product sold on Patreon needs to comply with our Community Guidelines. Creators may not sell pornography, sex services, or sexual works created for only one fan. 

In November 2024, we’ve started gradually rolling out access to Commerce for creators that are classified as Adult/18+ and will continue this rollout into 2025. All work sold through Shops must comply with our Community Guidelines.

Commerce details

Pricing, fees, and taxes

There is no cost to list products. Fees are only applied when products are purchased. We’ve created a guide to Commerce fees to get into the nitty-gritty, but as you’re getting started, here is a summary of fees that may be applied to your product sales and payouts:

Charged to creators:

The following fees and taxes are applied to successfully processed payments:

• Platform fee: 5% of the sale amount
• Payment fee (for purchases made on web and Android App): Varies by currency (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction for USD)
• Sales tax on fees: In certain jurisdictions, we are legally required to apply sales tax to fees assessed during a transaction, please see our Commerce fees article for more information
• Payout fee: the cost of withdrawing funds from your Patreon account to your personal account - this fee varies depending on your payout method and currency. Visit our payout fees guide to see what rates to expect

Charged to customers

The following fees and taxes are applied to successfully processed payments:

• App store fee (for purchases made on iOS app *): 30% of the iOS sale price, paid to Apple. Learn more about iOS in-app purchases for Commerce
• Sales tax: We are required by law to apply sales tax to purchases made in certain jurisdictions. You can see a breakdown of where we’re collecting sales tax from customers and what those tax rates are here
• Currency conversion fee (if a customer pays in a currency other than yours): 2.5% of the total sale amount

*iOS in-app purchases for Commerce are currently available in select countries. Visit our iOS in-app purchases: country & currency page for more information about where iOS in-app purchases are currently supported. Fans who are not located in one of the currently supported countries can still view products on the iOS app but are unable to purchase products on that platform.

For selling posts and collections, the platform fee percentage depends on your platform plan. You can read more about it here.

Product Guidelines

• All products must meet our Community Guidelines. To keep Patreon safe for everyone, we may need to take down products that don’t meet guidelines or remove your early access

File types & limitations

Whether you’re a podcaster or releasing your latest video short, you can upload a variety of media types to sell in your shop.

How to create a digital product

Creating your first digital product is streamlined so that you can start selling in no time. Here’s how to create a digital product:

• Make sure you follow this guide while in your creator profile. You can switch to your creator profile by clicking your profile picture in the bottom left corner and clicking on your creator profile.

  1. Log into your account and click on the Shop tab on your page
  2. Click + Add new button
  3. Give your product:
     • A name
     • A price: must be at least $3 USD, but no more than $5,000 USD
     • A description of the product
  4. If you choose, click the Advanced pricing button to give certain paid tier members access to your product for free
  5. Select your product type and select your product file to begin uploading
     • If you upload an Audio file, you can enable Audio preview and choose a clip between 30 seconds and 5 minutes to give customers a preview of your audio product
     • (Early access to Patreon video only): If you upload a Video file, you can enable Video preview and choose a short clip between 30 seconds and 2 minutes to give customers a preview of your video product
  6. You’ll need to update the hero image of the product –This will be the thumbnail that shows up in your shop, the product detail page, and around Patreon
     • Click the Recommended Dimensions link to see the size recommendations for different types of products. For audio products with previews, hero images should be 1:1 aspect ratio and at least 400 x 400 px. For all other products, images should be 16:9 aspect ratio and at least 984 x 554 px.
  7. You can add additional images to showcase your product. These will appear on the product details page (Optional)
     • Images must be JPEG, PNG, or GIF, and at least 1000 x 1000 px
  8. Preview how products appear to customers and the public by tapping the Preview icon in the bottom right corner
  9. If you want to know how a product will look in your shop before publishing it to your fans, you can tap on the drop-down button next to publish and select Save draft to save your product in an unpublished state — You can revisit your unpublished product at any time by accessing your Shop tab
  10. Click the Publish button to go live! After you publish your first product, your Shop tab will become visible to your audience on your creator page. Products you create are displayed in your Shop tab and are immediately available for purchase if your page is published

  

• Make sure you follow this guide while in your creator profile. Tap on the menu in the top left corner, and then tap on your profile photo at the bottom of the menu. Select your creator profile.

  1. Tap on the Shop tab
  2. Tap the + plus sign to create a new digital product
  3. Give your product:
     • A name
     • A price: must be at least $3 USD, but no more than $5,000 USD
     • A description of the product
  4. If you choose, tap the Advanced pricing button to give certain paid tier members access to your product for free
  5. Select your product type and select your product file to begin uploading
     • If you upload an Audio file, you can enable Audio preview and choose a clip between 30 seconds and 5 minutes to give customers a preview of your audio product
     • (Early access to Patreon video only): If you upload a Video file, you can enable Video preview and choose a short clip between 30 seconds and 2 minutes to give customers a preview of your video product
  6. You’ll need to update the hero image of the product –This will be the thumbnail that shows up in your shop, the product detail page, and around Patreon
     • Tap the Recommended Dimensions link to see the size recommendations for different types of products. For audio products with previews, hero images should be 1:1 aspect ratio and at least 400 x 400 px. For all other products, images should be 16:9 aspect ratio and at least 984 x 554 px.
  7. You can add additional images to showcase your product. These will appear on the product details page (Optional)
     • Images must be JPEG, PNG, or GIF, and at least 1000 x 1000 px
  8. Preview how products appear to customers and the public by clicking the Preview icon in the bottom right corner
  9. If you want to know how a product will look in your shop before publishing it to your fans, you can click on the drop-down button next to publish and select Save draft to save your product in an unpublished state — You can revisit your unpublished product at any time by accessing your Shop tab.
  10. Tap the Publish button to go live! Products you create are displayed in your Shop tab and are immediately available for purchase if your page is published.

Promote your product on Patreon and beyond!

After publishing a product, you’ll have the option to share a link to your product page on socials. You can also embed your product into a live Patreon post to promote your product with members who don’t get access for free.

Your shop

Your digital products will appear in your Shop tab. Your shop is where you can add new products, get links to share products, edit existing products, and unpublish or delete products you no longer want to sell.

Your shop view includes filters so that you can view your products from new to old, old to new, from A to Z, and from Z to A. By default, your products will appear in order from new to old. You'll also be able to filter products by published and unpublished status. When viewing your shop, you can click on the three button (...) menu next to a product and select the Insights button to analyze sales and earnings details specific to that product. 

Featuring products in your shop

You can feature up to 3 products at the top of your Shop to drive attention from your fans. Featuring products is a great way to showcase your most popular or new items and encourage sales.

To feature a product:

1. Click the More button (…) next to your post or product
2. Feature in shop

Your featured products will appear prominently at the top of your Shop, helping fans discover your best offerings quickly.

'View as' your customer

Click on the Page Controls button to view your shop as the public. If you're curious about what your product pages look like for customers and the public, click on a product, then click the More Actions button and select the audience you'd like to view your product page as.

The customer view of your shop

Customers visiting your shop will see all of your published products with your hero image as the thumbnail. Customers can filter your products from new to old, old to new, A to Z, and Z to A. If you enabled Audio/Video previews, your customers can play a short clip of your product to preview the content before making a purchase.

Editing a digital product

You can edit your products by going to your Shop tab. After a product's first sale, you can change the product files, name, price, description, and hero image. You can add new files and delete the original ones for downloadable products even after your first sale.

• Make sure you follow this guide while in your creator profile. You can switch to your creator profile by clicking your profile picture in the bottom left corner and clicking on your creator profile.

  1. Click on the Shop tab on your page
  2. Click the Edit button
  3. When you’re happy with your changes, click the Publish button

• Make sure you follow this guide while in your creator profile. Tap on the menu in the top left corner, and then tap on your profile photo at the bottom of the menu. Select your creator profile.

  1. Tap the Shop tab on your page
  2. Tap the … more menu for the product you’d like to edit
  3. Tap  Edit
  4. When you’re happy with your changes, tap the Publish button

• Make sure you follow this guide while in your creator profile. You can switch to your creator profile by tapping your profile picture in the top right corner of the home screen to use the profile switcher. This switcher button allows you to adjust your view of the app between your creator view and your member view.

  1. Tap on the Self view tab
  2. Tap the Shop tab on your page
  3. Tap the … more menu for the product you’d like to edit
  4. Tap Edit
  5. When you’re happy with your changes, click the Save button

Unpublishing a digital product

Unpublished products will no longer be available in your shop. Customers who have already purchased this product will still have access to it. You can re-publish a product at any time.

• Make sure you follow this guide while in your creator profile. You can switch to your creator profile by clicking your profile picture in the bottom left corner and clicking on your creator profile.

  1. Click on the Shop tab on your page
  2. Click the … more menu for the product you’d like to unpublish
  3. Click Unpublish and confirm

• Make sure you follow this guide while in your creator profile. Tap on the menu in the top left corner, and then tap on your profile photo at the bottom of the menu. Select your creator profile.

  1. Tap the Shop tab on your page
  2. Tap the … more menu for the product you’d like to unpublish
  3. Tap Unpublish and confirm

• Make sure you follow this guide while in your creator profile. You can switch to your creator profile by tapping your profile picture in the top right corner of the home screen to use the profile switcher. This switcher button allows you to adjust your view of the app between your creator view and your member view.

  1. Tap on the Self view tab
  2. Tap the Shop tab on your page
  3. Tap the … more menu for the product you’d like to unpublish
  4. Tap Unpublish and confirm

Deleting a digital product

Deleting a product will remove it from your shop. Customers who already purchased it will also lose access. If you want existing customers to still have access, you can unpublish this product instead.

• Make sure you follow this guide while in your creator profile. You can switch to your creator profile by clicking your profile picture in the bottom left corner and clicking on your creator profile.

  1. Click on the Shop tab on your page
  2. Click the … more menu for the product
  3. Click Delete

• Make sure you follow this guide while in your creator profile. Tap on the menu in the top left corner, and then tap on your profile photo at the bottom of the menu. Select your creator profile.

  1. Tap the Shop tab on your page
  2. Tap the … more menu for the product
  3. Tap Delete

• Make sure you follow this guide while in your creator profile. You can switch to your creator profile by tapping your profile picture in the top right corner of the home screen to use the profile switcher. This switcher button allows you to adjust your view of the app between your creator view and your member view.

  1. Tap on the Self view tab
  2. Tap the Shop tab on your page
  3. Tap the … more menu for the product you’d like to delete
  4. Tap Delete and confirm

When deleting a product, you will be asked if you want to refund your customers. If you select the option to refund your customers, you can refund:

• All customers: All customers who have purchased that product will be refunded
• Some customers: Manually select which transactions you want to refund

Paying out funds from digital sales

Funds from products purchased from Web and Android will appear as pending for up to 7 days before they can be withdrawn from your balance. Funds from product sales from iOS in-app purchases will remain pending for up to 75 days before they will be available for payout to account for the time Apple requires to process and confirm the funds. Once funds are available for payout, you can manually payout your balance immediately, or if you have automatic payouts enabled, your funds will be paid out on the 5th of each month.

When you withdraw funds, a payout fee will be deducted from the payout amount. Visit our Payout fees article to learn more about what payout fees you can expect depending on your payout method.

Refunding customers

Please note that funds from products purchased from Web and Android will appear as pending for up to 7 days, and funds from product sales from iOS in-app purchases will remain pending for up to 75 days before they can be withdrawn from your balance. Funds must be available to withdraw in order to be used for refunding customers or members.

As long as you have the funds available to withdraw in your balance, you can cover customer refund requests. Here’s how:

1. 1. Make sure you are logged in and in your creator account profile
   2. Click on Audience from the left navigation side
   3. Click on the Sales tab from the top menu
   4. Search for the customer you want to refund, either by using the search bar or by going through the list of customers
   5. Click on the customer’s name to open a side panel with their order details
   6. Click on the Issue refund button

You can also mass refund customers if you delete a product. When deleting a product, you will be asked if you want to refund your customers. If you select the option to refund your customers, you can refund:

• All customers: All customers who have purchased that product will be refunded
• Some customers: Manually select which transactions you want to refund

Note that the limit on how far back we can refund is 90 days.

Refunds may take 5-7 business days to process and cannot be undone. As soon as you refund a product, it will be removed from the customer’s purchases, and they will immediately lose access to the content.

For refunds on products purchased through the iOS app, customers have the option to reach out directly to you, as they normally would for other commerce purchases, or through Apple. Apple will process refunds within 60 days of the purchase taking place:

• Through Patreon: You can refund purchases as you normally would for other Commerce purchases
• Through Apple: Customers can request a refund from Apple via reportaproblem.apple.com. Apple will handle the refund on your behalf and communicate with the customer on the status of the refund. If the refund is granted, funds will be issued back to their Apple account

In both cases, if the refund is approved, customers will get a full refund for the entire purchase amount.

FAQ

• Funds from products purchased from Web and Android will appear as pending for up to 7 days before they can be withdrawn from your balance. Funds from product sales from iOS in-app purchases will remain pending for up to 75 days before they will be available for payout to account for the time Apple requires to process and confirm the funds.

• Analyze your earnings from sales, total sales, and top-selling products on the Shop tab within Insights. You can learn more about how to analyze your sales insights by visiting our shop insights guide.

  When you visit your Shop, you can click on the three button (...) menu next to a product and select the Product Insights button on any product to analyze your sales and earnings details for that product.

• As of now, you will not be notified of sales. We are working on adding notifications about sales in the coming months.

• New digital products can only be created on the web and mobile web but you can sell on both the web and the app. Additionally, iOS in-app purchases are only available for fans located in the US or Canada. Fans in other locations can still view products on the iOS app but are unable to purchase products on that platform at this time.

• We will support native video, audio and images. In addition to our standard file types, we also support .epub, .doc, .rtf, .txt up to 5GB as downloadable files.

• Commerce supports all of Patreon’s accepted currencies on Desktop, mobile web, and Android in-app purchases. iOS in-app purchases for Commerce are currently available in select countries and currencies. Visit our iOS in-app purchases: country & currency page for more information about where iOS in-app purchases are currently supported.

• Your account is in good standing if it has not been flagged for potentially fraudulent behavior. Additionally, your account activity must comply with Patreon's Terms and Community Guidelines.

• Products that you give to paid membership tiers for free will not be available to fans on a Free Trial (if enabled). Fans with a Free Trial will get access to the product when their trial ends, and they become paying members.