If you paid upfront to start a membership, we're here to help you understand your billing schedule and what to expect if you make any changes.
What is upfront membership?
If you paid immediately to join your creator’s page it means that your creator opted to charge patrons upfront for access to their membership perks.
Upfront billing schedule
Payments process in Pacific Time (PT). If you’d like to subscribe on the first of the month, check what time it is in PT, before joining – you’ll be billed on the first of the following month, regardless of your join date.
You pay to start your membership and unlock access to the creator’s Patreon community and past and future patron-only posts for that month. Your membership renews on the first of each month and you are charged in full at that time. Your membership will auto-renew until canceled.
Each creator has a unique benefit distribution system. We recommend that you message your creator directly if you have distribution questions.
Example:
June 25: You join a charge upfront creator’s USD $10.00 tier, and pay as soon as you confirm. You unlock access to patron-only posts instantly and can begin interacting with their community.
July 1: Your membership renews for the entire month of July, and you are charged $10.00. Even if you cancel, you’ll have access for the rest of the month.
Increasing my upfront membership
When you increase or “upgrade” your upfront membership, you’ll be charged the difference between your payment on the first of the month (or the date you joined) and your new membership amount.
Example:
Example:
March 20: You start an upfront membership at USD $10.00.
April 1: Your membership renews and you pay $10.00.
April 15: You upgrade to the creator’s $15.00 tier – you pay the difference of $5.00.
May 1: Your membership renews at your new tier and you pay $15.00 in full.
Decreasing my upfront membership
If you decrease your upfront membership, you'll experience no charge, nor any refund of the difference. Because you've already paid for the month in full, you will retain your higher membership access until the end of the month.
Example:
Example:
January 7: You start an upfront membership at USD $15.00.
January 26: You decrease your membership to the creator’s $5.00 tier. You’ll have access to $15.00 content and benefits for the rest of January, and are considered a $15.00 patron during that time.
February 1: Your membership renews at your decreased $5.00 tier, and you lose access to the higher tier content. The creator will see you listed as a $5.00 tier patron.
Canceling my upfront membership
Membership renewal occurs on the first of each month (midnight PT). If you cancel on the first, this will not cancel your renewal for the month and your pending bill will be processed. We recommend canceling on the last day of a month to ensure you do not renew and pay on the first.
You can cancel your upfront membership at any time. Your cancelation stops the auto-renewal of your membership, meaning you won’t see future charges. Since you’ve paid for the current month upfront, you’ll have access to our creator’s patron-only content for the remainder of the month. There’s no refund for canceled upfront memberships.
Example:
August 12: You start an upfront membership and pay USD $5.00 to unlock access.
September 1: Your membership renews and you pay $5.00 for September access.
September 13: You cancel your membership. The creator is removed from your active memberships list, but you’ll still have membership access for your tier for the rest of September.
October 1: Your membership does not renew, and your membership access ends.
Annual memberships
Some creators may offer annual membership access. With this option, patrons pay for the full year upfront to unlock membership access.
Annual membership will automatically renew after one year on the first of the following month.
Example:
Annual membership will automatically renew after one year on the first of the following month.
Example:
August 7, 2021: You start an annual membership at USD $9.60.
September 1, 2022: Your annual membership auto-renews.
Visit our guide to learn more about annual memberships: Annual membership details