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.
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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
- Once a billing cycle has been paused, you will not be able to charge patrons for that time retroactively
- If you bill upfront, new patrons will still pay on signup for access to your backlog
- 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 want to pause multiple billing cycles, you will need to log back in after 1st of the month billing (PT) and request to skip the next month
- You can choose to resume the billing cycle at any time before the 1st of the month (PT)
How do I resume billing patrons again?
Billing automatically resumes after 1 billing cycle (i.e., the 2nd of the following month). 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
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 bill my patrons for that billing cycle?
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 monthly billing creators (non-charge upfront)?
Our pause feature works nearly the same; you can pause 1 billing cycle 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.
For example, say a patron has an annual subscription set to end on November 1st, 2025. If you pause your billing cycle in August 2025, their membership will extend by 1 month and now ends on December 1st, 2025.
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 via comments and direct messages.