Whether you're a long-time patron, or just started your membership, we've made this article to guide you through how billing and payments work on Patreon.
Important: Payments process in Pacific Standard Time and typically on the first of each month. If you want to upgrade your membership, we recommend waiting until the first of the month for a smooth transition.
Your payments will follow one of our three billing models depending on the creator’s settings:
Per creation membership
How do I know if my creator charges per creation?
- Log in to your account.
- Hover over your profile image to open the user menu.
- Click on Manage memberships.
- If a creator is charging per creation, your membership will be listed as something other than “per month,” typically, “per creation.”
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How it works
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Example
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Starting membership
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There’s no upfront payment to unlock per patron-only access. Instead, you’re billed your pledged amount for paid posts the creator makes once you join until you cancel. These bills are posted to your Billing history. You can set a monthly limit so that you aren’t billed more than you budget for, however, you’ll have access to all paid posts. We process your payment on the first of each month for paid posts made the month prior.
Learn how to set up a monthly max, with this guide: Set your monthly max
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Upgrading
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There’s no upfront charge to upgrade, and you instantly get higher membership access. Your higher pledge amount is applied to paid posts the creator makes after you upgrade. Pending bills already posted to your Billing history are not altered and will be kept at your lower pledge amount.
We won’t exceed your monthly limit, so you may not be billed for additional paid posts. If you want to ensure a creator gets your increased amount, you may want to increase your monthly limit as well.
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Decreasing
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Decreasing your membership will not change the amount of any pending bills already posted to your Billing history.
Your lower amount will be applied to future paid posts if your monthly limit has not already been met.
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Canceling
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When you cancel a per creation membership, any pending bills are processed immediately. We recommend that you check your Billing history before canceling, so you’re aware of potential charges.
Since future billing stops as soon as you cancel, so does your membership access.
If your payment declines, canceling will not remove the declined bill. We’ll continue to try your payment to get creators paid.
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Rejoining
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Exactly like when you first started your membership, there’s no payment to join and you instantly unlock membership access.
Once you join, you’ll be billed for any paid post the creator makes after you rejoin.
If you have any declined payments with the creator, you’ll first need to resolve those before you get access.
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If your membership payment declines with a creator, we’ll regularly retry your charge. Canceling or downgrading your membership after a creator has made a paid post will not remove pending or declined bills already posted to your Billing history.
Monthly membership
How do I know if my creator charges monthly?
When you start your membership, the summary section of the confirmation page will list your billing schedule. If your first charge is listed for the first of the next month, then the creator charges monthly.
How to check if your creator charges monthly:
How to check if your creator charges monthly:
- Log in to your account.
- Hover over your profile image to open the user menu.
- Click on Manage memberships.
- Click the Edit button next to your membership.
- On the checkout page – review the Summary section. If your creator charges monthly, your charge will be listed as the 1st of the upcoming month.
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You are
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How it works
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Example
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Starting membership
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There’s no upfront payment to start a regular monthly membership. You’ll be billed on the 1st of each month for any membership access you had in the previous month. As soon as you confirm your membership, you unlock access.
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Upgrading
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When you increase, you immediately get membership access for your higher membership.
There’s no immediate charge to increase and you’ll pay your upgraded pledge on the first of the month.
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Decreasing
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If you decrease your membership, your access is instantly limited to the new (lower) tier that you've subscribed to.
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Canceling
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When you cancel, you immediately lose membership access. This is because you haven’t paid for the month’s access, and won’t be billed for it. Visit your billing history page for a detailed history of your payments, including what month your payment is supported.
If your payment declines, canceling will not remove the declined bill. We’ll continue to try your payment for any access you had.
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Rejoining
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Just like when you first started your membership, there’s no payment to rejoin and you instantly unlock membership access.
You then pay on the first of each month for membership access in the previous month.
If you have any declined payments with the creator, you’ll first need to resolve those before you get access.
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Charge upfront membership
How do I know if my creator charges upfront?
When you first join, the Summary section of the checkout page details your billing schedule. If your creator charges upfront, you'll find "Today's charge.” If you’re very near the end of the month, it might be worth waiting until the first of the month (PST) to join, since you’ll be charged when joining and the first of the month regardless of your join date/time.
How to tell if your creator charges upfront:
How to tell if your creator charges upfront:
- Log in to your account.
- Hover over your profile image to open the user menu.
- Click on Manage memberships from the menu bar.
- Click the Edit button next to your membership.
- On the checkout page – review the Summary section. If your creator charges upfront, “Today’s charge” will be included in the Summary section.
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You are
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How it works
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Example
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Starting membership
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Some creators charge patrons immediately, or what we refer to as charge upfront billing.
You pay up front to start your membership. Your membership then renews on the first of each month and you pay your pledged amount in full unless canceled.
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Upgrading
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If you increase your membership to a charge upfront creator, you'll be charged the difference between what you’ve already paid that month and your new membership amount.
You’ll pay your upgraded membership amount on the following first of the month.
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Decreasing
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Downgrading your membership does not affect the current month’s membership access. Since you’ve already paid for the month upfront, downgrading affects your membership renewal on the upcoming first of the month.
We recommend downgrading closer to the end of the month for a smooth transition.
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Canceling
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Since you paid upfront, canceling stops your membership auto-renewal for the upcoming month.
Once canceled, that membership will not appear in your Active memberships list, but you’ll still have membership access until the end of the month. Visit the creator’s page to view their content.
After you cancel, you won’t be billed further.
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Rejoining
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If you cancel and rejoin in a later month, your experience will be as if you started your membership for the first time. You’ll pay to join and will instantly unlock membership access.
If you cancel and rejoin in the same month, you’ll have a credit for any amount you already paid in that month.
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Annual membership
How do I know if my membership is annual?
Not all creators will have annual options available. Here’s how you can confirm if your membership is annual:
- Log in to your account.
- Hover over your profile image to open the user menu.
- Click on Manage memberships from the menu bar.
- If you have an annual membership with the creator, it will be listed as “per year”.
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You are
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How it works
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Example
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Starting membership
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You pay upfront and unlock an entire year of membership!
Your membership auto-renews on the first of the month, a year after your initial join date. It auto-renews every year on that date until canceled.
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Increasing
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When you increase your annual membership, pro-rated credit from what you've already paid is applied to the new amount, and you pay the remaining cost for upgrading.
When you update an annual membership, it extends your term for a year from that date.
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Decreasing
(not available)
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At the moment, there’s no way to downgrade your annual membership tier. You can, however, join a lower tier after your year membership has ended with a slight workaround.
You can cancel your membership near the end of your year term, and then re-pledge at a lower-tier option once the year has passed.
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Canceling
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Canceling will stop annual membership auto-renewal. Since you paid for the year, you’ll have membership access until your year term expires.
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Rejoining
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If you rejoin the creator’s page with an annual membership, your annual term will start or be extended from that date.
If you rejoin after your year term, it will be like starting a new membership!
If you rejoin after canceling within your year term, you’ll have a pro-rated credit for what you’ve already paid and will pay the difference of extending the year.
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What will Patreon charges look like on my statements?
The names of creators you support will not be included in your statement. Your charge will be processed as Patreon and listed as one of the following line items:
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Credit card
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PayPal
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