Apple’s requirements are about to hit creators and fans on Patreon. Here’s what you need to know.

August 12, 2024

Apple is requiring that Patreon switch to their iOS in-app purchase system starting this November, or risk being removed from the App Store. Here’s what’s coming, and what you can do about it.

Patreon exists to let creators make what they love for their biggest fans, and earn an income doing it on their own terms. Everything we build is to make those two things easier for creators. For you.

Unfortunately, Apple is requiring us to switch over to their in-app purchase system for all iOS transactions or else risk being kicked out of the App Store altogether – and their in-app purchase system is not built with our same level of creator-first flexibility.

In situations like this — where a partner is forcing us into a change that we don't believe is best for creators — we use these three principles to guide our decisions:

  1. Transparency – Communicating to you early and clearly to help you understand exactly what is happening and what your options are.
  2. Control – Giving you a clear understanding of the tradeoffs, so that you can decide what’s right for your business.
  3. Stability – Making sure that you’re able to maintain your earnings and continue to grow your business throughout this process.

Apple’s requirements

As we first announced last year, Apple is requiring that Patreon use their in-app purchasing system and remove all other billing systems from the Patreon iOS app by November 2024.

This has two major consequences for creators:

  1. Apple will be applying their 30% App Store fee to all new memberships purchased in the Patreon iOS app, in addition to anything bought in your Patreon shop.
  2. Any creator currently on first-of-the-month or per-creation billing plans will have to switch over to subscription billing to continue earning in the iOS app, because that’s the only billing type Apple’s in-app purchase system supports.

Before we go any further, we want to be crystal clear about one thing: Apple’s fee will not impact your existing members. It will only affect new memberships purchased in the iOS app from November onward.

Here’s everything you need to know to navigate this change in the least disruptive way possible.

Navigating Apple’s fee

We’ve been working closely with creators to figure out the best way to help you avoid earnings disruptions stemming from Apple’s 30% App Store fee.

Based on creator feedback, we've built an optional tool that can automatically increase your prices — only in the iOS app — to offset the cost of Apple's fee. This way, you’ll continue to earn at least the same amount per membership as you do on all other platforms.

That said, you deserve the chance to decide whether that’s something you want. So, while the automatic price increase is the default option, you also have the choice to keep your prices the same and pay the 30% fee from your earnings. We don’t recommend this, because it means you’d earn less per membership on in-app iOS transactions – but ultimately we believe it's important to give you agency to make your own decisions.

Obviously, neither of these solutions are ideal. But remember, Apple’s fees are only in the iOS app. Your prices on the web and the Android app will remain completely unaffected. You can always send your fans to this Help Center article which explains the iOS in-app fees relative to other platforms, so they can better understand the implications of where they choose to make their purchases.

In any case, the decision you end up making doesn’t have to be final: you can change how you apply the fee at any time. For a breakdown of fees and earnings check out our Help Center article.

Navigating Apple’s billing requirement

Patreon is home to an incredible range of creators, all with unique circumstances and billing needs. Apple’s in-app purchase system, on the other hand, only supports Patreon’s subscription billing model. Apple has also made clear that if creators on Patreon continue to use unsupported billing models or disable transactions in the iOS app, we will be at risk of having the entire app removed from their App Store.

Apple’s billing mandates mean that if you’re on a first-of-the-month or per-creation billing model, your membership will no longer be available to fans in the iOS app starting this November until you switch over to subscription billing.

As a result of Apple’s mandates and in order to make sure that you can continue getting new members in the iOS app, we've started a 16-month-long migration process to bring all creators onto subscription billing by November 2025, supported by a roadmap of new features and tools to make sure the billing model works for you, your community, and your business. To be clear, this means that first-of-the-month and per-creation billing models will be discontinued in November 2025.

Most creators on Patreon use subscription billing. Over the past few years, we’ve slowly rolled it out, tackling each hurdle that has come up to ensure that the migration is not disruptive for creators. That’s the way we like to roll out products. Unfortunately, because of Apple’s timelines and constraints, we can’t continue to do it this way. Instead of helping creators move to subscription billing if and when they feel like it’s right for them, we’re now forced to migrate all creators on Apple’s timeline.

How this change will affect you depends on your current billing model. If you’re not sure what billing model you’re on, you can find out in your settings.

  • Subscription billing – You do not have to make any changes to your billing model and can adjust how you handle Apple's fees at any time.
  • First-of-the-month billing – In order to let you keep earning in the iOS app, we are going to automatically switch you over to subscription billing beginning in November 2024. However, if you’d like more time, you can delay your migration in your settings to keep your current billing model until November 2025. To be clear: even if you delay your migration, Apple’s requirements still apply. If you have not switched to subscription billing by this November, your fans will not be able to purchase new memberships in the iOS app. If you delay the migration but then change your mind, you can migrate to subscription billing at any time in your settings.
  • Per-creation billing – Because this is such a big change to how you run your business, our Product Support will offer 1-1 support to help you migrate, which takes more time. You will be able to keep your current billing model until November 2025, at which point you’ll be migrated to subscription billing automatically. However, Apple’s requirements still take effect in November 2024. If you have not switched to subscription billing by this November, your fans will not be able to purchase new memberships in the iOS app. You can start the migration process in your settings.

The road forward

We want to do absolutely everything we can to make sure that these changes are as smooth as possible for you, your fans, and your business.

We didn’t choose this path, but we’re focusing our resources on making subscription billing an even better experience for creators and fans. This will take time and we’re committed to making it happen for every creator. We’re working with creators who have already successfully navigated this process to make how-to videos, FAQs, and articles in our Newsroom and Help Center. We’re bringing together communities of creators on first-of-the-month and per-creation billing models over on our Discord to talk about migration tips and best practices. We’re keeping you up to date through emails, web and mobile notifications, and reminders. We’re continuing to advocate for you with Apple, and everywhere else. And we’re gathering your feedback every step of the way to make the process even better.

If you have any questions, the Patreon team will be available on Discord from August 12th at 9am to August 16th at 5pm Eastern time for a Q&A.

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