Patreon

Patreon built the modern template for creator memberships: monthly tiers with different perks and price points, largely aimed at ongoing support for a creator's regular output, videos, podcasts, comics, rather than a structured course a member finishes. Its fee structure changed in August 2025 to a flat 10% for new creator pages, replacing the older tiered plans that some existing creators still keep at rates from 5% to 12%.

Patreon's audience-discovery tools are thinner than a marketplace like Udemy's; most patrons arrive because a creator already has an audience elsewhere and directs them to a Patreon page, not because Patreon recommended the creator. It fits a creator whose value is ongoing content and direct fan connection rather than a finite course, and its 2018 acquisition of Memberful gives creators who want more brand control an in-house alternative under the same parent company.