New Patreon memberships will become more expensive on iOS

So far, creators on Patreon have not been affected by the Apple Store’s 30% fee on payments for transactions or subscriptions. However, the company has confirmed that this will change in November.

Apple charges a 30% fee on all payments made through its platform. Now, according to Patreon’s blog post, Apple is forcing them to use its payment system. Otherwise, they could be at “risk of being kicked out of the App Store.” According to ..., the change will take effect starting in November, making new subscriptions through the iOS app more expensive starting that month.

Patreon forced to adopt Apple’s payment system and fees for new memberships

Creators will have two options regarding their memberships. They can choose between raising prices to avoid losing money or absorbing Apple’s fee to avoid losing potential new subscribers. Creators should consider which path will be best for their type of content and audience. Patreon already has its own set of fees, so absorbing Apple’s fee too can be a hard blow.

Anyway, the fee will apply only to new subscriptions. That is, if you are paying for a Patreon membership, the current price for that membership will remain the same as long as you remain subscribed.

It’s noteworthy that Patreon already warned about this last year. The company had said that it would have to adopt Apple’s payment system by early 2024. So, the new notice is a reminder after having managed to extend the deadline. Interestingly, although Android’s Play Store has its own fee, the price of subscriptions will not be affected. This is because Android is more open than Apple regarding using alternative payment systems. Prices through the Patreon website will also not be changed.

While there are apps or services that are free of Apple’s fee, Patreon is not one of them, as confirmed by its CEO in 2021. This is interesting since it has not been “forced” until now. In this regard, Patreon’s CEO said that Apple was giving them a pass because “users don’t come to Patreon to discover creators and content.”