Kit
2018
Why
New York product-curation startup acquired in June 2018 to build creator merch tools; Patreon sold the Kit.com assets to Geniuslink in September 2019.
Patreon, Inc.
Creator Economy MonetizationFounded 2013- HQ today: San Francisco, California, United States
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: October 2026
Acquisitions
Patreon Acquisitions
3
Major Deals Covered
What are Patreon's biggest acquisitions?
This page covers 3 major deals from 2015 to 2018, each with its price where disclosed and the reason behind it.
- Major deals covered
- 3
- First deal
- 2015
- Most recent
- 2018
| Company | Year | Price | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subbable | 2015 | Undisclosed | Patronage platform created by Hank and John Green; its creators moved to Patreon. |
| Kit | 2018 | Undisclosed | New York product-curation startup acquired in June 2018 to build creator merch tools; Patreon sold the Kit.com assets to Geniuslink in September 2019. |
| Memberful | 2018 | Undisclosed | White-label membership software for creators and publishers running their own websites; still operated as a separate product. |
- What companies has Patreon bought?
- Major acquisitions by Patreon documented here include Kit (2018), Memberful (2018) and Subbable (2015).
- What is Patreon's most recent acquisition?
- The most recent Patreon acquisition documented here is Kit, in 2018.
Memberful
2018
Why
White-label membership software for creators and publishers running their own websites; still operated as a separate product.
Subbable
2015
Why
Patronage platform created by Hank and John Green; its creators moved to Patreon.
Patreon, Inc.'s Growth & Acquisition Strategy
Patreon is widening its funnel beyond paid memberships. Free memberships let creators collect fans directly; the shop sells one-off digital products; native video, private podcast feeds and community chats keep members engaged. A single 10% standard fee for new creators from August 2025 simplified pricing. In July 2026 Patreon also partnered with Cloudflare to block unauthorized AI crawlers from scraping creator work, positioning itself as protector of human-made content.
How Patreon, Inc. Makes Money
Patreon makes money by keeping a share of every payment fans make to creators. Creators who published a page after August 4, 2025 pay a flat 10% platform fee; older pages stay on legacy 5% (Lite), 8% (Pro) or 11% (Premium) plans. Payment processing fees (around 2.9% plus $0.30 per US card payment on standard transactions) and currency conversion charges are passed through to creators. The same fee structure applies to paid memberships and one-off digital product sales in the Patreon shop. Free memberships cost creators nothing and act as a funnel to paid tiers. On iOS, Apple requires in-app purchase for most digital purchases outside the US, adding its 30% App Store fee (15% after a year of continuous billing), which Patreon passes to creators who opt to raise prices for iOS buyers.
Patreon Acquisitions FAQ
What was Patreon's acquisition of Memberful in 2018?
In August 2018, Patreon acquired Memberful, a leading WordPress membership plugin and white-label checkout platform. Memberful was maintained as an independent product, allowing creators and independent news publishers to power self-hosted memberships on their own websites.
What was the acquisition of Kit (Kit.com) in 2019?
In June 2018, Patreon acquired Kit.com, a product discovery and affiliate recommendation platform where creators shared curated lists of gear, books, and tech products. The acquisition bolstered Patreon's commerce and creator merchandising capabilities.
What was the strategic acquisition of ClearGraph in 2018?
In March 2018, Patreon acquired ClearGraph, an AI and natural language data intelligence startup. ClearGraph's technology was integrated into Patreon to improve creator analytics, patron retention insights, and audience telemetry.
How does Patreon approach M&A versus in-house engineering?
Patreon approaches M&A selectively, targeting bolt-on acquisitions and specialized engineering talent that can accelerate core creator software capabilities (such as white-label checkout, video transcoding, and audience data analytics) while developing flagship features in-house.
Did Patreon acquire specialized podcasting or audio technology companies?
Rather than acquiring legacy podcast hosting networks, Patreon built its proprietary private audio RSS feed technology in-house and partnered via open APIs with audio platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts to expand native audio distribution.
How has Patreon integrated its acquired teams into company leadership?
Key executives from acquired companies, such as the Memberful and Kit teams, assumed senior leadership and engineering roles within Patreon's product and monetization organizations.
What is Patreon's criteria for future strategic acquisitions?
Patreon evaluates potential acquisitions based on their ability to enhance direct creator-to-fan commerce, expand international localized payment methods, improve mobile community engagement, and provide advanced creator analytics.
Has Patreon ever divested any acquired business units?
No, Patreon has retained and integrated all acquired technologies and subsidiaries into its broader platform ecosystem, continuing to operate Memberful as a high-margin, complementary independent membership business.
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