Apple vs Patreon: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Apple reported $416.2B of revenue in FY2025 and $112B of net income. Patreon reported $179M of revenue in FY2025 and — of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
Apple
Apple's fiscal 2025 results describe a hardware business with software margins. Net sales rose 6 percent to $416.2 billion, net income reached $112.0 billion, and total gross margin was 46.9 percent, split between 36.8 percent on Products and 75.4 percent on Services. Services revenue of $109.2 billion, up 14 percent, is the reason the blended margin keeps rising. Cash generation is the other defining feature: operations produced $111.5 billion in fiscal 2025, and Apple returned $89.3 billion through share repurchases and $15.4 billion in dividends, after announcing a new repurchase authorization of up to $100 billion and raising the quarterly dividend to $0.26 per share in May 2025. Research and development came to $34.6 billion, 8 percent of net sales, and cash plus marketable securities stood at $132.4 billion at year end.
Patreon
Patreon is private and does not report revenue. Research firm Sacra estimates revenue of about $179 million for 2025, up 28% from 2024. Creators passed $10 billion in cumulative earnings in August 2025, up from $3.5 billion around 2021, and Patreon reported 25 million paid memberships at that time. Funding milestones include a $90 million Series E at a $1.2 billion valuation in September 2020 and a $155 million Series F led by Tiger Global at $4 billion in April 2021. Cost cuts followed: about 80 jobs (roughly 17% of staff) in September 2022 and 93 jobs (about 20%) in July 2026.
Revenue and profit by year
Apple
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $416.2B | $112B | 26.9% | +6.4% | Source |
| FY2024 | $391B | $93.7B | 24.0% | +2.0% | Source |
| FY2023 | $383.3B | $97B | 25.3% | -2.8% | Source |
| FY2022 | $394.3B | $99.8B | 25.3% | +7.8% | Source |
| FY2021 | $365.8B | $94.7B | 25.9% | +33.3% | Source |
| FY2020 | $274.5B | $57.4B | 20.9% | +5.5% | Source |
| FY2019 | $260.2B | $55.3B | 21.2% | -2.0% | Source |
| FY2018 | $265.6B | $59.5B | 22.4% | +15.9% | Source |
| FY2017 | $229.2B | $48.4B | 21.1% | +6.3% | Source |
| FY2016 | $215.6B | $45.7B | 21.2% | — | Source |
Patreon
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $179M | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Apple
- iPhone~50%
iPhone net sales were $209.6B in FY2025, up 4%, and the phone is the entry point into Services, accessories, AppleCare, iCloud and App Store spending.
- Services~26%
Services covers the App Store, advertising, cloud, AppleCare, payments, media subscriptions and licensing. FY2025 net sales were $109.2B, up 14%, at a 75.4% gross margin against 36.8% for Products.
- Mac and iPad~15%
Mac net sales were $33.7B and iPad $28.0B in FY2025, driven by Apple silicon refreshes, education, creative work and enterprise adoption.
- Wearables, Home and Accessories~9%
Apple Watch, AirPods, Vision Pro, home devices and accessories were $35.7B in FY2025, down 4%, and they deepen iPhone attachment.
Patreon
- Platform fees on memberships
Majority (not disclosed)
10% standard fee (5%, 8% or 11% on legacy plans) on paid membership revenue.
- Platform fees on shop sales
Not disclosed
The same platform fee applied to one-off digital product sales.
- Payment processing and currency conversion
Not disclosed
Processing and conversion fees charged on fan payments.
Business model and strategy
Apple
How it makes money
Apple sells hardware at premium prices and keeps the software, distribution and payment layers on top of it. The iPhone is the entry point, at $209.6 billion of fiscal 2025 net sales, and it pulls customers into iOS, iCloud storage plans, App Store purchases, AppleCare and accessories.
Growth strategy
Growth now comes from monetizing an installed base of more than 2.5 billion devices rather than from unit growth alone. Services rose 14 percent to $109.2 billion in fiscal 2025 on the App Store, advertising, iCloud, AppleCare, payments and subscription media, and Apple packages them through the Apple One bundle.
Competitive advantage
Apple's advantage comes from owning the parts other phone makers buy. It designs its own silicon, the A20 Pro in iPhone 18 Pro and the M5 in Mac and iPad Pro, plus the operating systems, the app store, the payment layer and the retail channel, so hardware, software and services are tuned to each other.
Patreon
How it 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.
Growth 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.
Competitive advantage
Patreon is format-agnostic: podcasters, video creators, musicians, writers, game developers and illustrators all use the same membership, shop and community tools. Switching costs are high because moving to another platform means asking every paying member to re-subscribe.
Questions about Apple vs Patreon
Which company has higher revenue — Apple Inc. or Patreon, Inc.?
Apple Inc. reported $416.2B (FY2025), while Patreon, Inc. reported $179.0M (FY2025). By last reported revenue, Apple Inc. is the larger business, with Patreon, Inc. reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of Apple Inc. vs Patreon, Inc.?
Apple Inc. has a market capitalisation of $4.98T. A public market cap figure for Patreon, Inc. was not available (it may be privately held).
Which is more financially efficient — Apple Inc. or Patreon, Inc.?
Apple Inc. generates $2.51M / employee in revenue per employee, while Patreon, Inc. generates $484k / employee. Apple Inc. shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do Apple Inc. and Patreon, Inc. make money?
Apple Inc. and Patreon, Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Apple Inc.: Apple sells hardware at premium prices and keeps the software, distribution and payment layers on top of it. Patreon, Inc.: Patreon makes money by keeping a share of every payment fans make to creators.
Is Apple Inc. bigger than Patreon, Inc.?
By last reported revenue, Apple Inc. ($416.2B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to Patreon, Inc. ($179.0M (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Apple vs Patreon overview