Patreon vs Substack: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Patreon reported $179M of revenue in FY2025 and — of net income. Substack reported $45M of revenue in FY2025 and — of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
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.
Substack
Substack is private and publishes no audited financials. Its revenue comes mainly from a 10% fee on paid subscriptions sold by creators. Newcomer reported in 2025 that Substack told investors it had about $45 million in annual recurring revenue. Funding includes a $15.3M Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz (2019), a $65M Series B at a reported.1B valuation (2021), roughly $7.8M from a 2023 Wefunder community round, and a $100M Series C led by BOND and The Chernin Group at a $1.1B valuation (July 2025). That valuation implies a revenue multiple of roughly 24x on reported ARR.
Revenue and profit by year
Patreon
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $179M | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
Substack
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $45M | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
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.
Substack
- Paid subscription fee (10%)
Majority (not disclosed)
A 10% cut of the subscription revenue readers pay to creators; Stripe processing fees are separate.
- Other fees
Small (not disclosed)
Smaller charges such as the one-time custom domain fee.
Business model and strategy
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.
Substack
How it makes money
Substack is free to use for free publications. When a writer turns on paid subscriptions, Substack takes 10% of the revenue and Stripe charges its standard card fees. Substack does not run ads on publications. Revenue therefore scales with creator earnings, which is why the company invests in discovery features (recommendations, Notes, the app) that help writers sell more subscriptions.
Growth strategy
Substack's growth strategy centres on making its app a destination rather than just an email tool: Notes, recommendations, video and livestreaming give readers reasons to open the app and help writers find subscribers internally. It also recruits creators from other platforms, including a reported $20 million fund launched in 2025 to attract video creators.
Competitive advantage
Substack's core advantage is distribution: its app, Notes feed and cross-publication recommendations help writers gain subscribers inside the network, which standalone email tools struggle to replicate. Writers also keep their mailing lists, which lowers the risk of joining.
Questions about Patreon vs Substack
Which company has higher revenue — Patreon, Inc. or Substack Inc.?
Patreon, Inc. reported $179.0M (FY2025), while Substack Inc. reported $45.0M (FY2025). By last reported revenue, Patreon, Inc. is the larger business, with Substack Inc. reporting a smaller revenue base.
Which is more financially efficient — Patreon, Inc. or Substack Inc.?
Patreon, Inc. generates $484k / employee in revenue per employee. A comparable figure for Substack Inc. requires matching employee and revenue data from the same reporting period.
How do Patreon, Inc. and Substack Inc. make money?
Patreon, Inc. and Substack Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Patreon, Inc.: Patreon makes money by keeping a share of every payment fans make to creators. Substack Inc.: Substack is free to use for free publications.
Is Patreon, Inc. bigger than Substack Inc.?
By last reported revenue, Patreon, Inc. ($179.0M (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to Substack Inc. ($45.0M (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 Patreon vs Substack overview