Patreon: Subscriber and Creator Statistics for 2023
by Brian Dean · Updated Aug. 23, 2023
Patreon launched in 2013 with a mission to help creatives monetize their content.
Within 18 months, 125,000 “patrons” were using the platform to make recurring payments to creators. And total monthly payments hit the $1 million landmark.
Patreon has continued to grow and now boasts more than 6 million active patrons. The platform supports a network of more than 210 thousand creators.
On this page, you’ll find the latest statistics on Patreon’s growth to date.
First, here’s a quick overview of what you’re about to read:
- Patreon Stats (Highlights)
- Supporters on Patreon
- Creators on Patreon
- Annual creator earnings on Patreon
- Monthly creator earnings on Patreon
- Who are the most popular creators on Patreon?
- Patreon creator categories
- What are the most lucrative content categories on Patreon?
- What is Patreon’s annual revenue?
- Patreon funding
- How much is Patreon worth?
- How many patents does Patreon hold?
- How many employees work at Patreon?
Patreon Stats (Highlights)
- Patreon hosts over 6 million patrons. 4 million of these supporters have joined within the last 3 years.
- More than 210,000 creators are supported by at least 1 patron.
- Patreon has raised a total funding of $412.1 million.
- Patreon’s post-money valuation is $4 billion.
- Creators on Patreon have made an estimated $2 billion.
Supporters on Patreon
Patreon hosts more than 6 million monthly active supporters, known as patrons. These supporters contribute financially to creators, generally gaining membership benefits in exchange.
The number of patrons has increased by 50% over the last year.
In fact, patron numbers have tripled over the last 3 years. 4 million new supporters have joined Patreon since 2017.
Here’s an overview of the recent growth in the number of patrons:
| Year | Number of patrons |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 2 million |
| 2018 | 3 million |
| 2019 | 4 million |
| 2020 | 6 million |
Source: Patreon, TechCrunch
Creators on Patreon
Patreon hosts more than 200,000 creators.
Based on Graphtreon data, 213,233 creators have at least one patron. That’s an increase of 18.39% since September 2020.
The number of Patreon creators has increased 5.58x since September 2016. In this time, 175,020 new participants have joined the platform.
In the last two years alone, Patreon has registered 79,556 new creators (37.31% of the existing base).
Here’s a table showing the growth in the number of Patreon creators since March 2016:
| Date | Number of Patreon creators (with at least 1 patron) |
|---|---|
| March 2016 | 26,703 |
| June 2016 | 31,744 |
| September 2016 | 38,203 |
| December 2016 | 45,243 |
| March 2017 | 55,603 |
| June 2017 | 67,571 |
| September 2017 | 80,059 |
| December 2017 | 91,847 |
| March 2018 | 106,821 |
| June 2018 | 117,966 |
| September 2018 | 124,078 |
| December 2018 | 130,170 |
| March 2019 | 138,881 |
| June 2019 | 136,911 |
| September 2019 | 133,667 |
| December 2019 | 137,083 |
| March 2020 | 171,279 |
| June 2020 | 192,965 |
| September 2020 | 180,099 |
| December 2020 | 185,537 |
| March 2021 | 192,450 |
| June 2021 | 196,256 |
| September 2021 | 213,223 |
Source: Patreon, Graphtreon
Annual creator earnings on Patreon
According to company data, creators on Patreon make a combined total of more than $2 billion. Overall creator earnings on the platform have doubled since 2019.
Here’s a table showing collective creator earnings on Patreon since 2017:
| Year | Amount |
|---|---|
| 2017 | $150 million |
| 2018 | $300 million |
| 2019 | $500 million |
| 2020 | $1 billion |
| 2021 | $2 billion |
Source: Patreon, TechCrunch
Monthly creator earnings on Patreon
Creators on Patreon earned a total of $23.64 million in September 2021. Monthly payouts have increased by 23.18% over the last year, up from an estimated $19.19 million in September 2020.
Here’s a table with estimated monthly payments to Patreon creators since March 2016:
| Date | Monthly payouts (excluding hidden earnings) |
|---|---|
| March 2016 | $4.95 million |
| June 2016 | $5.69 million |
| September 2016 | $6.84 million |
| December 2016 | $8.21 million |
| March 2017 | $8.51 million |
| June 2017 | $9.14 million |
| September 2017 | $9.6 million |
| December 2017 | $9.85 million |
| March 2018 | $10.99 million |
| June 2018 | $11.63 million |
| September 2018 | $11.81 million |
| December 2018 | $11.79 million |
| March 2019 | $12.05 million |
| June 2019 | $12.17 million |
| September 2019 | $10.34 million |
| December 2019 | $12.6 million |
| March 2020 | $14.99 million |
| June 2020 | $18.46 million |
| September 2020 | $19.19 million |
| December 2020 | $20.52 million |
| March 2021 | $22.36 million |
| June 2021 | $23.23 million |
| September 2021 | $23.64 million |
Source: Graphtreon
Who are the most popular creators on Patreon?
Only 697 creators on Patreon (0.33% of the total number) receive sponsorship from more than 2,000 patrons.
The top creator on Patreon is True Crime Obsessed, a podcast series that reviews true crime documentaries. 43,823 patrons sponsor the show.
7 out of the top 10 creators on Patreon (ranked by the number of patrons) produce podcasts.
Here’s a ranking of the most popular creators on Patreon:
| Creator | Number of patrons (Monthly earnings if available) |
|---|---|
| True Crime Obsessed | 43,823 |
| Chapo Trap House | 35,914 ($159,005) |
| The Tim Dillon Show | 34,158 ($181,415) |
| DankPods | 29,210 |
| You’re Wrong About | 28,604 |
| Dark Cookie | 28,034 ($72,832) |
| The Fantasy Footballers | 25,330 |
| TMG | 22,794 |
| TrueAnon Podcast | 20,824 ($86,165) |
| Not Another D&D Podcast | 20,037 |
| The Cum Boys | 19,852 ($88,825) |
| Flagrant 2 | 19,290 ($92,475) |
| Maintenance Phase | 19,168 |
| Cold Ones | 17,738 ($75,143) |
| Dungeons and Daddies | 17,379 |
Source: Graphtreon
Patreon creator categories
Nearly half (47.4%) of all creators on Patreon produce content within one of four categories: video, podcasts, music and gaming. 99,952 profiles are dedicated to these areas.
Video content is the single most popular category, making up 25.88% of all Patreon profiles (54,582 creators).
Here’s a breakdown of Patreon creators by content category:
| Category | Number of creators |
|---|---|
| Video | 54,582 (25.88%) |
| Podcasts | 16,152 (7.66%) |
| Music | 15,530 (7.36%) |
| Games | 13,688 (6.49%) |
| Writing | 10,997 (5.21%) |
| Adult Video | 8,803 (4.17%) |
| Comics | 6,812 (3.23%) |
| Adult Games | 4,642 (2.20%) |
| Adult Photography | 2,375 (1.12%) |
| Adult Cosplay | 1,378 (.65%) |
| Cosplay | 1,044 (.49%) |
Source: Graphtreon
What are the most lucrative content categories on Patreon?
Collectively, video producers make the most money on Patreon. Monthly earnings from video content add up to an estimated $6.37 million.
Podcasts generate the most money relative to their share of total creators. Despite only accounting for 7.66% of creators on Patreon, podcast makers bring in 14.80% of all monthly payouts.
Here’s a breakdown of total monthly creator earnings by category:
| Category | Monthly payouts |
|---|---|
| Video | $6.43 million (26.84%) |
| Podcasts | $3.54 million (14.80%) |
| Games | $1.77 million (7.39%) |
| Adult Games | $1.84 million (7.70%) |
| Music | $1.18 million (4.95%) |
| Writing | $1.03 million (4.30%) |
| Adult Video | $675 thousand (2.81%) |
| Adult Photography | $94 thousand (0.39%) |
| Adult Cosplay | $46 thousand (0.19%) |
| Cosplay | $24 thousand (0.10%) |
Source: Graphtreon
What is Patreon’s annual revenue?
Patreon makes money by taking a cut of all creator earnings generated through the platform. Patreon currently takes between 5% and 12% of creator earnings (plus a payment processing fee), depending on the product plan chosen by the customer.
Assuming the average cut is 8% of total earnings, Patreon registers $80 million in annual revenue.
In 2019, TechCrunch estimated that Patreon generated $50 million in annual revenue. An increase of 66.66% over the previous year.
Here’s a table with estimated Patreon revenue since 2017:
| Year | Estimated revenue |
|---|---|
| 2017 | $12-15 million |
| 2018 | $30 million |
| 2019 | $50 million |
| 2020 | $80 million |
| 2021 | $160 million |
Source: Patreon, TechCrunch, Craft
Patreon funding
Patreon has completed 7 funding rounds so far, raising a combined total of $412.1 million.
59.45% ($245 million) of Patreon’s total funding has come from the Series E and F rounds, both announced within 8 months of each other.
Here’s a breakdown of Patreon funding activity since 2013:
| Funding round, Date | Amount |
|---|---|
| Seed, August 2013 | $2.1 million |
| Series A, June 2014 | $15 million |
| Series B, January 2016 | $30 million |
| Series C, September 2017 | $59.4 million |
| Series D, July 2019 | $60 million |
| Series E, September 2020 | $90 million |
| Series F, April 2021 | $155 million |
Source: CB Insights
How much is Patreon worth?
As of the most recent funding round, Patreon’s post-money valuation is $4 billion. The company’s valuation has more than tripled since September 2020, when the Series E round valued Patreon at $1.2 billion.
Patreon’s valuation has increased 26.95x in the last 5 years, up from $148.38 million in 2016.
Here’s an overview of the growth in Patreon’s post-money valuation since 2013:
| Funding round, Date | Post-Money Valuation |
|---|---|
| Seed, August 2013 | $7.99 million |
| Series A, June 2014 | $50.63 million |
| Series B, January 2016 | $148.38 million |
| Series C, September 2017 | $450 million |
| Series D, July 2019 | $660 million |
| Series E, September 2020 | $1.2 billion |
| Series F, April 2021 | $4 billion |
Source: Crunchbase
How many patents does Patreon hold?
Patreon holds 10 patents.
Here’s a breakdown of the number of patents granted to Patreon since 2017:
| Year | Number of granted patents |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 3 |
| 2019 | 2 |
| 2020 | 2 |
| 2021 | 3 |
Source: CB Insights
How many employees work at Patreon?
Patreon has 200 full-time employees. The company has 4 offices, 3 of which are in the US. The other is located in Dublin, Ireland.
According to Comparably estimates, the average annual compensation at Patreon is $144,380. Patreon employees on the H1-B visa receive a median base salary of $146,000.
Source: TechCrunch, Comparably, H1B Salary Database
Conclusion
You’ve reached the end of my roundup of Patreon stats for 2023.
The membership platform has experienced strong user growth over the past few years, and now processes more monthly payments than ever.
Now I am interested to hear from you:
Do you think Patreon’s business model is sustainable? How will the platform cope with a growing number of competitors?
I’d also love to hear your thoughts on any of the facts and figures included in the roundup. Or maybe you think I’ve missed something out.
Just drop a comment below.