Paid Memberships Pro vs Patreon
Paid Memberships Pro
paidmembershipspro.com
Patreon
patreon.comSide by side
| Figure | Paid Memberships Pro | Patreon |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $41.58/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 7 | 4 |
| Spec score · Membership Site Platforms | 9.1 (#5) | 9.4 (#1) |
| Audience | PMPro is positioned for associations, nonprofits, blogs, communities, courses, coaching, directories, paid newsletters, podcasts, and video sites. | Patreon’s stated creator categories include podcasters, video creators, musicians, artists, and game developers. |
| Content gating | post | post |
| Custom domain | Yes | Yes |
| Founded | 2010 | 2013 |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free tier | The free plan provides the self-hosted open-source PMPro Platform. | Creators can share work for free and introduce paid options later. |
| Integrations | Official integrations include WooCommerce, BuddyPress, BuddyBoss, bbPress, Mailchimp, MailerLite, MailPoet, Slack, Google Analytics, Zapier, LearnDash, and LifterLMS. | The app directory lists integrations and partners including Vimeo, Discord, ConvertKit, Discourse, Wix, and Zapier. |
| Subscription billing | both | both |
| Transaction fee | No platform transaction fee; payment gateway charges still apply. | 10% platform fee for new creators, plus payment processing, currency conversion, payout fees, and applicable taxes |
Plans
Paid Memberships Pro
- FreeFree
- Standard$49 a month
- Max$99 a month
- Max 2x$299 a month
- Standard$499 a year
- Max$999 a year
- Max 2x$2,999 a year
Patreon
- StandardPrice not published
- Standard Patreon pricingFree
- Free to startFree
- Patreon platform fee$10 a month
In their own words
Paid Memberships Pro
Paid Memberships Pro is a WordPress plugin and open-source platform for restricting content, taking payments, and managing subscriptions on a website. Site owners can protect 28 types of content and create unlimited membership levels, with free or paid access, one-time charges, or recurring billing from hourly to annual intervals. Pricing tools include trials, coupons, proration, donations, gift codes, invite codes, and variable pricing. Stripe and PayPal are included without a platform transaction fee, although gateway charges still apply. The free plan provides the self-hosted platform and 25 free add-ons; Standard, Max, and Max 2x include 54 premium add-ons. Paid plans start at $49/mo. Standard is $49 a month, Max is $99 a month, and Max 2x is $299 a month, all billed monthly. The platform includes member administration, customizable dashboards and forms, reporting, and integrations such as WooCommerce, Mailchimp, and LearnDash. It supports WordPress installations running version 5.2 or higher, while technical support covers only the three most recent minor releases. Premium purchases have a 100-day money-back guarantee covering one payment.
Patreon
Patreon lets creators build communities, share work, and earn through memberships or digital shops. Creators can offer monthly or annual subscriptions, tiers, one-time payments, and free work before adding paid options. Content tools cover audio, images, rich text, video, livestreams, and email newsletters. Community features include chats, direct messages, comments, and exportable email lists; growth tools include analytics, free trials, discounts, and sales. Podcast tools support importing, syncing, multiple podcasts, Spotify, Synced Feeds, and RSS. Patreon offers mobile apps for iOS and Android, and its app directory lists integrations including Vimeo, Discord, ConvertKit, Discourse, Wix, and Zapier. It is free to start. Patreon charges 10% of income earned on the platform, with payment processing, currency conversion, payout fees, and applicable taxes potentially added. Patreon says it handles chargebacks, disputes, fraud, and most applicable tax collection and remittance. Its public API v1 is scheduled to stop working on October 7, 2026, with integrations directed to API v2.