After somehow shirking Apple’s App Store payment fees for years, Patreon informed its stable of creators this week that they will soon be subject to the same 30 percent fee as everyone else—and is offering a way to offset those costs.
In a post to its site on Monday, Patreon explains, “Apple is requiring us to switch over to their in-app purchase system for all iOS transactions or else risk being kicked out of the App Store altogether.” The new terms will apply to all new memberships purchased through the iOS app and creators who are using first-of-the-month or per-creation billing plans will need to switch to subscription billing to continue earning in the iOS app.
Patreon says “most” creators use subscription billing and will require all creators to use subscription billing by November 2025. Of note, the change doesn’t apply to existing memberships, only new sign-ups. It goes into effect beginning November 1.
To help with the transition and offer creators a way to offset costs, Patreon has created an optional tool that can automatically increase prices by 30 percent within the iOS app so they won’t lose revenue. The price increase will be enabled by default unless creators disable it.
Patreon creators can also avoid Apple’s fees by signing up subscribers through the Patreon website. However, Apple iOS terms made it so the iOS payment options still need to be offered through the app and it’s not possible to provide a direct link to each creator’s site.
It’s unclear why Patreon was previously exempt from the App Store terms or why Apple is enforcing them now. The post says the Patreon team will be available on its Discord community form from August 12 to August 16 to answer any questions.
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor, Macworld
Michael Simon has been covering Apple for more than 20 years. He started covering rumors with Spymac when the iPod was the iWalk, and has owned nearly every iPhone Apple has ever made. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, son, and far too many gadgets.