Update to Patreon Billing

Hey all,

As some of you may know already, Patreon is discontinuing the billing model I currently use (patrons charged on the 1st of the month to get access for that month). Going forward, they will only be offering subscription billing (your billing cycle will depend on when you signed up. For example, those signing up on the 15th will be billed on the 15th every month).

It's Apple that are forcing these changes on Patreon and by extension me. I've copy-pasted a summary below.

As we first announced last year, Apple is requiring that Patreon use their in-app purchasing system and remove all other billing systems from the Patreon iOS app by November 2024.

This has two major consequences for creators:

• Apple will be applying their 30% App Store fee to all new memberships purchased in the Patreon iOS app, in addition to anything bought in your Patreon shop.

• Any creator currently on first-of-the-month or per-creation billing plans will have to switch over to subscription billing to continue earning in the iOS app, because that’s the only billing type Apple’s in-app purchase system supports. 

Beyond the change to billing cycles, this means new subscriptions through the iOS app will be significantly more expensive than those purchased elsewhere.

The App Store fee does not apply to existing memberships and memberships made on other platforms.

Creators using the old model have been given a grace period to change billing models, but I chose to rip the bandaid and directly switch over. The change should be in effect since ~10 minutes ago (barring any Patreon screwups).

How does this affect you?

Current Patrons will see no immediate change. You will be charged the same amount as always on the 1st of the month. Should you pause your subscription and resub at a later date, your billing cycle will switch to whatever date you re-upped on. Should you resub through iOS (you shouldn't), you'll also be hit by the Apple Fee.

I highly recommend returning Patrons to subscribe through any other platform than iOS, like on the web. 

Feel free to comment or @ me on the discord if you have any questions!