Patreon vs ConvertKit
Side-by-side comparison of Patreon and ConvertKit.
Recurring membership income direct from your fans
Email marketing built for online creators and writers
What they are
Patreon
Patreon is a membership platform where creators charge fans a monthly or per-creation fee in exchange for exclusive content, community access, or perks. Podcasters, artists, writers, and video creators use it to build a predictable income stream outside ad revenue. It takes a percentage cut of earnings rather than charging an upfront fee, which makes entry easy but gets expensive at scale.
ConvertKit
ConvertKit is an email marketing platform aimed at bloggers, podcasters, course creators, and independent writers who need to grow and monetize a subscriber list. It combines email broadcasts, automated sequences, landing pages, and a paid newsletter feature in one place. The interface is simpler than enterprise tools like Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign, which makes onboarding fast but limits advanced design flexibility.
if you need hosting and monetization. It has a usable free tier to start with.
- +No upfront cost to start collecting memberships
- +Handles payment processing, billing retries, and fraud in one place
- +Built-in tiers make it straightforward to offer multiple membership levels
if you need monetization and email marketing. It has a usable free tier to start with.
- +Free plan covers up to 1,000 subscribers with core sending features
- +Visual automation builder is intuitive for non-technical users
- +Built-in paid newsletter and tip features via ConvertKit Commerce
Which to choose
Patreon and ConvertKit both cover monetization, so this is a real either-or for some teams. The right pick depends on which one's wider feature set and pricing fit how you work.
Read the full reviews for Patreon and ConvertKit.
Pricing checked 3 Jun 2026.