There are a number of business models that content creators can use on this crowdfunding or membership platform. These include community, educational, gated content, fan relationship, and pay-what-you-can donations. Needless to say, when the pandemic hit in 2020, increasingly more creators turned to the platform. With more time stuck indoors and large events being canceled across the globe, it presented an avenue that creatives could use to express themselves and potentially earn something on the side. Since it was founded in 2013, a lot has happened, and the company has grown to become one of the biggest platforms. Yet, according to Patreon’s CPO, Patreon doesn’t want to be a company that’s defined by the first eight years and not the next eight years too. So, what does the picture look like for Patreon in 2022 and beyond? Here are some of the most important Patreon creator statistics and facts about its revenue and users.
Patreon Statistics You Need to Know:
Patreon Statistics You Need to Know
1. Creators on Patreon earn $100M+ per month
According to a 2021 post on Patreon’s blog, there are more than 200,000 creators who earn a total value of more than $100 million per month from over seven million patrons across the globe.
Though, Graphtreon estimates that the monthly payouts are only $26 million (excluding hidden earnings), as of September 2022. To put this into perspective, at the end of September 2021, this amount was estimated at about $24.9 million. So, in the past year, it has increased by only 4.3%. Still, compared to the $4.8 million payouts in 2016, the numbers this year show a significant increase of more than 400%.
2. There are 222,000+ creators with at least one patron
According to Graphtreon, as of September 2022, there are more than 222,000 creators with at least one patron. In total, it’s estimated that there are over 250,000 creators. So, only about 30,000 creators don’t have any patrons. To put this into perspective, at the end of 2020, there were about 185,000 creators with at least one patron. This means that in the past two years the number of Patreon creators has grown by about 20%.
3. Videos and podcasts are the biggest categories
According to data shared by Graphtreon, videos and podcasts are the categories with the most creators. As of September 2022, there are over 55,000 video creators on Patreon with estimated monthly payouts totalling over $6.4 million, excluding hidden earnings. That’s a slight dip from the previous year’s estimated monthly payouts. While the podcast genre might not attract nearly as many patrons, the top Patreon creator runs a podcast (more about this later). As of September 2022, there were just over 16,000 podcasters with at least one patron on Patreon. The estimated monthly payouts for this category add up to nearly $3.9 million. While videos and podcasts might be the dominant categories on Patreon, there are several other categories (including a number of niche categories). Other popular categories include comics, adult games, adult animation, cosplay, writing, photography, and even 3D printing.
4. Patreon plans to double in size in 2022
In an interview with TechCrunch, Julian Gutman, the Chief Product Officer of Patreon, said that the platform’s plans for 2022 include hiring aggressively. He revealed that in 2021, Patreon had 400 employees and the goal is to boast almost 1,000 employees by the end of 2022. Its goal is to scale specifically in product, engineering, and design. Currently, there are 210 employees in this department and by the end of 2022, they hope to increase it to 400. Some of the projects that it plans to tackle in 2022 include:
A native video platform Better posting experience More formatting options More data and analytics Cleaner app design Improved playback experiences for multimedia Revamped billing system
5. There are about 12 million individual pledges per month
According to statistics by Graphtreon, Patreon generated an average of 12 million individual pledges in the past year, hitting a peak of 12.4 million in August 2022.
6. It attracts 120+ million monthly website visits
According to data shared by Semrush, Patreon’s average monthly website visits for July 2022 was 121.59 million visits. 56.9% of users access the site through mobile devices.
7. Its annual revenue for 2021 was estimated at $160 million
In 2020, it was estimated that the platform generated $80 million in annual revenue, according to Backlinko. Backlinko estimates that the platform has registered $160 million in annual revenue in 2021. Yes, that’s double the amount it generated in 2020, according to these numbers.
8. Over 30,000 creators signed up in the first weeks of the pandemic
According to a blog post, COVID-19 and the Creative Economy: Takeaways from Patreon’s Data Science team that was shared on Patreon’s website, over 30,000 creators launched on Patreon in the first three weeks of March 2020. During this time, it was the fastest rate at which creators launched on the platform in the history of the company. What’s more, compared to the previous month (February 2020), the average new patron growth across the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Canada, and Australia was up by more than 36%.
9. Interest in Patreon is increasing again after a slight decline in 2021
According to Google Trends, interest in Patreon has slightly declined in 2021. At the end of June 2020, the search term “Patreon” had a value of 90, but this value dropped to 67 at the end of June 2021. By January 2022, interest soared to 93. Interest reached an all-time high of 100 during the first week of August 2022.
10. Patreon has raised a total funding amount of $413.3 million
According to Crunchbase, Patreon has managed to raise $413.3 million in funding over eight rounds. Its most recent lead investors include Tiger Global Management, Lone Pine Capital, and Woodline Partners, which participated in a Series F round in April 2021 that amounted to $155 million raised. With the help of this funding, they hope to concentrate on improving the experiences for creators and patrons on desktop as well as mobile.
11. The app was downloaded more than 510,000 times in September 2022
According to mobile app metrics by Apptopia, the Patreon app had 513,479 downloads in September 2022. This worked out to a month-over-month increase of 0.73%.
12. Patreon is ranked in the top 500 among websites globally
According to web traffic by Semrush, Patreon ranks 255th among websites globally as of the September 10 update this year. This figure was based on its 322,497,952 monthly web visitors, which was an increase of 5.95% in monthly visits.
13. It’s listed at #48 on CNBC’s 2021 List of Disruptor Companies
The CNBC Disruptor 50 list highlights private companies with business models and growth rates that align with the rapid pace of technological change. Patreon’s efforts to help the creative class get paid has landed them in the 48th position. Other apps and businesses that have been included are Clubhouse, Stripe, and Udacity, a website where lifelong learners can come to learn skills.
14. Creators have earned $3.5 billion collectively
By the end of December 2021, over 200,000 creators have collectively earned $3.5 billion to date, according to a blog post shared by Jack Conte, the CEO of Patreon. This revenue was generated directly via its fans. While it took six years for creators to earn their first $1 billion collectively, it took just over a year to earn their second billion dollars.
15. The top Patreon creator is True Crime Obsessed
True Crime Obsessed manages to keep the top spot with the greatest number of patrons in successive months. It capped August 2022 with over 45,000 patrons and added 3,000 more this September. The creators of podcasts of the non-garbage type first launched in January 2018 and offer four subscription tiers, with the lowest plan starting at $5 per month.
16. DankPods is the video creator with the most patrons
DankPods (aka Wade Nixon) is one of the top Patreon creators, with just over 36,000 patrons, as of September 2022. Who would have thought that videos of portable music players, headphones, and tech junk would be one of the most popular genres? In fact, the Australian YouTuber is one of the thousands of people who joined the platform in March 2020, amid the pandemic. His estimated monthly earnings for this year is estimated at $38,000 per month.
17. Feminist activists are opting for Patreon
At the end of May 2021, the platform shared a post on its blog that Patreon is becoming a popular channel for feminist activists. This comes after several activists who are critical of Facebook’s moderation policy have turned to Patreon instead. Compared to Instagram, they feel that Patreon is less restrictive and creates a safer environment where they can express themselves. Elvire Duvelle-Charles, one of the creators of the documentary series Clit Revolution, explains, “[Patreon is] a place where you feel at home, away from violence and judgment.” Leane, the creator of the podcast Mercreantes, adds that it is a “smaller, but more tightly knit community.” Among the activists who now create podcasts, videos, and other content on the platform are Clit Révolution, Lusted Men, La Prédiction, Mécréantes, and Merci Beaucul.
18. The longest running Patreon creator is Pomplamoose
Launched in May 2013, the members of Pomplamoose have been creating weekly music for 3,400+ days running. It’s actually the musical project of Jack Conte, the CEO and co-founder of Patreon. Together with his wife, Nataly Dawn, and a group of talented musicians, they regularly share mash-ups of popular songs. As of September 2022, Pomplamoose’s monthly income is estimated at $11,946 per month, slightly down from the previous year. While impressive, it’s only in 14th place when measuring earnings of music creators on the platform. According to data compiled by Graphtreon, Bernth, creator of online guitar lessons, is currently the “top-earning” music creator with estimated monthly earnings of $20,000 - $82,000 and over 9,100 patrons. The “second highest earning music creator” is Cynthia Lin, with an estimated monthly earnings of $11,000 - $46,000. Her claim to Patreon fame is ukulele lessons.
19. Chapo Trap House is one of the top-earning creators
With 37,726 patrons as of September 2022, Chapo Trap House is among the top-earning creators on Patreon. Graphtreon estimates Chapo Trap House’s earnings to amount to $162,944 per month (slightly down from the previous year). Launched in May 2016, the American political podcast is hosted by Will Menaker, Matt Christman, and Felix Biederman.
20. Patreon is valued at $4 billion
After its Series F funding round in April 2021, Patreon’s valuation increased to $4 billion, which is triple that of its previous valuation. According to Forbes, many contribute some of this new valuation to the COVID-19 pandemic.
21. Patreon has acquired four organizations
According to Crunchbase, Patreon has acquired four organizations. Its first acquisition was Subbable, a video subscription service, in March 2015. Three years later, Patreon acquired Kit, a community of creators sharing products, and Memberful, a professional membership software used by web creators. Its most recent acquisition was at the end of August 2021 when it acquired Clear Talent for an undisclosed amount.
22. The average estimated annual salary for Patreon employees is $149,622
According to Comparably, the average estimated annual salary of Patreon employees is $149,622. This works out to about $71 per hour. The highest paid job is that of a General Counsel at over $300K per year, while the lowest paid employees are Admin Assistants earning roughly $45K per year. What might come as a surprise is that the marketing department’s salaries add up to more than that of the engineering department. Though, amid the pandemic, just like many other companies, Patreon had to let go of some of its employees. According to TechCrunch, it had to lay off 13% of its workforce in 2020.
23. 80% of Patreon creators work alone
Of the 13,000 creators who responded to the first Patreon Creator Census, four out of five indicated that they work alone. Those who produce podcasts are more likely to work in teams with about 39% of them indicating that they are part of a team.
24. Creators who promote Patreon every day can earn as much as 75% more
The frequency of promotion is directly related to potential earnings. Compared to creators who promote only once a month, creators who promote their Patreon accounts on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube earn 75% more while those who conduct a weekly promotion earn 31% more.
25. 90% of Patreon creators are focused on growing its audience this year
The 2022 census shows that the top aspiration of creators for the next couple of years is to grow their audience. A handful also aspire to collaborate more with other creators.
Wrapping Things Up
Patreon has been in business for nearly a decade already. During this time, it has achieved some pretty impressive results. That being said, the real focus should be the countless creators that it has managed to help. That’s its real success story. It would be interesting to recap these statistics in a year’s time considering all the features that Patreon is planning to introduce in 2022. Plus, with TikTok’s growth in the past year, this year promises to be even more eventful than the previous year.
