Two models side by side
From each platform's pricing page, checked on October 22, 2026:
| Patreon | Skool | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly subscription | None: "free to start. You only pay when you start earning." | Hobby $9, Pro $99 ($7.50 and $82 a month on yearly billing) |
| Cut of your sales | 10%, "plus payment processing, currency conversion, and payout fees, and applicable taxes" | 10% (Hobby) or 2.9% (Pro) transaction fee |
| Ways to charge | Monthly and annual subscriptions, membership tiers, one-time payments, free trials and discounts | Subscription memberships or one-time course purchases (About page) |
| Courses | Not listed; "Sell digital products" is | Unlimited courses and videos |
| Community | Chats, DMs and comments | Unlimited members, community feed |
| Live | Native video and livestreaming | Unlimited live calls |
| Email newsletters, exportable email lists | Not listed on the pricing page | |
| Custom URL, affiliates | Not mentioned | Pro only |
Patreon's pricing page does not put a number on its processing and payout fees. Skool's page does not say whether card processing is included in its percentage. In the math below, we count only the percentages each page shows, which is the reading most favorable to both.
The cost table, $500 to $10,000 a month
Method: Patreon = 10%. Skool = subscription + its percentage. Learnea = subscription + commission (5% Starter, 2% Pro) + Stripe card fees of 2.9% + 30¢ per payment. Average payment of $50, monthly billing.
| Sales per month | Patreon | Skool Hobby | Skool Pro | Learnea Starter | Learnea Pro | Lowest total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500 | $50.00 | $59.00 | $113.50 | $71.50 | $106.50 | Patreon |
| $1,000 | $100.00 | $109.00 | $128.00 | $114.00 | $134.00 | Patreon |
| $2,000 | $200.00 | $209.00 | $157.00 | $199.00 | $189.00 | Skool Pro |
| $3,000 | $300.00 | $309.00 | $186.00 | $284.00 | $244.00 | Skool Pro |
| $5,000 | $500.00 | $509.00 | $244.00 | $454.00 | $354.00 | Skool Pro |
| $10,000 | $1,000.00 | $1,009.00 | $389.00 | $879.00 | $629.00 | Skool Pro |
Remember that the Patreon column leaves out processing and payout fees, because the page does not quantify them, while the Learnea columns include Stripe. The real Patreon figures are higher than shown.
The break-even points
- Patreon vs Skool Hobby: both take 10%, so on listed fees Hobby always costs $9 a month more. The difference is what you get for the $9: courses, live calls, and a community space.
- Patreon vs Skool Pro: 10% × sales = $99 + 2.9% × sales when sales reach 99 / 0.071 = $1,394.37 a month. Above that, Skool Pro costs less, and the gap grows by 7.1 cents on every extra dollar.
- Patreon vs Learnea Pro: Learnea Pro's variable cost is 5.5% at a $50 average payment (2% + 2.9% + 0.6% for the 30¢). It costs less than Patreon's 10% from 79 / 0.045 = $1,755.56 a month.
- Patreon vs Learnea Starter: 8.5% variable cost, so from 29 / 0.015 = $1,933.33 a month.
Because Patreon's processing and payout fees are not counted, each of these points is reached earlier in practice. By how much depends on your members' cards, currencies and your payouts.
What Patreon does better
- Nothing to pay before you earn. For a creator testing whether fans will pay, that matters.
- Payments handled for you: Patreon says it handles chargebacks, disputes and fraud, takes care of most applicable sales taxes, and supports PayPal, Apple Pay, Venmo and 16+ currencies.
- Tools for media creators: email newsletters, native video and livestreaming, podcast importing and RSS distribution, and creator discovery.
What Skool does better
- Courses: unlimited courses and videos, which Patreon's pricing page does not list.
- A lower cut as you grow: 2.9% on Pro against 10% on Patreon, past $1,394.37 a month.
- Community and live calls on both plans, and a custom URL and affiliates on Pro.
A simple way to decide: if your members pay to support your work and get extra posts, episodes or videos, Patreon is built for that. If they pay to learn something and progress with others, a community and course platform is built for that.
How to choose
- Your income is under about $1,400 a month and you publish media (podcast, videos, art): Patreon's free start and media tools fit, as long as its processing and payout fees are acceptable to you.
- You teach a skill and members follow a path: a platform with courses fits. Check the break-even for your sales in the table above.
- You already sell more than $1,394 a month on Patreon and your content is mostly lessons: run the table with your own sales. On listed fees, Skool Pro takes less; Learnea Pro takes less from $1,755.56.
If you move from Patreon
Changing platforms costs some members, because each one has to sign up and pay again. A few habits reduce the loss: announce the move weeks ahead with a date, explain what members gain (courses, a community space, progress tracking), offer a founding price on the new platform with a deadline, and keep the old page open with a clear link until that date. Patreon's pricing page lists exportable email lists, which lets you reach your members directly during the move.
Where Learnea fits
Learnea is in the second group. From Starter, you get unlimited members, courses and videos, a community feed, private messaging, points, levels and a leaderboard, an About page for your sales pitch, video up to 1080p, and monthly, yearly or one-time payments with a second offer. Pro adds a custom URL, affiliates, removal of the Learnea banner and advanced statistics. Its 5% (Starter) or 2% (Pro) commission is lower than Patreon's 10%, but Stripe's card fees come on top, which is why the break-even points above sit between $1,755 and $1,934 a month.
What is missing compared with Patreon: Learnea does not include email marketing, sales funnels, a native mobile app or built-in video calls. Patreon lists newsletters and livestreaming; if those are central to what you offer, count them.
Keep going with Skool Hobby vs Pro, how to make money with a paid community, or try Learnea free for 14 days.