Platform fees are the percentage a creator-monetization platform takes from every transaction before payment processing, payouts, and tier upgrades reshape the take-home. In 2026 the headline fees range from 8% on the low end to 20% on the high end, but step-up clauses, per-transaction floors, and processing pass-throughs mean the number on the marketing page often does not match what lands in a creator's bank account.
⚡ Key Takeaways
- Fanvault charges 8% and creators keep 92%, the lowest fee of any named platform in this 2026 comparison.
- Patreon's flat 10% for new pages (effective August 4, 2025) is layered on top of roughly 2.9% + $0.30 Stripe processing, so a $5 membership nets about $4.20.
- Fanvue's 15% intro rate steps up to 20% at month 13, so the headline only holds for year one.
- Passes' 10% + $0.30 per transaction crushes small tickets: a $3 paid DM costs the creator 20%, not 10%.
- Fanfix and Fanvue (year 2+) hold at a 20% take, the same tier as the legacy 20% creator-platform bracket.
- At $10K/month, the spread between an 8% platform and a 20% platform is $1,200/month, or $14,400/year, before payout-float costs.
What's the actual fee on every major creator platform in 2026?
The 2026 fee table sorts into three tiers. The low tier is small: Fanvault sits at 8% all-in, with payment processing rolled in. The mid tier covers Fanvue's 15% intro rate for the first 12 months stepping up to 20%, Patreon's flat 10% for any creator page published after August 4, 2025, and Passes' base 10% plus $0.30 per transaction. The high tier holds steady at 20%, where Fanfix takes 20% on memberships, DMs, locked content, and tips.
| Platform | Headline fee | Creator keeps | Processing treatment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fanvault | 8% flat | 92% | Included in fee |
| Patreon (new creators) | 10% flat | 90% gross | Plus ~2.9% + $0.30 processing |
| Passes (base) | 10% + $0.30/txn | ~90% minus per-txn floor | Bundled in headline |
| Fanvue (year 1) | 15% | 85% | Gross of payment rails |
| Fanvue (year 2+) | 20% | 80% | Gross of payment rails |
| Fanfix | 20% | 80% | Stripe Connect, every Wednesday |
Why does the headline fee rarely match what creators keep?
Three patterns inflate the effective take. The first is processing pass-through. Patreon layers its 10% on top of payment processing, which runs about 2.9% + $0.30 per successful charge on Stripe. A $5 Patreon membership nets the creator roughly $4.20 after both layers, not $4.50.
The second is the per-transaction floor. Passes' "10% + $0.30" looks cheap on a $50 subscription, but it punishes small tickets. A $3 paid DM costs the creator $0.60, or 20%, not 30 cents. The headline math only holds at higher price points.
The third is the step-up clause. Fanvue's 85% earning rate runs for 12 months before the fee shifts to the standard 20%. The cohort hits a structural pay cut at month 13, and the longer the creator stays, the wider the gap between the marketing pitch and the bank deposit.
Patreon adds a fourth wrinkle. Its legacy Lite (5%), Pro (8%), and Premium (12%) plans are grandfathered only while the page stays continuously published. Unpublishing migrates the creator to the new standard 10% with no path back.
How fast does each platform actually pay out?
Payout speed shifted from a back-office footnote to a competitive variable in 2026. Fanvue processes weekly with 3 to 7 business days to land, against a $20 first-withdrawal minimum. Fanfix runs payouts every Wednesday through Stripe Connect. Patreon pays monthly. Newer entrants including Fanvault sit on Stripe Connect rails with regulated identity verification at onboarding.
The longer the float, the more the headline fee understates the cost of capital. A creator clearing $8,000 a month on a 30-day payout window is effectively lending the platform a month of working capital on top of the fee. For creators who run weekly cash-flow planning, the spread between a 7-day rolling balance and a 30-day cycle is real money, not an accounting detail.
What does the fee math look like at $1K and $10K per month?
| Platform | $1,000/month take-home | $10,000/month take-home |
|---|---|---|
| Fanvault (8%) | $920 | $9,200 |
| Patreon (10% + processing) | ~$870 | ~$8,710 |
| Passes (10% + $0.30 over 50 txns) | ~$885 | ~$8,985 |
| Fanvue year 1 (15%) | $850 | $8,500 |
| Fanvue year 2+ (20%) | $800 | $8,000 |
| Fanfix (20%) | $800 | $8,000 |
The gap widens with scale. At $1K/month the spread between the cheapest and most expensive option is $120. At $10K/month it is $1,200. A creator stuck on a 20% platform foregoes roughly $14,400 per year versus the 8% tier at a steady $10K monthly run rate, before factoring payout-float costs.
Which platform is the right fit for which creator?
The honest answer depends on what a creator actually sells. Subscription-only creators who never touch merchandise or memorabilia can stack any platform's revenue streams against the fee table above and pick the cheapest. Creators selling signed items, stream-worn apparel, or one-of-one drops have a narrower field, because most competitors do not offer a storefront at all.
| Creator type | Best fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Streamer with memorabilia inventory | Fanvault | Auctions, buy-it-now drops, authenticated provenance metadata in the same account |
| Subscription-only writer or podcaster | Patreon (legacy 5%) or Fanvault | Lowest fees if grandfathered on Patreon; Fanvault if joining new |
| High-volume PPV creator on small tickets | Fanvue or Fanvault | Avoids Passes' $0.30/txn floor that eats small payments |
| AI or virtual creator | Fanvault | Sister platform Content Capital handles publishing across IG, TikTok, and X |
| Athlete or fitness personality | Fanvault | Memorabilia and storefront for signed gear, plus conversational DM automation |
One variable creators undervalue: what the platform's stack lets them sell at all. Fanvue, Passes, and Fanfix cover subscriptions, PPV, paid DMs, and tips. Fanvault adds wishlists, auctions, buy-it-now drops, and authenticated memorabilia inside the same account. A creator whose fans already collect signed gear or limited drops is leaving inventory on the table when the platform has no storefront to list it on.
The macro context matters. Goldman Sachs Research projects the creator economy at roughly $250B in 2023 growing to about $480B by 2027, with 50M global creators expanding at a 10 to 20% CAGR. Every basis point a platform stops charging is a basis point creators reinvest. In 2026 the platforms that win the long game are the ones whose headline fee, processing treatment, and payout speed all line up with what the marketing page promises.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the lowest creator-platform fee in 2026?
Fanvault's
Does Patreon's 10% include payment processing?
No. Patreon's 10% platform fee is layered on top of payment processing, which runs approximately 2.9% + $0.30 per successful charge on Stripe. The effective take on a $5 membership is roughly 16% once both layers settle, not 10%. Platforms like Fanvault that include processing in the headline fee deliver a more accurate apples-to-apples comparison.
How does Fanvue's 15% to 20% step-up actually work?
Per Fanvue's Creator Earnings & Payouts page, new creators earn 85% of gross paid-for services revenue for the first 12 months on the platform. At month 13 the rate steps down to the standard 80% (a 20% platform fee). Legacy pre-2023 creators who used to keep 85% indefinitely have already been migrated to the new structure. The change compounds with creator longevity: the longer the page stays active, the wider the gap between the marketing pitch and the actual take-home.
Why does Passes' $0.30 per-transaction fee matter on small payments?
Because the fixed $0.30 is the same whether the transaction is $3 or $300. On a $3 paid DM the effective fee is $0.60 (10% + $0.30), or roughly 20% of the transaction. On a $50 subscription the same fee is $5.30, or about 10.6%. Creators who run a high volume of small-ticket payments (tips, single-message DMs, micro-PPV) feel the floor harder than creators who lean on larger monthly memberships. The Passes Creators+ tier adds DRM and SMS but doubles the platform take to 20% per transaction.
Which platforms support memorabilia or auctions in addition to subscriptions?
Among the 2026 competitive set, Fanvault is the only platform with a built-in storefront for authenticated memorabilia, auctions with proxy bidding and anti-snipe extended-bidding windows, and buy-it-now drops, all inside the same creator account that hosts the subscription and DM tools. Fanvue, Passes, and Fanfix cover subscriptions, PPV, paid DMs, and tips, but creators on those platforms typically rely on a separate Shopify or third-party drop site for physical inventory, which adds fees, fulfillment overhead, and a second checkout for the fan.