Creators on Patreon are alarmed and outraged over a new policy from Apple that would subject all Patreon memberships sold on iOS to Apple’s 30 percent commission. In a post on Monday, Patreon explained the new policy, which will go into effect on Nov. 4. The blog post says that Patreon must comply with this new policy, lest it “risk being kicked out of the App Store.”
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. The post reads, in part:
This has two major consequences for creators:
1. 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.
2. 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.
Before we go any further, we want to be crystal clear about one thing: Apple’s fee will not impact your existing memberships. It will only affect new memberships purchased in the iOS app from November onward.
The iOS policy means that anyone who subscribes to a Patreon page will be faced with a larger price tag. Patreon will give creators the ability to increase their prices in the iOS app to offset the 30% price tag. Patreon already takes a cut of funds processed through the platform, ranging from a 5% founders fee up to a 12% cut.
“Unless creators choose to absorb the Apple App Store Fee themselves, new transactions in the Patreon iOS app will be more expensive than the same purchase on the web because of Apple’s App Store Fee,” the blog post reads.
The iOS policy has long since been controversial, with a consumer class action lawsuit set to take place in Feb. 2026. The lawsuit accuses Apple of artificially inflating the 30% sales commission, which leads to overcharging for apps. Perhaps most famously, Fortnite developer Epic Games took Apple to court in August 2020 over the 30% fee.
Creators are taking to social media to warn their patrons about this upcoming policy. “Creators do not see ANY of this money, it goes directly to apple. PLEASE don’t spend extra money, join via the web/android!” reads one viral post. “You guys saw that independent artists were actually making a living and just HAD to fucking squeeze this community a little harder didn’t you?! The layoffs, GenAi wasn’t enough?! Fuck you.” one industry artist wrote.
Polygon has reached out to Patreon and Apple for comment on the policy change.
The post Apple to add 30% fee on all Patreon subscriptions made through iOS appeared first on Polygon.
