# Patreon 55 Hacker News commenters recommended Patreon and 37 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 12 of 13 months. **Verdict:** People recommend Patreon as a direct way to support creators with small recurring payments, often ad-free and with exclusive content. The most common caveat is its fees and the controversy over its iOS in-app purchase cut. ## Why people recommend it - Direct support for creators (8 comments): "That's a meaningful hit to creator economics for something that's closer to "patronage" than a typical in-app digital good." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46816726)) "due to (lousy, imperfect) platforms such as Patreon and the internet you can get enough patronage to support yourself" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49083897)) "I donate to Patreon for folks like Benn Jordan, whom I feel does work that’s important and beneficial for society." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46456219)) - Ad-free content and exclusive access (4 comments): "I get to see stuff from my favorite creatives weeks (sometimes months) early, and ad-free." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46812003)) "It allows you to download Patreon-exclusive videos for e.g. viewing it on a flight" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46808858)) "subscribe to the podcasts Patreon and they'll provide you a custom RSS with no ads" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45980011)) - Predictable small monthly payments (3 comments): "I support several content creators, both technical and nontechnical, with small monthly payments there." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46189729)) "With Patreon or Fanbox you know what you will pay every month and don't get hit by a surprise" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49506259)) "Patreon handles 1-2$ monthly payments no problem and always has." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46012289)) - Reliable and long-running platform (3 comments): "I would highly recommend their patreon to make sure they can do another 10 years" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49519480)) "Patreon's fees are near-universally held to be reasonable and fair" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46812813)) "Patreon has been running very successfully for over a decade" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46920766)) ## What people warn about - Fees and Apple iOS cut (4 comments): "Patreon doesn't give creators an option of "Just don't accept donations for us from Apple users"" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46810299)) "I wonder if Patreon's 10% fee is commensurate with the negligible value that they provide?" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46808987)) "For the price of paying Apple, Patreon should be able to develop a web app instead." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46810473)) - Not viable for most creators (2 comments): "Patreon is not a great way to pay the bills for all but the most famous and popular people on it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49126343)) "Patreon only works for famous people making products that are free to copy." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49091696)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Watsi](https://hackerapproved.com/p/watsi.md): 29 recommend - [GitHub Sponsors](https://hackerapproved.com/p/github-sponsors.md): 10 recommend - [Ko-fi](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ko-fi.md): 8 recommend - [Buy Me a Coffee](https://hackerapproved.com/p/buy-me-a-coffee.md): 7 recommend ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://www.patreon.com/) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Patreon", https://hackerapproved.com/p/patreon/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).