Fanhouse vs. Patreon

At Fanhouse, we often get asked why a creator should join our app vs. Patreon.

Both platforms offer great tools for different creators and scenarios, so we thought we would lay out the similarities and differences between the two products. Our goal here is to educate and guide creators to pick the best platform for their specific needs!

Similarities Between the Platforms

Before we discuss the different use cases between the apps, let’s talk about the similarities! Both platforms:

1. Have a web and a mobile version so your fans will be able to check out new posts at home or on the go
2. Support native audio and video hosting (so there’s no need to post your content to other sites like YouTube and then link them back to the app for your fans to see)
3. Allow creators to set a fundraising goal and track fan support
4. Allow creators and fans to make public posts that anyone can see
5. Give creators the ability to set a monthly subscription price for your fans
6. Give creators the ability to export their subscribers emails

Difference #1: Functionality

The first difference that people tend to notice is functionality. At a high level, Fanhouse has more ways for creators and fans to interact, including:

1. Custom requests. Creators can continually offer custom requests for a cost. We’ve seen creators offer everything from video shoutouts, tarot readings, happy birthday voice notes, custom cosplays, and even tattoo designs!
2. Group chats. Fans can join their creators in live group chats to meet each other and talk.
3. Tipping. Fans can tip their favorite creators whenever they want.
4. The list goes on: Polls, Community Unlocks, Alternative Access Methods and Listen Goals for Musicians.

Difference #2: Subscriptions

Patreon allows creators to set multiple tiers of subscriptions. Once the tier prices are set, they cannot be changed.

On Fanhouse, creators set one flat price for everyone and can also alternative paywall options. We made this decision after hearing that tiered content requires making more content, which leads to a higher rate of burnout. Creators on Fanhouse are also free to change their subscription price whenever they want.

Difference #3: Creator Payouts

Patreon and Fanhouse maintain different payout strategies. Patreon only pays out once a month, and by default requires creators to remember each month to “request” their earnings.

Fanhouse pays weekly. We don’t make creators remember to ask for their hard-earned money: we transfer earnings to our creators' bank accounts every Monday. 

Also, Fanhouse only takes a 10% cut of all transactions in the app. Conversely, Patreon has a complex and opaque fee structure that can change monthly for any given creator. Creators aren't able to predict what percent of their earnings will be taken until they check their bank account at the end of the month.

We’ve talked to creators who have seen Patreon's take fees higher than 20%.

Finally, Patreon does not offer referral codes. On Fanhouse, if a friend joins through a referral, we will give the referrer half of our 10% take for a year. Some creators have used our referral process to make an extra $5k/month.

Difference #4: Piracy Protection

Creator safety is one of our highest priorities — we have a zero tolerance policy for piracy and strive to ensure that our creators get paid fairly for their hard work.

Fanhouse maintains a unique watermark system to assist us in protecting our creators and prosecuting leakers. With watermarks enabled, our content protection team takes care of filing DMCA requests on your behalf to websites that leak content from Fanhouse, fine the leaker, and ban them from the platform. (Patreon merely provides DMCA templates and suggests their own creators do the work of filing takedowns.)

Verdict

Ultimately, Fanhouse offers creators more ways to connect with fans and earn money. For the majority of creators, Fanhouse will also have a lower take rate than Patreon.

In the end, the choice is yours. We hope you join us!

If you want to learn more about creating a Fanhouse account, feel free to reach out to us at business@fanhouse.app.