COMPARE · COMMUNITY.IO VS PATREON + DISCORD
The 13.5% Frankenstein stack, retired.
Patreon's 10% take plus processing plus Discord glue stacks to ~13.5% all-in — before the 2.5% FX surcharge and Apple's 30% iOS cut. One platform at 2.9% flat replaces the whole stack, with courses and gamification included.
Verified against live pricing pages · July 7, 2026
The feature ledger
Verified against live pricing pages · July 7, 2026
| Feature | community.io | Patreon + Discord |
|---|---|---|
| Honest all-in fees (processing included) | All-in MoR: 4.9% / 2.9% flat / 2.4%, + 30¢ — nothing stacks | 10% + 2.9% + 30¢ ≈ 13.5% all-in, before FX and iOS cuts |
| Engagement engine (points, levels, leaderboards) | Skool-grade gamification: points, levels, leaderboards, level-gated content | Engagement lives in Discord, not Patreon |
| Course tools (quizzes, certificates, drip, progress) | Built in on every tier — a classroom, not a video list | No courses — delivery happens off-platform |
| Member tiers & gated spaces | Tiers + gated spaces in one community, one price | Tiers for billing; delivery lives in Discord |
| India & multi-currency | INR member pricing; payouts in 40+ countries, including India | +2.5% FX surcharge for non-US members |
| Data export & lock-in | Full export — posts, courses, members, history. No exit penalty. | Patron list export; Discord content stays behind |
The fee math, all-in
Total monthly cost — fees + subscription. Computed, not quoted.
| Platform | Starting out — $1k/mo · $50 avg | Growing — $10k/mo · $50 avg | At scale — $100k/mo · $50 avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patreon (standard)10% platform + 2.9% + 30¢ processing (no subscription) | $135/mo | $1,350/mo | $13,500/mo |
| community.io Free$0 + 4.9% + 30¢ all-in | $55/mo | $550/mo | $5,500/mo |
| community.io Pro$49 + 2.9% + 30¢ all-in — flat, no $900 cliff | $84/mo | $399/mo | $3,549/mo |
| Switching to community.io Provs Patreon + Discord’s cheapest setup at each point | keeps $612/yr | keeps $11,412/yr | keeps $119,412/yr |
Where Patreon + Discord wins
Both columns of the ledger — strengths first.
Their column
- Strongest consumer billing brand in the creator economy
- Discord has the best chat culture anywhere
What it costs you
- Highest all-in take: 10% + 2.9% + 30¢ ≈ 13.5%+, before FX and app-store cuts
- +2.5% FX for non-US members; +30% Apple cut on iOS subscriptions
- No courses, no gamification — a Frankenstein stack of two products
- Discord native subscriptions are US-only
pricing source: patreon.com↗ · Verified against live pricing pages · July 7, 2026
Run the numbers at your revenue.
The same math behind every table on this page — every formula published at /fees.