Joining Patreon

We've got some big news to share.

Memberful started as a side project five years ago, born out of frustration with existing membership software. Since then, we've been pushing hard to build something great, and we're making exciting progress toward that goal. Memberful has grown quickly and profitably, and we've watched hundreds of independent publishers, educators, and creators grow right along with us. It's been inspiring and motivating for all of us to see these folks connect directly with their audience and get paid to do what they love.

Today, we're announcing we've been acquired by Patreon. In Patreon, we found a team that cares deeply about many of the same things we do. We both see a future where creators work for their audience, not for massive advertising companies as underpaid content suppliers. We both see a future where creators are free to maintain direct relationships with their audience on their terms, unencumbered by the whims of the latest social platform. We both see a future where creators can do what they love while being directly supported financially by their biggest fans through memberships. Patreon asked if we'd join them in building this future, and we said yes.

As a Memberful customer, you might be surprised by this news. You might also be concerned about the future of Memberful. Are we giving up? Are we shutting down? Quite the opposite. Memberful has been growing fast, and our growth has even accelerated in 2018. We're partnering with Patreon to take this to the next level. Patreon brings capital, expertise, and resources that will help us make Memberful even better for you.

Both Memberful and Patreon offer membership software, but Memberful is focused on building a decentralized white-label membership solution that lives on your website and integrates with your favorite third-party tools and services; while Patreon is more focused on providing an all-in-one solution. We believe these are different segments within the same larger market. Each segment has unique needs and is therefore better served by separate products.

Understandably, you probably still have some questions.

What's happening to the Memberful product?

Business as usual, but better, faster. We're now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Patreon, but we're still running Memberful the same way. We'll be expanding our product team over the coming months. This will give us more resources to build exciting new features and functionality. Expect to see more of the things you've been asking for like group memberships, better language support, form customizations, taxes, and more integrations.

If you're a developer looking to join a small and hungry remote-first product team that’s on a mission to build a world-class tool for publishers, educators, and creators, we're hiring.

Are you changing prices?

Pricing is not changing for existing customers. The transaction fee on our Pro and Premium plans has increased for new customers only. As part of Patreon, we're still committed to profitability and independence over the long term, and this pricing update will help us meet those goals.

What's happening to the team?

All full-time members of the team are still here and plan to be here (including myself). If you're used to hearing from Lauren, Patrik, or me, you'll continue to hear from us, and we'll work to provide the best possible customer support.

From the beginning, we've been committed to building great membership software for you, one feature at a time, one day at time. That isn't changing, and we can’t wait to continue building a better future for creators together with Patreon.