Spotify's Podcast Memberships Let Creators Keep 90%. Its Old Fee Took Only 5.5%.

Spotify switched on paid podcast Memberships in 34 markets on Tuesday and led with one number: creators keep 90% of what members pay. Spotify's updated fee schedule shows what that number replaces.

Through Monday, Spotify's Podcast Subscriptions product deducted a 5.5% payment-processing fee, plus 0.8% to 1.6% when a fan paid in a different currency. From 20 October, new members carry a flat 10% platform fee, which Spotify says covers processing, foreign exchange and payouts. Taxes come off before the fee.

On a $5 monthly tier sold to a US fan, the creator now gets $4.50 instead of about $4.73. Spotify's take on each new member nearly doubles. Subscribers who joined under the old product stay on the 5.5% rate until they cancel, so a show with an existing paid base will feel the change gradually, as churn swaps old members for new ones.

What the 10% buys

Creators can set up to three tiers and sell more than bonus episodes: exclusive audio or video, fewer ads, early access and archive access. Spotify adds free trials, targeted promotions, sign-up analytics and exportable member data, including contact details from fans who choose to share them. TechCrunch's Sarah Perez reports that memberships are bought on the web, not through in-app purchase, which keeps Apple's and Google's app-store cuts out of the transaction.

Money moves through Stripe on a rolling 30-day schedule, with a $10 minimum and no payout until 30 days after a creator's first earnings.

Eligibility also changed. Shows must be hosted on Spotify for Creators or Megaphone, with three published episodes, 100 listeners or viewers and 100 consumption hours in the prior 30 days. Spotify says the new bar applies to shows created from 20 October; shows already using Podcast Subscriptions keep their eligibility.

Against the alternatives

Engadget framed the launch as a shot at Patreon, and on price it lands one. Patreon's standard plan, which covers every creator who published a page after 4 August 2025, charges a 10% platform fee before payment processing of 2.9% plus 30 cents per US card payment, and 2.5% more for currency conversion. On the same $5 tier that leaves about $4.06, before Patreon's per-payout fee. Spotify pays roughly 44 cents more per member per month. Creators still on Patreon's legacy 8% Pro plan sit closer.

Apple Podcasts Subscriptions pays creators 70% of the price in a subscriber's first year and 85% after that, on top of an annual Apple Podcasters Program fee.

The trade is where the business lives. Spotify Memberships only work for shows hosted on Spotify's own tools, and members listen inside Spotify. Creators who would rather keep billing elsewhere can still pipe gated feeds from Patreon or Supporting Cast into Spotify through Open Access.

Launch shows include The Adam Friedland Show, Making Sense with Sam Harris, The Shawn Ryan Show, The Sculpt Society and Two Hot Takes, plus YMH Studios across 12 shows. Spotify has not said how many members the product has, or whether launch partners are on the standard fee.

For a small show moving off Patreon, the math improves. For one already selling Spotify Subscriptions, every new sign-up now costs 4.5 points more.