Deciding to grow your audience and introduce monetization through paid membership can be a massive step in your progression as a creative or entrepreneur.
Whether you are looking to develop a digital educational course, start an online coaching program, or simply want a reliable way to receive support for your work, you’ll need a capable platform to manage your new endeavor.
Your search for a community-building platform will almost inevitably lead you to the debate between Patreon vs Mighty Networks. They each offer amazing quality-of-life features and help creators foster a sense of community among their audience, but which one is the best choice for you?
As creators, we’ve seen a few things, and we opted to create this guide on Mighty Networks vs Patreon to help you make that choice. From pricing to marketing features and how some creatives have found a way to use both platforms, our guide will cover everything you need to know.
To get things going, we’ll jump right into an analysis of how each platform works.
Breaking Down the Basics Behind Patreon vs Mighty Networks
If you’re ready to start monetizing your audience and growing a loyal community of supporters but aren’t sure how, these two platforms will offer the tools you need. Each platform is viable, so we must dive deeper to separate them.
Before we do that, we should examine precisely what each platform offers before going into their differences. Remember the needs of your audience and what you want your ideal paid community to look like as a creator while reading to help you decide between these two options.
With that said, let’s begin with Patreon!
Introducing Patreon…
Patreon is an incredible platform offering various benefits for content creators looking to build and monetize their communities. The platform allows your audience to purchase tiered subscription plans that you can define however you want.
With Patreon, you can offer exclusive content, early access to your work, and even shoutouts to your patrons in your videos or podcasts. By offering membership subscriptions through Patreon, you can earn a reliable income from your most dedicated fans, which can help you to focus on creating the content you're passionate about. Plus, with Patreon's flexible fee structure and free initial plan, you can begin your journey without worrying about your budget.
Introducing Mighty Networks…
Mighty Networks is centered around helping creators develop all-encompassing spaces. These spaces can foster a long-term relationship between community members and creators with features like educational courses, live streams, member challenges, and more.
Mighty Networks also offers flexibility for creators who want to start monetizing their audiences with membership subscriptions but plan to sell online courses down the line or lead a free community with paid mastermind groups for specialized training.
Creating a long-term ecosystem with Mighty Networks is an effortless endeavor, thanks to its wealth of features and simple setup process.
If you are familiar with other marketing or community-building platforms, you may be able to glean additional insights from the other comparison articles we’ve compiled for Mighty Networks.
We covered the differences between Mighty Networks vs Kajabi, Circle vs Mighty Networks, Podia vs Mighty Networks, and Thinkific vs Mighty Networks, so check them out for another frame of reference.
Mighty Networks vs Patreon: Side By Side Comparison to Help You Choose the Right Platform
After thoroughly exploring each platform’s offerings, it’s time to put a magnifying glass on the Patreon vs Mighty Networks debate. There are some key differences to keep in mind between the two platforms, so you’ll want to keep the needs of your business and your community in mind to help you discern the right choice.
First, let's compare how your budget will be impacted by Mighty Networks vs Patreon.
Plans and Pricing
Comparing Mighty Networks vs Patreon on price will require a small amount of math to understand fully.
Patreon is free to sign up and get started, as their model revolves around charging a fee for every member signed up. Every Patreon plan also has a 2.9% + $0.30 fee per transaction to keep in mind.
Patreon has three tiers of plans: Lite, which charges 5% of your income and allows for a single tier of membership, Pro, which charges 8% of your income and adds analytics and additional tiers, and Premium, which charges 12% of your income and provides you with a dedicated customer support manager.
Mighty Networks also has three tiers available, including a free trial. There’s no free option, unlike Patreon, but the Community plan is priced at $33 per month plus only 3% per membership.
The platform’s Business tier plan costs $99 per month but drops the membership fees to 2% and offers the ability to host educational courses and more third-party integrations. They also offer a Pro plan with advanced features like app creation and in-depth support. However, the prices are only available after a consultation exploring the needs of your business.
With either Mighty Networks or Patreon, you must closely monitor your membership numbers to calculate your final monthly bill.
Let’s say you have 100 members at $10 each, with a monthly income of $1000. Patreon’s pro plan would charge you $80, plus an extra $0.59 per membership, bringing your monthly bill to $139.
Mighty Networks’ Business Plan would cost you $110 plus an extra $0.20 per member, bringing your monthly total to $130 with those numbers.
The pricing of Patreon vs Mighty Networks is tilted in favor of Patreon for smaller communities and those looking to jump in with a free program, while larger audiences are better paired with Mighty Networks’ lower fee scales.
Community Building Capabilities & Engagement
If you’re looking to grow your community and engage with them in innovative new ways, either Mighty Networks or Patreon is fit for the task.
Mighty Networks offers a range of features specifically designed to help creators build and grow their communities. Some of its powerful community management tools include member segmentation and community analytics to provide insights into member satisfaction.
Mighty Networks also has built-in live streams and discussion forums that keep community members engaged with one another.
Patreon is more of a hub for creators to keep fans informed and provide them with unique benefits. For example, it is common for podcasters and video bloggers to offer community members featured appearances within their content that serves as an acknowledgment of their support.
If you want to grow a community that interacts with each other, Mighty Networks is a better choice, but Patreon can still be a strong option with the correct membership benefits in place.
Ability to Use Unique Branding Within the Platform
Focusing on branding is vital when monetizing your community, and the potential is different when comparing Mighty Networks vs Patreon.
Patreon is a household name on the internet, so bringing an audience over to the platform may be easier compared to Mighty Networks. However, while the platform offers a few custom design options, there are fewer options to incorporate your brand when comparing Patreon vs Mighty Networks.
Mighty Networks gives you more branding options, including the ability to create multiple communities with unique designs. Their template design tools are easy to use, allowing you to show off your brand without hiring a designer.
Support For Creators
Each platform offers fantastic creator support options, so either Mighty Networks or Patreon will work for your business.
Patreon’s blog and creator community provides insights to help creators begin on the platform. All three Patreon tiers also have customer support, including a priority team for the Pro and Premium levels. Patreon also has a comprehensive list of third-party integrations that help ease a creator's transition to the platform.
Mighty Networks offers a free network of creators and entrepreneurs, Mighty Community. The platform hosts free talks and discussions built on the Mighty Network platform that serve as a helpful guide to creators. Every tier of Mighty Networks also provides creators with a priority customer support queue that can be accessed anytime.
Marketing Solutions to Grow Your Community
Choosing to monetize your audience and build a community is a major step in your business, so you’ll want a platform that can help you scale your marketing strategy. Regardless of your choice between Mighty Networks or Patreon, each platform has the tools to help you scale.
Patreon is excellent at letting you promote your membership community on external websites and social media platforms. You can also run paid advertising campaigns to attract new members and integrate third-party apps to assist you in the process.
Patreon’s analytics suite is also excellent at helping you pinpoint the marketing needs of your target audience, allowing you to make better-informed decisions in your promotional strategy.
When comparing Mighty Networks vs Patreon, the former excels in marketing your brand. Mighty Networks allows you to use your own custom domain and provides email marketing and social media integration to help creators reach out to potential members.
Additional Digital Products You Can Sell
Branching out from paid memberships can be a significant step in the growth of your business, so how do the two platforms stack up against one another?
When comparing Patreon vs Mighty Networks, Patreon can be limited in providing additional products. It is possible to offer products like online coaching or access to ebooks and commission products, though everything will need to be wrapped up in Patreon’s tiered membership system.
This offers flexibility for Patreon, but Mighty Networks creators can also sell various digital products through the tiered membership offerings. However, digital courses are unique to Mighty Networks. The platform’s business plan provides a complete course builder with an unlimited amount of courses available.
Both platforms let you scale the monetization of your audience, though Mighty Networks is preferred if you are specifically looking to build educational courses.
So, Which Platform is Best For You: Patreon vs Mighty Networks?
Ultimately, both platforms are excellent tools to help you monetize and grow an online community. The final verdict will come down to the specific needs of your business and how much engagement you want as a creator.
Patreon is free to begin with, only charging you once you start getting signups, so it is a fabulous choice if you are just beginning. It also stands out as a no-frills way to receive donations or commissions for your work, helping you monetize your audience.
Mighty Networks offers more versatile customization options and engaging community features like discussion forums and live streams. It serves as a home base for your audience to stay connected with you as a creator and fellow community members. There’s a higher upfront cost, but Mighty Networks’ fee scale is more generous to creators with larger communities.
Each of these platforms has its uses, so you may wonder if you can incorporate both to help you scale a community.
Does it Make Sense to Use Both Patreon and Mighty Networks?
While the two platforms cover a similar use case, some creators use both platforms to monetize their audiences. There are a few reasons for this, and it depends on the nature of your community.
Patreon’s low initial fee structure makes it a strong choice if you want a single tier of donations without offering additional community features, and you can always provide access to a Mighty Networks community as part of a higher tier.
This allows you to segment your audience in a way that works for you as a creator and will enable you to engage with your audience on a more personal level.
Getting an audience to move platforms can also be a hassle, and since both platforms don’t cost much to get started, it can be easier to start on Patreon and later add Mighty Networks for some additional features like digital courses, discussion forums, and live streaming.
So if you can’t decide between Patreon vs Mighty Networks, you can jump into both and decide which one to focus your efforts on after a few months of experimenting. Of course, both platforms can also pair well with several other popular marketing and community tools, so you may want to research every option available.
Consider These Alternative Platforms Before You Get Started…
Our experience as content creators and online community builders has led to us testing out every platform on the web. This allows us to share that information with you to save you time and effort downloading endless free trials. We’ve tested several platforms and displayed the results on our blog, like Circle vs Tribe, Thinkific vs Kajabi, and Kajabi vs Kartra.
You can also begin comparing platforms yourself by doing some research. A fantastic place to start comparing alternative platforms is the Creator Friendliness Index, which analyzes and ranks the creator experiences provided by the most common platforms on the market.
The index was created by Podia, one of our favorites which we’ve gone in-depth on in many articles, including Podia vs Teachable, Podia vs Kajabi, Podia vs Thinkific, Learnworlds vs Podia, and Kartra vs Podia.
There’s a lot to sift through, but there’s no need to stress over your choice! These platforms all come with excellent tools to help get you started building your community or coaching programs. The quicker you pick a platform and get started, the sooner you can begin growing your business and positively impacting the lives of your fans or students!
Wrapping Up Our Comparison of Mighty Networks vs Patreon
Our guide provided a lot for you to consider, so take the time to consider your goals and the needs of your audience. Patreon has a free upfront investment that provides an easy way for your fans to support you, while Mighty Networks allows you to scale large audiences at a cheaper rate and has additional features to help you play an active role in your community.
If you are still wracking your brain deciding between Mighty Networks vs Patreon, know that both options are fabulous choices. Once you have everything in place to start selling premium memberships or other digital products to your audience, succeeding with your business is as simple as choosing a platform and taking that leap of faith.
Make your choice, then jump into either platform to start providing value to your audience and grow a community that helps you express yourself as a creator!