Run a Patreon-style membership site under your own name.
OFEngine is membership software you buy once and install on your own server:
paid tiers, members-only posts, a digital shop, messages and livestreams,
with Stripe and PayPal checkout. From $300, with no cut of your members' payments to us.
Membership tiers with multi-month bundles start on the Pro plan. OFEngine is independent software and is not affiliated with Patreon.
your-community.com
A member's view of a creator page: their tier status, posts and media in one place. Demo data.
01 / WHO BUYS IT
Built for people whose supporters already pay them monthly.
Artists and illustrators
Process posts and sketches for members, high-resolution files and brush packs in the shop, live drawing sessions on stream.
Writers and podcasters
Early chapters and bonus episodes behind a tier, free posts that bring new listeners in, voice and video posts for members.
Educators and coaches
Lessons as members-only posts, quizzes to check progress, worksheets and course files sold with automatic delivery.
Community and network owners
Run a site for many creators in one niche, such as a podcast network or an art collective, and set the platform fee yourself.
Worth knowing first: Patreon runs billing, payouts and support for you. On your own site, payments go through your own Stripe or PayPal account, and running the site is your job. That trade pays off when membership income is large enough for the platform fee to hurt, or when you want to run a platform for other creators.
02 / HOW MEMBERS PAY
Tiers, bundles, a shop and pay links, all on your domain.
Four ways to earn from the same audience. Each one is a setting the creator controls, not a separate tool to bolt on.
Membership tiers with monthly and annual pricing
Creators set up tiers such as Supporter, Insider and Patron, each with its own perks. Every tier can have monthly, quarterly, six-month and annual prices, with a discount for the longer terms.
Promotions and trial links on the same page, for launch weeks and podcast ad codes.
A free tier for creators who want followers first and payment later.
Tiers, bundles and promotions are on Pro and up. Regular has a single subscription price.
Price and bundles. One tier, four billing periods, a bigger discount the longer a member commits.
Members-only posts, with free posts as the shop window
Each post has an audience: everyone, members only, or a one-off paid unlock. Public posts show visitors what they get; members-only posts give them a reason to join.
The composer handles text, photo galleries, voice, video, polls and quizzes, and posts can be scheduled ahead. Members comment, bookmark and answer polls on the creator's page.
The member view on a phone. Membership status, renewal date and the feed, in the browser with no app install needed.
A digital-product shop with automatic delivery
Sell files next to the membership: e-books, sample packs, presets, course workbooks, recordings. Files are delivered automatically after purchase, and the creator sees sales, views and revenue for each product.
The shop is in every plan, Regular included.
My products. Each product shows its price, sales and revenue. Demo products.
Pay Links: sell to people who will never make an account
A Pay Link is a public URL for a bundle of content. The buyer pays and gets it without signing up. Put one in a newsletter, a video description or a social bio for people who want one thing, not a membership.
Pay Links come with Business and Enterprise. The admin turns each module on or off for the whole site.
Modules. Pay Links, tiers and mass messaging are switches in the admin, each marked with the plan it needs.
03 / WHAT YOU GET
The rest of a membership platform, ready on day one.
What members use, what creators use and what you use to run the site. Some items depend on the plan; the pricing table has the exact split.
Memberships
Free or paid membership per creator
Tiers with perks and multi-month bundles (Pro and up)
Promotions, discount codes and trial links (Pro and up)
Posts
Public, members-only or one-off paid posts
Text, galleries, voice, video, polls and quizzes
Scheduling, pinned posts and stories
Shop and Pay Links
Digital products with automatic delivery
Tips on posts and messages
Pay Links with no signup (Business and up)
Messages
1:1 messages between members and creators
Mass messages to lists such as active, expired or renewing soon (Pro and up)
Scheduled messages and voice notes (Pro and up)
Livestreams
Go live from the browser webcam or by RTMP
Stream gifts from viewers
Runs on the GetStream video API, with optional recording to S3
Payments
Stripe and PayPal for card and PayPal checkout
NOWPayments if you want to accept crypto
Member wallet with balance top-ups
Your brand
Your domain, themes, light and dark mode
6 languages: English, Arabic, Spanish, French, German, Japanese
Right-to-left layout for Arabic
Installable web app on phones; own iOS and Android apps on Enterprise
Creator earnings
Earnings split by income source
Withdrawal requests to a payout method on file
Withdrawals need the account password, plus 2FA when on
Running the site
Dashboard with revenue, members and top creators
Creator verification and content moderation queues
Payout queue and revenue, member and payout reports
Platform fee % and feature toggles in settings
The owner's dashboard. Revenue split into memberships, tips and shop, plus what needs your attention: verifications and payouts waiting. Demo data.
04 / THE TRADE-OFF
Patreon or your own site: what changes.
Patreon facts come from its pricing page and help centre, checked 26 October 2026. Stripe rates are from Stripe's US pricing page. The right column is what you get, and what you take on.
Patreon compared with a self-hosted OFEngine membership site
Topic
Patreon
Your OFEngine site
Platform fee
10% plus applicable taxes on the standard plan, for pages published after 4 August 2025. Older pages may be on 5%, 8% or 11%[1][3][4]
None if you are the only creator. On a multi-creator site you set the fee %. OFEngine takes no commission
Card processing
2.9% + $0.30 for cards, Apple Pay and US PayPal or Venmo; 3.9% + $0.30 for non-US PayPal or Venmo[2]
Your own Stripe or PayPal rate. Stripe lists 2.9% + 30¢ for US domestic cards, plus 1.5% for international cards[5]
Currency conversion
2.5% when a member pays in a different currency from your payout currency[2]
A fee per payout that depends on method and currency, for example $0.25 per US bank transfer[2]
Payments land in your merchant account. On a multi-creator site you approve each creator withdrawal
Software cost
Covered by the platform fee
One-time licence from $300; tiers and bundles from $1,500. Plus hosting
Members and data
Members sign up to Patreon
Members sign up on your domain; accounts and history sit in your database
Brand
A page on patreon.com
Your name, domain, theme and language
Running it
Patreon runs billing, payouts and support
Yours: hosting, updates, member support, merchant account
New members
People who already have a Patreon account
You bring your audience from your newsletter, podcast, videos and socials
05 / RUN THE NUMBERS
Your membership income, with and without the 10%.
Enter your members and average monthly price. Card processing is counted on both sides, so the gap is mostly Patreon's platform fee against a one-time licence and hosting. A rough guide, not a quote.
On Patreon, fees in the first 12 months$6,39012 × ($320 platform fee + $210 processing)
On your own site, first 12 months$4,650$1,500 licence + 12 × ($210 processing + $50 hosting)
Left with you in year oneAbout $1,740Year two: Patreon fees $6,390; your site costs $3,150.
Patreon: the 10% standard platform fee for pages published after 4 August 2025, before taxes on the fee.[1][3] If your page is on a legacy 5% or 8% plan, the gap is smaller.
Processing: 2.9% + $0.30 per monthly payment on both sides. That is Patreon's standard card rate[2] and Stripe's published US domestic card rate.[5] International cards, currency conversion, non-US PayPal and Patreon payout fees are left out. Members on annual bundles mean fewer charges and fewer $0.30 fees.
Hosting $50 a month: our rough figure for a server, media storage and backups. Video-heavy sites and livestreams cost more; GetStream bills livestream usage separately.
Not included: your time, member support, tax and accounting, refunds and disputes. These can close the gap at lower volumes.
06 / PRICING
One-time pricing. No SaaS subscription.
Pay once, host yourself, own the code forever.
Regular
$300one-time
Everything required to launch a content-creator site.
Single-price subscriptions
Free and paywalled posts
1:1 direct messages and PPV
Tips on posts and messages
Stories, comments, bookmarks
Livestreaming (RTMP and webcam) with stream gifts
Pinned posts and featured grid
Digital-product shop: sell files with auto-delivery
Multi-account switcher (run multiple identities in one browser)
Secure checkout. 3-day money-back if it doesn't fit your use case.
07 / BEFORE YOU BUY
Questions membership creators ask us first.
Is OFEngine affiliated with Patreon?
No. OFEngine is independent software. Patreon is a trademark of its owner, and we use the name only to describe the kind of membership site you can run. Your site carries your own brand.
Which plan do I need for membership tiers?
Pro ($1,500 one-time) or higher. Pro adds subscription tiers, multi-month bundles, trials, promotions, discount codes and mass messaging. Regular ($300) has one subscription price per creator, with free and members-only posts, messages, tips, the shop and livestreams. Pay Links need Business ($3,000). Compare the plans.
Can I take payments with Stripe and PayPal?
Yes. Both are built in, and NOWPayments is there if you want crypto. You open the merchant accounts yourself, so the money goes to your account and you pay the processor's rate. Stripe lists 2.9% + 30¢ for US domestic cards. Processors review new accounts, so describe your membership business accurately when you apply.
Can I move my members over from Patreon?
There is no one-click Patreon importer. Members create an account on your site and choose a tier there, paying through your own Stripe or PayPal account. Most creators announce the move to their members, give a date and offer a founding-member price or an annual bundle to make the switch worth it. If you need a custom import of existing content, ask us about custom work.
Can I run it for many creators instead of only myself?
Yes. Creators apply and upload ID documents, and you approve them in the verification queue. You set the platform fee % in the admin, review reported posts in the moderation queue and approve withdrawals in the payout queue. Enterprise adds full agency mode for managing groups of creators.
How long does setup take?
Most installs take about 15 minutes with the 7-step web installer: upload the files, create a database and follow the steps. Pro and up include free installation. Allow extra time for your Stripe or PayPal application, your terms and privacy pages, and your first tiers. Installation docs.
Will members get a mobile app?
On every plan, members can install your site to their phone's home screen from the browser. Enterprise includes your own iOS and Android apps under your brand, connected to your OFEngine site so members use one account everywhere. Each app store reviews apps under its own rules. Ask about Enterprise.
