Patreon has become one of the most popular ways for creators to lock certain content behind paywalls, and supplement their income as a content creator.
However, this can be frustrating if you’re unable or unwilling to join the creator’s Patreon – especially if there’s something that they’re posting you absolutely want.
Therefore, you may find yourself wondering – is there any way to view posts on Patreon without paying, or signing up for a subscription?
In this article, we’ll cover everything that you need to know!
Can You View Patreon Posts Without Paying?
No, you cannot view paywalled posts on Patreon without paying. Patreon’s security team has gone to great lengths to ensure that nothing can be done to exploit this critical feature, so unless you pay for a membership you will be unable to viewed paywalled posts.
The only exception to this is posts that the creator has specifically chosen to be available to the public.
Note however that just because there is no exploit to view Patreon posts for free, does not mean you may not still be able to access the content elsewhere for free.
In fact, there are several workarounds that you may be able to use to find the content.
Therefore, we’ll cover some of these in just a moment. First, let’s talk a little bit more about Patreon’s security.
Patreon’s Security
It’s important to keep in mind that Patreon is a multi-billion dollar company, with hundreds of employees.
Their entire business model depends on creator trust. If they can’t keep the content they host safe, then their entire business falls apart. Therefore, they’ve likely hired some of the world’s smartest people and spent an unbelievable amount of money to ensure the security of the platform remains in tact.
To think there are any tricks or tools that will be able to bypass it just doesn’t make sense. They’ve surely had experts try everything they possibly could to break their security systems, and fixed any exploits that may have been possible in the past.
There is simply no way to try and beat their system directly, and it may only land you in legal trouble if you attempt to try.
How To View Patreon Posts For Free
Fortunately, there are some things you can try to attempt to view Patreon posts for free – or at least the content behind them.
While none of these are guaranteed to work, you’ll find that at least one of them does surprisingly often! Therefore, it’s worth giving each one of them a shot.
1. Check For Public Releases
Often times, Patreon creators will keep content exclusive to Patreon for a set period of time, and then release the content publicly later.
This allows them to give an extra reward to patrons, without having to take the time to develop any extra content.
Even if you haven’t signed up for any Patreon tier, you should still be able to view the title and often an excerpt of the paywalled post. Then, you can cross-reference this with the public works that the artist or creator has published elsewhere.
If you can see that they have been posting works publicly later on, you can be reasonably sure that the specific content you’re looking for will also be published later.
So, be sure to follow / subscribe to the creator on other platforms, so you can be notified when the content goes live and is released for the public.
2. See If The Content Is Available Somewhere Else For A Cheaper Price
Often times, the cheapest way to get all of a creator’s work is to sign up for their Patreon. But what if there’s only one specific piece of content that you’re after?
Not every creator does this, but many will put separate content on another platform (such as Gumroad) as its own separate purchase.
This allows people to buy certain pieces of content as a one-time purchase, rather than being forced to sign up for a monthly or annual subscription to Patreon.
For example, they may charge $10 for the Patreon tier that gives you the content that you want, or it may be available on its own on a site like Gumroad for $3.
This can be a great way to save some money without having to ever sign up to their Patreon at all.
3. Ask Someone Else Who Has It, If Allowed
Some Patreon creators have no problem with Patrons sharing content with friends or families, provided that at least one person has paid for it.
Therefore, it’s always possible to ask someone who is currently a Patreon, or was in the past.
For example, I once had a friend give me a copy of some guitar tabs that he got from a Patreon creator, who publicly stated it was okay to print and share the tabs. He was marketing his Patreon not only to guitar players, but to teachers as well, so sharing of the tabs and sheet music was both expected and understood.
However, many creators absolutely do not want you sharing their content at all, and especially not publicly for free.
Therefore, it is always best to check with the Patreon creator and adhere with their wishes.
Are ‘Patreon Viewers’ Legit?
While conducting research, I came across several tools claiming they could unlock a person’s Patreon for you, even without paying or spending any money.
These types of tools have been around for a while, and every single one of them is a scam.
Fake ‘Patreon Viewers’ or ‘Patreon Unlockers’ always attempt to do one of three things. Either…
- They request access to your Patreon account, ultimately trying to hack it.
- They try to get you to fill out surveys or complete offers, only for the tool to conveniently experience an error afterwards. Of course, the tool was never going to work in the first place.
- They try to get you to input your credit card information, and end up stealing your money.
Do not fall for any of these scams.
There are no working tools that can bypass Patreon’s security – and even if there were, Patreon would have already fixed it.
Conclusion
Patreon is a fantastic tool for creators to supplement their income, and essentially allow for groups to fund projects that may have never happened otherwise.
Many creators rely on Patreon for money. Even with high Patron numbers, there may be substantial expenses that go into developing the creator’s work. Many creators do not make as much money as it may appear, so it’s very important their work is not stolen.
I hope that you’ve found this article helpful. Although there is no way to view paid posts without signing up to the appropriate tier, there are some workarounds that may help in some situations.
Of course, if you have any other questions about Patreon, please ask them using the comment form below.
Wishing you the best,
– James McAllister