---
title: "Membership platforms: Which brands are most popular in search?"
description: "Compare the platforms used to run paid memberships. Share of Search among Patreon, Substack, Wild Apricot, MemberPress and Memberful, the membership platforms Brandwave compares worldwide, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time."
canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/membership-platforms"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Membership platforms: Which brands are most popular in search?

Compare the platforms used to run paid memberships. Share of Search among Patreon, Substack, Wild Apricot, MemberPress and Memberful, the membership platforms Brandwave compares worldwide, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

## Key facts

- **Competitive set**: Membership platforms
- **Market**: Global
- **Brands compared**: 5
- **Month measured**: Aug 2026
- **Highest Share of Search**: Patreon, 61.8%

## Which brand is most popular in search among membership platforms worldwide?

- In August 2026, Patreon was the most searched among membership platforms worldwide, with an estimated 4.1M branded searches and 61.8% estimated Share of Search within this set.
- Substack is in 2nd place, 23.9 percentage points behind at 37.9% Share of Search.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Patreon’s estimated Share of Search among membership platforms worldwide decreased from 70.2% to 61.8%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Substack’s estimated Share of Search among membership platforms worldwide increased from 29.3% to 37.9%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Patreon’s estimated Share of Search among membership platforms worldwide peaked at 70.2% in October 2025 and was lowest at 61.5% in July 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Substack’s estimated Share of Search among membership platforms worldwide peaked at 38.2% in July 2026 and was lowest at 29.3% in October 2025.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Wild Apricot, MemberPress and Memberful held steady: their estimated Share of Search among membership platforms worldwide each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

## Compare search popularity between leading brands

- [Patreon vs Substack: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/patreon-vs-substack): 61.8% against 37.9% Share of Search.

## How did search popularity change for membership platforms worldwide in August 2026?

- Estimated monthly branded searches for Substack worldwide rose 79.4% over 11 measured months, from 1.4M to 2.5M in August 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Patreon worldwide rose 22.1% over 11 measured months, from 3.4M to 4.1M in August 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for MemberPress worldwide fell 55.6% over 11 measured months, from 9.9K to 4.4K in August 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Memberful worldwide fell 45.8% over 11 measured months, from 2.4K to 1.3K in August 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Wild Apricot worldwide fell 18.2% over 11 measured months, from 12.1K to 9.9K in August 2026.

## Share of Search ranking

| Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Patreon | 61.8% | 4.1M | +22.1% | Patreon |
| 2 | Substack | 37.9% | 2.5M | +20.6% | Substack |
| 3 | Wild Apricot | 0.15% | 9.9K | 0.0% | Wild Apricot |
| 4 | MemberPress | 0.07% | 4.4K | 0.0% | MemberPress |
| 5 | Memberful | 0.02% | 1.3K | -18.8% | Memberful |

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | Patreon | 3.4M | 70.2% | 1 |
| Oct 2025 | Substack | 1.4M | 29.3% | 2 |
| Oct 2025 | Wild Apricot | 12.1K | 0.25% | 3 |
| Oct 2025 | MemberPress | 9.9K | 0.21% | 4 |
| Oct 2025 | Memberful | 2.4K | 0.05% | 5 |
| Nov 2025 | Patreon | 3.4M | 70.1% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | Substack | 1.4M | 29.4% | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | Wild Apricot | 12.1K | 0.25% | 3 |
| Nov 2025 | MemberPress | 9.9K | 0.21% | 4 |
| Nov 2025 | Memberful | 1.9K | 0.04% | 5 |
| Dec 2025 | Patreon | 3.4M | 66% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | Substack | 1.7M | 33.6% | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | Wild Apricot | 9.9K | 0.2% | 3 |
| Dec 2025 | MemberPress | 8.1K | 0.16% | 4 |
| Dec 2025 | Memberful | 2.4K | 0.05% | 5 |
| Jan 2026 | Patreon | 4.1M | 65.9% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | Substack | 2.1M | 33.7% | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | Wild Apricot | 14.8K | 0.24% | 3 |
| Jan 2026 | MemberPress | 9.9K | 0.16% | 4 |
| Jan 2026 | Memberful | 2.4K | 0.04% | 5 |
| Feb 2026 | Patreon | 3.4M | 65.5% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | Substack | 1.7M | 34.1% | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | Wild Apricot | 12.1K | 0.24% | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | MemberPress | 8.1K | 0.16% | 4 |
| Feb 2026 | Memberful | 2.4K | 0.05% | 5 |
| Mar 2026 | Patreon | 4.1M | 66.1% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | Substack | 2.1M | 33.5% | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | Wild Apricot | 12.1K | 0.2% | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | MemberPress | 8.1K | 0.13% | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | Memberful | 2.4K | 0.04% | 5 |
| Apr 2026 | Patreon | 3.4M | 61.8% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | Substack | 2.1M | 37.9% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | Wild Apricot | 9.9K | 0.18% | 3 |
| Apr 2026 | MemberPress | 6.6K | 0.12% | 4 |
| Apr 2026 | Memberful | 1.9K | 0.04% | 5 |
| May 2026 | Patreon | 4.1M | 66.6% | 1 |
| May 2026 | Substack | 2M | 33.2% | 2 |
| May 2026 | Wild Apricot | 9.9K | 0.16% | 3 |
| May 2026 | MemberPress | 5.4K | 0.09% | 4 |
| May 2026 | Memberful | 1.9K | 0.03% | 5 |
| Jun 2026 | Patreon | 4.1M | 66.2% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | Substack | 2.1M | 33.6% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | Wild Apricot | 9.9K | 0.16% | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | MemberPress | 5.4K | 0.09% | 4 |
| Jun 2026 | Memberful | 1.9K | 0.03% | 5 |
| Jul 2026 | Patreon | 3.4M | 61.5% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | Substack | 2.1M | 38.2% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | Wild Apricot | 9.9K | 0.18% | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | MemberPress | 4.4K | 0.08% | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | Memberful | 1.6K | 0.03% | 5 |
| Aug 2026 | Patreon | 4.1M | 61.8% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | Substack | 2.5M | 37.9% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | Wild Apricot | 9.9K | 0.15% | 3 |
| Aug 2026 | MemberPress | 4.4K | 0.07% | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | Memberful | 1.3K | 0.02% | 5 |
| Sep 2026 | Memberful | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | MemberPress | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Patreon | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Substack | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Wild Apricot | — | — | — |

## What is being compared

- **Memberful**: Measured on the search term “memberful”.
- **MemberPress**: Measured on the search term “memberpress”.
- **Patreon**: Measured on the search term “patreon”.
- **Substack**: Measured on the search terms “Substack”, “substack app”, “substack articles”, “substack com”, “substack live”, “substack newsletter”, “substack newsletter platform”, “substack newsletters”, “substack notes”, “substack podcast”, “substack subscribe”, “substack subscription”, “substack web”, “substack website”, “substack websites”, “substack.com”, “what is a substack” and “what is substack”, summed into one figure.
- **Wild Apricot**: Measured on the search term “wild apricot”.

- [Memberful](/demand/global-en/brands/memberful)
- [MemberPress](/demand/global-en/brands/memberpress)
- [Patreon](/demand/global-en/brands/patreon)
- [Substack](/demand/global-en/brands/substack)
- [Wild Apricot](/demand/global-en/brands/wild-apricot)

## Methodology

- [How is branded search demand measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which brand is most popular in search among membership platforms worldwide?

In August 2026, Patreon was the most searched among membership platforms worldwide, with an estimated 4.1M branded searches and 61.8% estimated Share of Search within this set. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Membership platforms: Which brands are most popular in search?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/membership-platforms

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/membership-platforms. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.