Chaturbate Supporter vs. Fan Club: What’s The Difference?

Chaturbate gives you plenty of ways to spend money before you've even landed on a show.

There's a Supporter upgrade, a model's fan club, and the ever-present option to buy mooooar tokens.

Which one do you actually need?

Well, it works like this:

• Supporter buys extra site features.

• A fan club buys membership with one model.

• Tokens are the balance you spend on tips and paid shows.

There's a bit of newbie confusion over supporter vs fan club packages, so let's take a look at what you're actually getting with these different premium layers.

Support vs. Fan Club Access vs. Tokens

You can use tokens without taking out a Supporter subscription.

We don't have exact numbers for how many paid CB users are Supporters, but it's likely an extremely small slice of the overall audience.

Also important to note: joining one fan club does NOT unlock every other model's content.

What does Supporter membership get you?

Chaturbate's Supporter package has a handful of benefits, including:

• An ad-free interface

• The ability to initiate private messages.

• Anonymous tipping.

• Live room previews.

• Custom chat fonts and colours.

• A one-time bonus of 200 tokens.

The emphasis there is on one-time. You aren't getting another 200 tokens every month; it's strictly an introductory offer for the first month.

We'd judge the subscription on whether you'll use the features after the bonus has gone. So, if sending PMs and swiping through room previews improves your time on the site, there's a case for it.

A different chat font alone?

Probably not something we'd spend our moolah on.

Our CB Supporter explainer covers the bonus in more detail.

What does a fan club get you?

A fan club is tied to an individual performer on Chaturbate.

It's a way to support your favourite model and potentially access extra content.

Join your favourite model's club and you're basically paying for membership with them (although CB still takes a slice).

Chaturbate's fan club guide details what you get: a green username in chat and access to the model's paywalled exclusive content. You can join more than one club, with a separate subscription for each... none of which are related to the Chaturbate Supporter package.

Beyond that, is it worth it?

It depends on how active the model is on CB - and how much content she (or he) decides to put behind the paywall. Each fan club is different.

You can get a decent idea in the profile:

• Does the model have a decent library of exclusive videos?

• Are there regular new uploads? And were they recent?

• Are any particular shows included?

A club with content you'll actually watch is a different proposition from one you're joining mainly to support the performer. But, needless to say, some 'whales' choose to do exactly this. If you're dropping hundreds or thousands on a single model, joining her fan club is another way to win brownie points.

Chaturbate also lets fan club members initiate private messages in the model's room. So, again, if sliding into her DMs is your main reason for considering Supporter, the fan club is a decent option.

Keep in mind that access to the message box does NOT buy a performer's undivided attention. Some of the top CB models have third party agents handling their DMs. Not all of them.

Some performers truly value their subscribers and go the extra mile.

Fan club pricing is flexible

Models can set fan club prices from 50 to 2,500 tokens per month - with most settling at the lower end of those extremes.

Card subscriptions bill monthly, while token payments cover three months at a time.

This means that a club priced at 200 tokens a month would cost 600 tokens for a three-month purchase. A decent chunk of change that can go a long way on CB.

Check the full amount before joining.

When are tokens the better choice?

Most Chaturbate customers pay for everything with tokens - the extra clubs and Supporter tiers are a mere after-thought.

If you're mostly interested in tipping or binging private shows, it's the logical choice: start with tokens.

For private shows, check the model's rate and minimum duration. Chaturbate gives you those details before you send the request; agree the specifics before you buy.

A performer might give fan club members access to selected hidden shows, but that's an optional perk and it's unlikely to affect what she charges for a private session.

One setting to watch when buying tokens: Auto Refill.

Be careful with this.

Chaturbate has an optional automatic top-up for card purchases. Leave it off or it will automatically charge you when your tokens dip below the 10% threshold.

Which would we choose?

For someone still exploring Chaturbate, there's no need to worry about fan clubs or premium membership tiers.

The massive popularity of the site is driven by the fact that you can see a hell of a lot for free, right?

Start with a free account and buy tokens when you've found a model worth spending them on.

And if you already have a favourite performer? Look at the fan club's content, perks and total price.

Maybe it's worth it, maybe it's a ghost town. YMMV.

The Supporter tier makes more sense when you want the DM capabilities - but it can also be a good option for managing your presence in a room, by changing or hiding your username colour). This is something that models use to mentally map who is worth their time. And who is just a freeloader.

The introductory bonus only gets you so far - it's not worth joining for a one-time token top-up.

For our broader verdict on the platform, see the full Chaturbate review.