I recently did some research to find a good membership plugin for the Traffic and Influence Summit, which is my online virtual summit. There are a lot of tools that you can use to launch your own membership site.
However, not all membership site software programs are created equal. Some are WordPress plugins that you can use on your own site and there are even sites that make it really easy for you to create a membership site, even if you have no technical skills.
In this article, I’ll share some of the plugins and sites that I’ve found that you can use to launch your own membership program.
Questions to ask before investing in membership software
Before choosing a membership platform, you need to decide on what to look for. Here’s a list of questions you should ask before investing in a membership platform.
- Does it work with your theme, plugins or theme builder?
- Will it stop working after my subscription ends?
- Does it come with affiliate program functionality?
- Does it integrate with me email marketing software and affiliate program software?
- Can I pause my membership and re-activate it later?
- Can I export member data into CSV format?
- What are the costs? Are they ongoing or one time?
- Does the software have weekend customer support? Is it run by a professional support team or is it a one man show?
I needed a platform that integrated with both my email provider (Drip or ConvertKit) and affiliate marketing software. I divided the list into non-Wordpress options and WordPress plugins.
Non-Wordpress Options
Here are some membership options that you can use even if you don’t have a WordPress website.
1. AMember
Cost: $180 includes software with 6 months of support and upgrades
AMember is a php script. They have been in the membership software business for over 15 years and the price comes with free installation. Affiliate program functionality is built into the software. It includes other functionality including free and paid trials, PDF invoicing, taxes, coupon codes and email autoresponder.
2. Gumroad
Cost: Starting at $10 / month
Gumroad is an online platform that you can use to sell ebooks, courses and subscriptions with ease. Items are hosted on their platform. Other features include being able to offer pay what you want pricing, fixed length subscriptions, being able to sell software license keys and the ability to handle both physical and digital products. Gumroad also has very basic affiliate program functionality and can take pre-orders.
3. Kajabi
Cost: Starting at $103 / month when billed annually
Kajabi appears expensive, but includes everything you need to launch products including a website builder and email marketing functionality. Kajabi might be worth considering if you don’t want a platform that has everything you need integrated in one place.
4. Memberful
Cost: Free version, paid version starts at $25 / month + 2% of transactions
Memberful integrates with WordPress, Stripe and Drip as well as a few other email marketing software programs like Mailchimp and Campaign Monitor. A free plan is available but you will need a monthly subscription if you need integrations. The free plan has a 10% transaction fee. Memberful requires a Stripe account for payments.
5. Ontraport with PilotPress
Cost: Starting at $79 / month for 1000 contacts
Ontraport is a platform that integrates a membership site, email marketing and affiliate marketing functionality all in one place. It’s a CRM and e-commerce platform that aims to provide everything you need.
6. Simplero
Cost: Starting at $83 / month for up to 2,500 contacts
Simplero is another all-in-one platform for membership sites and includes an easy to use website builder, email marketing with automation (or integrate with other email providers like Mailchimp), landing pages, e-commerce and more. It appears to also have affiliate marketing capabilities, although it is not advertised on their site. Simplero was designed to be really easy to use.
7. Teachable
Cost: Starting at $39 / month plus 5% transaction fee
Teachable allows people to easily create their own courses and sell them. Features like quizzes and member forums are included with all levels. You can even host your site with them so that you don’t need a separate web host. You can also recruit and pay affiliates through Teachable.
8. Thinkiffic
Cost: Free starter plan, paid plans start at $49 / month
Thinkific is another platform that you can use to host your online courses. You will need a paid plan if you want to use your own domain. The platform assists you with course creation and you can record your voice while playing Powerpoint slides. Other features include being able to launch your own affiliate program, free trials, payment plans, multiple instructor support and customizable site styling.
9. Zaxaa
Cost: Starting at $77 / month
Zaxaa allows you to sell digital products including courses and software, services, memberships and free trials. Some other features include sales analytics, 2-tier affiliate program, revenue sharing with partners and other integrations that allow you to build your email and customer lists.
10. Infusionsoft
Cost: Starting at $99 / month with $999 set up fee.
Infusionsoft provides heavy duty marketing automation for experienced sellers. It’s a more costly CRM platform with analytics and also requires trained developers to set up in many cases.
WordPress plugins
If you have a WordPress site, then there are many options you can consider for membership plugins. While most plugins should work fine, the challenges usually occur when it comes to integrating with email marketing, other plugins/themes and affiliate program software.
11. Cart66
Cost: $10 / month of $99 / year
Cart66 is a WordPress shopping cart that can support membership sites, as well as other digital and physical products (which makes it an option worth considering if you are selling other things on your site). It features a secure customer portal, dripped content and timed email follow ups. If you want to run your own affiliate program, you can integrate it with iDevAffiliate.
12. Digital Access Pass (DAP)
Cost: Starting at $227 which includes one year of support and upgrades
Digital Access Pass is a membership program that works both with WordPress and non-Wordpress sites. It integrates membership functionality, shopping cart, email marketing and affiliate program management (up to 2-tiers) in one software package. Other features include file protection, language support and forum integration.
13. S2Member
Cost: Free version with Paypal, $85 one time cost for lifetime access
S2Member is a membership plugin by WP Sharks. The free version allows you to run a membership site and use Paypal as the payment method, but you need to upgrade to use Stripe or integrate with an affiliate program. Unlike other plugins, S2Member offers Lifetime access to updates and support for paid version. However, I tried the paid version but was unable to get it to work with any affiliate plugins, including iDevAffiliate and AffiliateWP.
NOTE: I also had some issues with them refusing to issue a refund even though it was within the 30-day refund period and their integration didn’t work as advertised. Unfortunately due to their plugin not working as advertised and poor customer service, I cannot recommend them.
14. Paid Memberships Pro
https://www.paidmembershipspro.com/
Cost: Free version. Paid versions start at $297 includes one year of support and updates
Paid Membership Pro offers unlimited membership levels and various add-ons you can add for additional functionality. If you want to run an affiliate program, it can integrate with the Affiliate WP plugin.
15. Restrict Content Pro
https://restrictcontentpro.com/
Cost: Starting at $99 (Price includes updates and support for one year)
Restrict Content Pro offers multiple membership levels, pro-rated upgrades/downgrades, customer dashboard, discount codes, reports and more. Restrict Content Pro integrates with Affiliate WP ($99 plugin), which they also own.
16. Wishlist
https://member.wishlistproducts.com/
Cost: $197 for one year of support and updates
Wishlist member is one of the most popular WordPress membership plugins and it has a lot of integrations. You can create different membership levels and integrate with other affiliate and email marketing software.
17. Memberpress
Cost: Starting at $119 / year for one year of support and updates
Memberpress offers unlimited products and members, dripped content, coupons and more. The price includes the Affiliate Royale plugin that can be used to run an affiliate program. They only offer a 14-day money back guarantee and I actually made a pre-sales inquiry, but never received a reply.
18. Member Mouse
Cost: Starting at $20 / month for up to 1000 members
Member Mouse is not only a content protection system, but also a CRM. It integrates with various API’s and can dynamically display information. It also features automated customer support features like automatically emailing customers when their card is declined. While the monthly recurring fee may be a concern for new entrepreneurs, Member Mouse might be a good solution for someone that already has a few paying members and is expecting to get more.
19. Member Sonic
Cost: Free version, $97 for lifetime updates and support
Member Sonic is a WordPress plugin that boasts ease of use and can integrate with some email software programs or webinar platform to build your list. Unlike other plugins, Member Sonic has a one time cost for lifetime updates and support. However, the downside is that they do not have as many integrations as some other plugins. I sent a message to support and received a reply over a month later because the owner was on vacation. However, I got a copy of the plugin when it was on sale and will try it out later.
20. Optimize Member
https://www.optimizepress.com/
Cost: Comes with Optimize Press which costs $97 for one year of support and updates
If you are using the OptimizePress 2.0 theme, you can use Optimize Member for your membership site. It only works with Optimize Press 2.0, not designed to work with other sites. Optimize Press is a WordPress site builder that makes it easy to build your own WordPress site and is designed for information marketers.
21. WP EMember
https://www.tipsandtricks-hq.com/wordpress-membership/
Cost: $60 one time cost includes lifetime updates and unlimited sites
WP EMember offers content protection, partial content display, automatic member upgrades, login redirection and other member features. They also have an affiliate plugin (WP Affiliate) that you can get for $50 if you want to run an affiliate program. Unlike other plugins, you can use this plugin on unlimited sites. I sent them a pre-sales question and didn’t get a reply, but their customer support forum seems to be regularly updated.
22. iMember360
Cost: Free version for up to 20 members, paid version starting at $57 / month
iMember360 is a membership plugin designed to work well with Infusionsoft. Some features include one click purchases, upsells, automated emails for failed payments, video protection and expiring links.
23. Fastmember
Cost: Starting at $29 / month
Fastmember allows you to sell single purchase products as well as recurring memberships. It features instant sales funnels, drip feeding and content protection, reporting and some affiliate integrations.
24. Memberium
Cost: Starting at $47 / month
Memberium is another WordPress and Infusionsoft plugin and features advanced shortcodes, unlimited membership levels and users and advanced analytics. Price also includes free installation and setup of one membership level on your site.
25. WooCommerce Memberships
https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-memberships
Cost: Starting at $149 for one year of support and updates
If you are already using WooCommerce or plan on selling multiple products (including memberships), then check out WooCommerce Memberships. Asides from the usual membership functionality, members can pause their membership and also upgrade and downgrade it themselves if you want, which makes it a possible option for complex membership sites.
26. Ultimate Membership Pro
https://codecanyon.net/item/ultimate-membership-pro-wordpress-plugin/12159253
Cost: $35 one time for 6 months support and unlimited plugin updates
Price includes 6 months of support and unlimited plugin updates. They have 72 hour response time for tickets and less response on the weekends. You can also get their affiliate program plugin for $37. I tried to send a pre-sales email with some questions, but never received a reply to my questions. Limited integrations – check their page for updated list.
27. Simple Membership Plugin
https://simple-membership-plugin.com
Cost: Free
If you are looking for a free plugin, check out Simple Membership Plugin. It integrates with WP Affiliate which costs $49. Membership payments are handled by Paypal and the site says that it can also use Stripe or Braintree payments.
Conclusion
To sum it up, don’t just go for the cheapest solution because often the platforms with ongoing fees usually offer the best support and functionality. Lower cost options generally have less integrations and less reliable customer support, but might be an option to consider if you don’t need any integrations or support.
Weigh the tradeoffs between cost and functionality and research your membership options carefully before making your choice. I tried out S2 Member but ultimately ended up switching to Wishlist for the Traffic and Influence summit because I couldn’t get S2 to work with any affiliate program.
Brian: I will tell my webmaker about your post. I am thinking of having a membership site later on.
Thanks Martin – I hope you found it useful.
Hello,
This is indeed a great list of memebership plugins, I was planning to start a site which requires users to signup and become members.
I will certainly try few plugins from here.
Thanks Laura! Glad you found this resource useful.