10 Best WordPress Membership Plugins for Your Site
Finding a membership plugin for your WordPress site may be easier said than done. There are a variety of alternatives out there. So, choosing the one that aligns with your goals may be challenging.
A membership plugin makes it easier for you to make money online by helping you charge a subscription fee for the services offered.
It helps you build a standalone platform that streamlines service delivery and enables you to build a loyal community.
In this article, we will explore the best WordPress membership plugins and help you choose the one that best meets your preferences.
But before we do that, let’s first talk about membership plugins and why you should choose WordPress to create a membership site.
What is a Membership Plugin?
A membership plugin helps you sell subscriptions or digital products through your website and make money online.
You can also use such an add-on to paywall content published on your website and regulate its access as per subscription tiers.
All you need to do is come up with membership or subscription plans and integrate secure payment gateways to start accepting payments from your audience.
Why Choose WordPress?
Did you know that WordPress powers 43% of websites worldwide?
WordPress is a powerful website builder and a feature-rich content management system that may serve as an excellent choice for creating your membership site.
The platform is beginner-friendly and gives you complete control over the design or functionality of your website, enabling you to offer a seamless user experience.
WordPress offers a wide range of customization options through a variety of themes and plugins made accessible to you.
WordPress is an SEO-friendly platform that helps you climb the SERPs with ease and generate traction organically. It helps you grow your search engine presence and stand out from other sites that target your niche.
The Best WordPress Membership Plugins
With a wide range of options available, selecting a WordPress membership plugin best suited to your needs may be a challenge. So, we have created a list of the best alternatives for you.
MemberPress
MemberPress is a leading WordPress membership plugin that helps you create unlimited subscription tiers and accept memberships from anywhere in the world.
The plugin is super easy to install and activate. Plus, you can easily navigate through its features and start leveraging it to its full potential.
The tool saves you a lot of time when it comes to creating a membership site, as it enables you to automatically add essential pages to your website.
The plugin allows you to add drip content, which may be a handy feature for those who want to sell online courses. With MemberPress, you can create a client portal and effortlessly manage client resources.
The following are a few of the notable features offered by the plugin:
- Member management dashboard
- Digital downloads
- Drip content
- Customizable checkout
- Supports leading payment gateways
- Advanced content restriction
- External integrations
There are four pricing plans to choose from. You can choose from Basic, Plus, Pro, and Elite, costing $179.50, $269.55, $319.60, and $399.60 per year, respectively.
Thrive Apprentice
Thrive Apprentice is a beginner-friendly membership plugin that is a popular choice among aspiring entrepreneurs who want to sell courses online.
It’s a feature-rich solution that facilitates effortless content management through easy access control capabilities.
Thrive Apprentice offers a drag-and-drop builder that helps you build a membership site in no time. With a variety of ready-to-use course templates, you can easily create, manage, and sell online courses.
Thrive Apprentice also makes it easier to add the necessary pages to your site. You can easily adjust subscription settings to your preferences and manage tier-based content access hassle-free.
The following are a few of the notable features offered by the plugin:
- Drag-and-drop builder
- Complete design control
- Landing page sets
- Drip functionality
- Supports different media formats
- Visual editor
- External integrations
Thrive Apprentice offers two price plans. You can either choose the quarterly option for $149 per three months or an annual plan that costs $299 a year.
MemberMouse
MemberMouse is a WordPress membership plugin that comes with a wide range of features and scaling options.
The plugin makes it easier to sell your products, manage subscriptions, protect your content, and generate revenue online.
The plugin comes with a member management board, an activity tracker, and many other features that help you effortlessly manage a membership site.
With MemberMouse, you can easily display personalized content as per membership levels, which makes content management a breeze.
The following are a few of the notable features offered by the plugin:
- Drip and scheduled content
- Members only area
- Automation tools
- Member activity logs
- Affiliate channel tracking
- Automatic payment management
- Push notifications
MemberMouse offers four different price plans. You can choose from Basic, Plus, Pro, and Elite, costing $199.50, $269.55, $319.60, and $959.60, respectively.
AccessAlly
AccessAlly is a feature-rich WordPress membership plugin that allows you to sell online courses, coaching programs, and membership content with ease.
With AccessAlly, you can create unlimited subscription levels and manage your members hassle-free.
It comes with a wide range of features and detailed reporting capabilities, which allow you to start and scale your membership business.
The following are a few of the notable features offered by the plugin:
- Beginner-friendly website builder
- Drip content
- Multiple content delivery options
- Built-in affiliate program
- Gamification
- Membership analytics
- Supports leading payment gateways
AccessAlly offers three different price plans. The Essential plan costs $82, the Pro plan is $108 per month, and the Community plan comes at $124 per month.
WishList Member
WishList Member is a WordPress plugin that helps you create a membership site with complete content control.
It’s a powerful yet easy-to-setup plugin that offers a wide range of features that help you protect members-only content.
You can connect the plugin with any WordPress theme of your choice and design your membership site as you see fit.
You can enhance the functionality of your site by integrating other tools. Plus, you can create unlimited membership levels and facilitate content access accordingly.
The following are a few of the notable features offered by the plugin:
- One-click content protection
- Easy payment integration
- Unlimited membership levels
- Design flexibility
- Member management dashboard
- Dedicated support
- External integrations
WishList Member offers four price plans: Basic, Plus, Pro, and Elite, costing $149.50, $224.55, $279.60, and $959.60 a year, respectively.
Easy Digital Downloads
Easy Digital Downloads is one of the best WordPress plugins for websites that want to generate revenue by selling digital products.
The plugin enables you to effortlessly manage downloadable content. You can allow or restrict content access and enable members to download different types of documents or learning material as per their choice of subscription.
Easy Digital Downloads doesn’t have a steep learning curve. So, you can leverage all its features without having to spend days exploring the plugin’s functionalities.
The plugin supports a variety of media formats. So, you can sell any type of digital product, such as documents, audio files, visual content, and more.
The following are a few of the notable features offered by the plugin:
- Supports multiple content formats
- Built-in cart system
- Automatic recurring
- Supports a variety of secure payment gateways
- Easy subscription management
- Built-in analytics feature
- Unlimited bandwidth
- External integrations
Easy Digital Downloads offers four price plans. You can go with a Personal, Extended, Professional, or All-access pass, costing $99.50, $199.50, $299.50, and $499.50, respectively.
LearnDash
LearnDash may be a wise choice if you’re looking to create a membership website or sell courses online. It’s an easy-to-use solution that comes with advanced membership modules and a variety of integrations.
LearnDash is a drag-and-drop website builder that comes with ready-to-use templates, enabling you to create a membership site in no time.
The plugin facilitates content access as per membership levels and enables you to manage your subscribers with ease.
The following are a few of the notable features offered by the plugin:
- Drag-and-drop builder
- Advanced content customization
- Drip content
- Member management
- Gamification
- Automatic reminders
- Supports leading payment gateways
- External integrations
LearnDash offers you three different price plans. Their 1-site plan costs $199 per year, but you can also consider scaling to their 10-sites plan for $399 per year or choosing an unlimited option for $799/year.
Unlimited Member
Ultimate Member is a beginner-friendly WordPress membership plugin that allows you to get started for free and scale as your business grows.
The plugin enables you to create membership programs, manage subscriptions, and build online communities.
You can manage or restrict content as per membership levels and assign user roles to prevent unauthorized access to information.
With Unlimited Member, you can create visually appealing user profiles and member directories. Plus, the account management feature allows you to keep information up-to-date and change passwords directly.
The following are a few of the notable features offered by the plugin:
- Free plan
- Easy content management
- Member directories
- User management
- User roles
- Supports leading payment gateways
Unlimited Member allows you to get started with their free plan and upgrade if needed. The extension pass costs $249 per year, but you will have to pay $299 per year if you want an Unlimited Member theme with the pass.
Teachable
Teachable is a popular choice among WordPress membership plugins. It’s a feature-rich membership solution that allows you to sell courses online and manage downloadable content.
The plugin enables you to easily manage subscriptions and facilitate access to content published on your site. It’s a drag-and-drop builder that comes with a variety of templates, enabling you to get started with minimal effort.
With this membership plugin, you can issue certificates, make quizzes, and create assessments for the people enrolled in your courses. It’s a one-stop platform that allows you to interact with your students and share feedback on the work submitted.
The following are a few of the notable features offered by the plugin:
- Free plan
- No-code platform
- Membership management
- Drip content
- Built-in content creation tools
- Membership analytics
- Fraud protection
Teachable allows you to get started for free. However, you can choose to upgrade to its premium plans. Their Basic, Pro, and Pro+ plans cost $39 per month, $119 per month, and $199 a month, respectively.
Restrict Content Pro
Restrict Content Pro is a feature-rich WordPress membership plugin that offers easy content access management capabilities.
The tool allows you to set different criteria and facilitate content access as per membership tiers. The plugin enables you to easily paywall content and streamline premium content delivery.
You can come up with different membership tiers and create distinct categories for content restrictions.
Restrict Content Pro also allows you to offer discounts to your members by helping you generate unlimited discount codes.
The following are a few of the notable features of this WP add-on:
- Member management dashboard
- Unlimited membership levels
- Easy paywall setup
- Easy content access management
- Drip content
- External integrations
Restrict Content Pro offers three different price plans. Their 1-site option costs $99 a year, which may be the best choice for beginners. You can also choose to go with their 5-sites package for $149 per year or an unlimited plan for $249/year.
Conclusion
Membership plugins help you transform your standard WordPress website into a robust subscription management platform. They enable you to easily manage your members and restrict access to content as per different membership tiers.
By pairing a WordPress site with a membership plugin, you can paywall your content, sell digital products, offer courses online, and do much more to effortlessly generate revenue.
In this article, we have reviewed some of the best WordPress membership plugins out there. Each comes with a wide range of features and has the potential to serve as a flexible solution to start a membership site in no time.
To select the one best suited for you, we suggest you go through the features or capabilities of the recommended solutions and see which best aligns with your goals.
FAQs
Q: Can a plugin help me create a membership site?
A: Yes! You can easily create a membership site by selecting a WordPress membership plugin of your choice. There are a variety of alternatives you can choose from and integrate with a WordPress site to start selling subscriptions.
Q: What should I look for when choosing a membership plugin?
A: When choosing a membership plugin for your WordPress site, you should be mindful of a few things. Start by exploring the features offered by different solutions.
See if the plugins are user-friendly. They shouldn’t require much effort to help you create a membership site.
You should also look for payment gateways supported by your chosen membership plugin. And lastly, you should consider the flexibility and cost of installing a membership plugin.
Q: Do I need coding skills to pair a membership plugin with WordPress?
A: No! You don’t need coding skills to integrate a membership plugin with your WordPress site. All you have to do is select an add-on best suited to your needs, go with a subscription plan that falls within your budget, and install it.
Almost all leading membership plugins are no-code solutions. So, you don’t require prior coding knowledge or experience to benefit from them.
Bio: Syed Balkhi is an award-winning entrepreneur. He was recognized as one of the top 100 entrepreneurs under 30 by the UN. Over 25+ million websites use his software.
