Looking for the best WordPress membership plugins? This list has the 15 best plugins to start your WordPress membership site today!
Approximate read time: 10 minutes
The digital subscription economy is booming, projected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2025.
And you can turn your WordPress website into a revenue-generating membership powerhouse with the right WordPress plugin. But, choosing the perfect WordPress membership plugin can be overwhelming. There are so many options, so how can you decide which one to choose?
Don't worry. This guide will break down the top WordPress membership plugins, helping you find the best solution for your needs and budget.
| Best for | Top features | Pricing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. MemberPress | Businesses and course creators | Control over content, multiple membership levels, online courses, Stripe integration | Plans start at $179/year |
| 2. Formidable Forms | Users needing versatile forms and memberships | Drag and drop form builder, payment integrations, WooCommerce integration | Free with limited features, premium plans start at $39.50/year |
| 3. MemberMouse | Sites focused on making money | Affiliate management, member areas, upsells and downsells, membership bundles | Plans start at $199.50/year |
| 4. Thrive Apprentice | Course creators | Drag and drop course builder, content protection, integrates with payment and email tools | Plans start at $299/year |
| 5. All Access from Easy Digital Downloads | Selling digital downloads | Works with Digital Downloads, different membership levels, content drip | Plans start at $99.50/year |
15 best WordPress membership plugins
1. MemberPress
MemberPress is the ultimate member directory for creating membership sites on WordPress.
Its many features give you control over your content and how you charge for access. You can create multiple membership levels and offer coupons and discounts. You can even build online courses directly within MemberPress.
The admin dashboard is easy. It connects with popular email and payment services like Stripe for easy Stripe memberships in WordPress. This makes it a versatile choice for different types of membership sites.
Top Features:
- Control who sees what on your website with access rules
- Set up automatic reminders for payments
- Track how well your membership site is doing
Pricing: Paid plans start at $179/year
2. Formidable Forms
Rating: 4.7 stars (1,115+ reviews) | 400,000+ active installations
Formidable Forms is the best WordPress form plugin. With it, you can build contact forms, login forms, and other powerful applications.
And if you need a simple membership site, Formidable can help with that, too.
You can easily set up gated content and user registration for your membership area. You can also accept payments with top payment gateways like PayPal and Stripe. So, if you want to put your premium content behind a paywall, you can accept credit cards and other payment options.
But a dedicated membership plugin like MemberPress may be a better option if you need more advanced membership features.
Top features:
- Easy drag and drop form builder
- Payment integrations for one-time payments or recurring payments for subscriptions
- WooCommerce integration to sell digital products
Pricing: Formidable Forms offers a free plugin on WordPress.org and a premium version. Premium plans start at $39.50 per year.
3. MemberMouse
MemberMouse is a powerful membership plugin focused on helping you grow your membership revenue.
It includes features like affiliate management, member areas, and offering 1-click upsells or down sells to encourage more spending. One feature that makes it stand out: membership bundles. For example, you could sell a high-value bundle to your lowest-level members.
One downside of MemberMouse is that it’s not a GPL plugin. Essentially, developers won’t be able to tweak any of the code in the plugin.
Top Features:
- Built-in affiliate program to boost referrals
- Offer upsells or down sells to increase income
- Track sales and membership metrics
Pricing: Membermouse is a premium-only option. Plans start at $199.50/year.
4. Thrive Apprentice
Thrive Apprentice is specifically designed to build and sell online courses within WordPress.
If courses are the heart of your membership offering, this plugin simplifies creating beautiful, engaging lessons. It seamlessly handles content protection, so only paying members can access your course materials.
Creating an educational membership site with a simple drag-and-drop course builder is even easier.
Top Features:
- Simple drag-and-drop course builder
- Restrict access to lessons, pages, or entire sections of your site
- Integrates with popular payment processors and email marketing tools
Pricing: Thrive Apprentice is a premium-only plugin. Plans start at $299 per year.
5. All Access from Easy Digital Downloads
All Access is great if you sell digital downloads and you want to add simple membership features. It integrates with the popular Easy Digital Downloads plugin. This combo allows you to sell membership plans that give access to your download library.
Top Features:
- Works seamlessly if you already use Easy Digital Downloads
- Offer different membership levels with varying access to downloads
- Option to "drip" content (release it gradually) to members
Pricing: All Access by EDD is a premium-only option. Plans start at $99.50 per year.
6. Restrict Content
Rating: 3.2 stars (85+ reviews) | 10,000+ active installations
Restrict Content Pro is a well-established membership plugin known for its ease of use and flexibility.
You can create unlimited membership levels, use payment gateways, and offer discounts or free trials to get new members. Restrict Content Pro strikes a nice balance between simplicity and powerful features.
Top Features:
- Simple setup and intuitive interface
- Option to create free trials and discount codes
- Detailed member reporting and management tools
Pricing: Restrict Content has a free and premium version. Premium plans start at $99 per year.
7. LearnDash
LearnDash is a leading LMS (Learning Management System) plugin designed to create and sell online courses. It offers many features, including quizzes, assignments, progress tracking, and even student certificates.
If your membership site is heavily focused on courses, LearnDash provides the powerful tools you need.
Top Features:
- Advanced course-building options with lessons, quizzes, and more
- Drip-feed content to pace learning
- Award certificates of completion
Pricing: LearnDash is a premium-only option. Plans start at $199 per year.
8. Paid Memberships Pro
Rating: 4.3 stars (615+ reviews) | 90,000+ active installations
Paid Memberships Pro is a flexible free plugin with many features and paid add-ons for advanced features.
It allows you to create multiple membership levels, manage subscriptions, and integrate with various payment gateways. Paid Memberships Pro is a solid choice for smaller membership sites and those needing to scale up due to its flexibility.
Top Features:
- Core plugin is free, with paid add-ons available (including custom post types)
- Flexible content restriction options
- Integrates with many popular services
Pricing: Paid Memberships Pro is a free and premium plugin. Plans start at $247 per year.
9. WooCommerce Memberships
Rating: 4.5 stars (4,255 reviews) | 5+ million active installations
If you run a WooCommerce store, WooCommerce Memberships is a natural choice. It restricts products, offers exclusive discounts, and creates membership tiers. It integrates seamlessly with your existing shop, making adding membership functionality to your product offerings straightforwardly.
Top Features
- Works seamlessly with your WooCommerce store
- Option to offer member-only discounts and special perks
- Drip content to release products or sections of your site over time
Pricing: WooCommerce Memberships is a paid plugin. Paid plans start at $199 per year.
10. ARMember
Rating: 4.2 stars (75+ reviews) | 7,000+ active installations
ARMember is a powerful WordPress membership plugin with a wide array of features. This includes detailed content restriction options, multiple membership levels, and social login integration.
It also provides tools for creating signup forms and managing member profiles.
Top Features:
- Granular control over what content members access
- Build multi-tiered membership plans
- Integrates with popular payment gateways and email services
Pricing: Starts at $79 (one-time fee)
11. WP-Members
Rating: 4.6 stars (255+ reviews) | 60,000+ active installations
WP-Members offers basic content restriction, membership registration, and member profile management. It's a good choice for those who like simple or need a no-cost solution. Due to its age, WP-Members may lack some advanced features in newer plugins, but it provides a solid foundation for basic membership sites.
Top Features:
- Free and easy to use
- Restrict content access based on membership status
- Customizable registration forms
Pricing: WP-Members is a free and premium plugin. Plans start at $125 per year.
12. Paid Member Subscriptions
Rating: 4.7 stars (220+ reviews) | 10,000+ active installations
Paid Member Subscriptions is a popular WordPress subscription plugin known for its ease of use and easy setup. It provides all the essential features, like managing member subscriptions, restricting content, and integrating with popular payment gateways.
If you want a simple and reliable membership solution, Paid Member Subscriptions is a great option.
Top Features:
- User-friendly interface and setup process
- Offers free trials, payment restrictions, and member subscriptions
- Integrates with WooCommerce for even more functionality
Pricing: Paid Member Subscriptions is a free and premium plugin. Plans start at $125 per year.
13. SureMembers
SureMembers is one of the best membership plugins for WordPress.
It has excellent features, is easy to use, and gives you control over your site. Create different membership levels, assign WordPress user profiles and roles, and collect payments easily. It works perfectly from WordPress's dashboard, so you don't have to switch tabs. And if you need any help, their support team is on standby.
Suremembers is a great choice for making a membership site that works well and attracts members.
Pricing: SureMembers is a premium-only plugin. Plans start at $69 per year.
14. Magic Members
Magic Members is a premium WordPress membership plugin with many features for creating and managing a membership site. It's known for its flexibility, payment gateway integrations, and email notifications.
If you need detailed control over your membership experience, Magic Members provides the tools.
Top Features:
- Granular content restriction options
- Integrates with popular payment gateways and email marketing providers
- Member emails and notifications
Pricing: MagicMembers is premium-only. Plans start at $97 one-time.
15. s2Member
Rating: 4 stars (215+ reviews) | 10,000+ active installations
s2Member is a powerful membership plugin available in free and paid versions.
It offers comprehensive features for restricting content, managing subscriptions, and accepting payments. You can change s2Member to your liking, but this flexibility also makes it more complex to set up than other plugins on this list.
Top Features:
- Both free and pro versions offer robust features
- Detailed content restriction settings
- Integrates with PayPal, Stripe, and other payment gateways
Pricing: s2Member is a free and premium plugin. Plans start at $89 one-time, no recurring subscription.
Types of membership sites
Membership websites aren’t exclusive to one industry.
There are tons of ways you can use a membership plugin. Here are a few:
- Associations: Any free or paid association that requires a membership (think the American Automobile Association).
- Product or Service: A website that connects to a product or service (think Fitbit Premium).
- Content related: Content drip-feed is usually delivered through a paid membership subscription (think Patreon).
- All-Access Sites: Paid memberships that unlock gated content behind a paywall (think Netflix).
- Online Courses: Websites associated with an online course or educational program (think Coursera).
- Online Communities: Private community and/or forums with free or paid memberships (think niche community sites).
And there are even more ways you can use your imagination to apply it to your business.
So, don’t waste any more time! Get started!
What WordPress membership plugin will you choose?
As you can see, there are plenty of plugins to choose from.
It’s all about trying them out, finding what works best, and knowing when you need a membership plugin.
So, let us know in the comments which plugin you picked and why!
And follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for more great WordPress membership tips & tricks!
How To Create a Membership Website in WordPress
How To Create a WordPress Member Directory (2 Easy Ways!)
How to Edit a WordPress User Profile on the Front End
Another great plugin that I use is Groups by itthinx. I use it on several websites.
I use Formidable as my member plugin for a site and it works great. Being able to change the registration and login forms for users so they look better is key!
While we use Learn Dash for an e-learning site with WordPress and Woocommerce, our preference for databases that require different permissions on user level has always been a combination of Formidable and the Members plugin. We've created funcional user dashboards with member/client databases for service companies, schools and churches.
I haven't ever used any membership plugin other than Formidable Forms. I haven't ever found a need to look into any alternatives.
There was never an easier membership plugin than Formidable Forms. Easy and fast to use. Great stuff!
Thanks for this. We actually just started using LearnDash as a video tutorial platform for our staff and are fairly impressed by it!
Formidable Forms is the best. User-friendly, unlimited applications, and extremely powerful. Your imagination is the limit.
I recently used Magic Members and it was a disaster. The plugin is outdated and when I used the widgets I received a number of Wordpress errors so obviously they have not kept up with changes in Wordpress. Additionally, their support is absolutely 100% unresponsive. I sent them 5 support requests over the course of 10 days and did not hear back from them at all. Also, their tutorials on their You Tube channel are so out of date it's hard to make sense of what they are referring to.
We sent in a request for a refund today and hopefully they will get back to us but we may have lost $97.
Thanks for letting us know about your experience with the Magic Members plugin. Sorry to hear it was not a pleasant one. Hopefully they get back to you soon.
We may need to remove them from our list if they aren't maintaining their plugin.
Thanks for sharing the informative article
5 Best WordPress Membership Plugins in 2022
you say "As far as integrations go, MemberPress has loads of them. All the big ones are here: MailChimp, AWeber, Constant Contact, and more. It also integrates seamlessly with our form plugin, Formidable Forms, and payment systems like PayPal and Stripe."
Where / how does this integration work? I find no plugins on either tool (MP or FF). I realize that both use the wp-user -- but what if I wanted to use FF for the application vs MP?
Hey there, Here are a few resources for you. If you need additional help, our support team is standing by and ready to help:
https://formidableformscom.bigscoots-staging.com/do-you-need-a-membership-plugin/
https://formidableformscom.bigscoots-staging.com/how-to-create-wordpress-member-directory/
thanks -- I am quoting your documentation. and I cannot find a plugin related to formidable forms / MemberPress? does one exist? or should your documentation be updated?
There isn't an add-on/plugin to make these two systems work together. Once you are using both systems, the posts linked to above should work without an additional product/plugin.
This is the good informative list to consider while thinking about membership site, but I would like to suggest the writer to add ARMember plugin which is also inevitable.
Thanks for the comment, Vivek!
We'll have a better look into ARMember and potentially add it to the list.
We appreciate the recommendation.