Creating unique content available only to paying members is a good way to ensure that they stick to the site and make consistent cash.
As your online presence continues to expand, you will require advanced tools such as controlling content accessibility, granting premium content, or developing an interactive online platform.
Nevertheless, without the right tools, availing these features may prove difficult, leading to complicated coding or risking your website accessibility. However, there exists a better option that is more secure in enhancing your website functionalities.
In this blog, we will discuss; Top WordPress membership plugins for 2024: List of 14. These tools are great for making and managing a membership site easily and safely. Whether you want free or paid options, we have choices for everyone.
Let’s dive in!
What Are WordPress Membership Plugins?
WordPress membership plugins are essential tools for websites that want to limit what some people can see and create special experiences for members.
These plugins let you set up different membership levels, each with its own rights and access to certain content. This is a good way to create a group of active users and generate revenue from membership fees.
Limiting access to special content allows you to earn money regularly and create a community on your website.
14 Best WordPress Membership Plugins for 2024
Here’s our list of the top 15 WordPress membership plugins in 2024:
1. MemberMouse
MemberMouse is a powerful WordPress membership plugin built for serious membership site owners who want to maximize revenue and manage their members with precision.
What sets MemberMouse apart is its built-in customer management tools and detailed analytics. You can track important metrics such as lifetime value, churn rate, and retention, helping you make data-driven decisions to grow your membership business.
MemberMouse supports complex billing options, such as one-click upsells, down sells, and coupons, enhancing your ability to increase revenue from your existing members.
Features:
- Offers an intuitive customizable member dashboards.
- The platform supports multiple membership levels and bundles to cater to diverse customer needs.
- Advanced reporting and analytics offer in-depth insights into member behavior and performance.
- Integrates with various payment gateways and third-party services.
Review and Ratings:
MemberMouse has a rating of 4.7 out of 5.0 on Capterra.
Pricing:
MemberMouse pricing starts at $199.50/year for the basic plan, with higher plans available for more advanced features and support.
2. WishList Member
WishList Member is a long-standing WordPress plugin for creating membership sites. It has numerous powerful features to ensure the content security, including restricted access by member levels, some of your content, or any other rules.
Another specific feature of the tool is known as “Sequential Upgrade”, wherein members are automatically upgraded from one level to the other according to the set rules, be it time, or event-based.
Features:
- Supports unlimited membership levels.
- Content protection for posts, pages, and files.
- Drip content feature to deliver content over time.
- Integration with popular email marketing services.
- Extensive customization options for member experiences.
Review and Ratings:
WishList Member has a rating of 4.8/5 on Capterra,
Pricing:
WishList Member offers plans starting at $149/year for a single site, with higher plans for additional sites and features.
3. AccessAlly
AccessAlly is a premium membership tool that combines membership features with an LMS. It’s perfect for entrepreneurs creating a membership website and offering online courses.
One of AccessAlly’s key features is its effective compatibility with CRMs. This allows users to use advanced tools to automate tasks and organize how members interact with your services.
Additionally, AccessAlly comes with built-in tools for order forms, affiliate management, and payment processing, providing an all-in-one solution for easily creating a thriving membership site.
Features:
- Create and sell online courses with ease.
- Drip content and gamification to enhance learning experiences.
- Built-in affiliate program management.
- Integration with popular CRM and email marketing tools.
- Detailed analytics and reporting.
Review and Ratings:
AccessAlly has a rating of 4.4/5 on Capterra,
Pricing:
AccessAlly pricing starts at $99/month for the Essentials plan, with additional plans offering more features and support.
4. Restrict Content Pro
Restrict Content Pro is a complete tool for handling memberships and limited-access content on WordPress websites. It has all the important tools you need to create a membership site without any extra confusion. This is perfect for anyone who wants an easy way to control content and manage memberships.
One key feature of Restrict Content Pro is its strong reporting system. It provides data about member activity, revenue, and membership growth.
It also has features like unlimited membership levels, use of coupons, and free subscription and can also easily connect with popular payment options.
Features:
- Restrict access to posts, pages, and custom post types.
- Supports multiple membership levels and pricing models.
- Built-in payment integrations.
- Detailed reporting and member management.
- Extensive add-ons for additional functionality.
Review and Ratings:
Restrict Content Pro is rated 3.2/5 stars on WordPress.org.
Pricing:
Restrict Content Pro offers plans starting at $99/year for a single site, with higher plans for more sites and features.
5. Ultimate Membership Pro
Ultimate Membership Pro is a flexible membership tool that offers many features for different types of membership websites. It allows for endless membership levels, scheduled content delivery, and strong ways to protect content.
This plugin, though very simple, has a lot of options that can make it suitable, especially for complex membership sites as well as simple ones.
That is why I find Ultimate Membership Pro a better option as compared to its competitors; it has integrated signups using social accounts, which means the users will be more actively engaged.
Features:
- Multiple membership levels and subscription plans.
- Drip content and content restriction.
- Integrates with popular payment gateways.
- Customizable registration and login forms.
- Built-in affiliate program management.
Review and Ratings:
Ultimate Membership Pro has a rating of 4.4/5 stars on WordPress.org.
Pricing:
Ultimate Membership Pro offers a one-time purchase plan starting at $59 for a regular license, with additional costs for extended features.
6. aMember Pro
aMember Pro is a comprehensive membership management solution that empowers businesses to create and scale sophisticated subscription models.
Beyond core features like billing and user management, it delivers personalized member experiences through advanced content protection, drip-feed content, and robust affiliate management tools.
aMember Pro’s white label reseller is a standout feature that lets you resell your membership site as a service to other businesses, creating a new revenue stream.
Features:
- Supports multiple payment gateways and currencies.
- Drip content and member management.
- Customizable member profiles and registration forms.
- Built-in affiliate program management.
- Extensive reporting and analytics.
Review and Ratings:
aMember Pro has a rating of 4.5/5 on Capterra.
Pricing:
aMember Pro offers a one-time purchase plan starting at $149 for a single site license.
7. WooCommerce Memberships
WooCommerce Memberships is a strong wordpress plugin, wtih capabilities of WooCommerce, turning it into a detailed membership system. Basically, this plugin enables you to hide some of the content and control the members in the same way you are used to.
Due to the familiar operations panel and integration with WooCommerce Subscriptions, this plugin will be useful for e-commerce websites that want to add membership options. It provides easy signup, flexible payment options, and methods such as trial versions and subscriptions.
you can set up the Memberships’ product restrictions to allow specific products only for some membership levels to make the shopping experience with your store more limited.
Features:
- Seamless integration with WooCommerce.
- Create and manage membership plans.
- Restrict access to products, pages, and posts.
- Drip content and content restriction.
- Detailed reporting and member management.
Review and Ratings:
WooCommerce Memberships has a rating of 4.1/5 stars on WordPress.org.
Pricing:
WooCommerce Memberships’ pricing starts at $199/year for a single site license, with additional costs for updates and support.
8. s2Member
Another WordPress Membership Software is s2Member that has been designed with stringent security features and puts more stress on access control to your material. In fact, it gives you the ability to shield any of your page, post, tags, categories, and even the custom types of posts with different membership compatibility levels.
This makes s2Member unique because it offers very robust support for security features like IP-Blocking, login protects and passwords.
Features:
- Restrict access to posts, pages, and custom post types.
- Supports multiple membership levels.
- Integrates with popular payment gateways.
- Drip content and content restriction.
- Customizable registration and login forms.
Review and Ratings:
s2Member has a rating of 4/5 stars on WordPress.org.
Pricing:
s2Member offers a free version with basic features and a Pro version starting at $89 for a single-site license.
9. WP-Members
WP-Members is a WordPress membership plugin that is easy to install and use and offers the basic functionality of managing members and content access. It lets you hide certain type of content from non registered users and hence turn your Word Press site to membership site.
It also has extendable registration and login forms that can be easily inserted within your content for ease of integration.
Features:
- Restrict access to posts, pages, and custom post types.
- Customizable registration and login forms.
- Integrates with popular payment gateways.
- Drip content and content restriction.
- Built-in member management tools.
Review and Ratings:
WP-Members has a rating of 4.3/5 stars on WordPress.org.
Pricing:
The plugin is free, but the individual extensions start from $49/year.
10. Thrive Apprentice
Thrive Apprentice plugin is designed for course creators looking to build a membership site with online courses. It provides tools to restrict access to your educational content, allowing only members to view specific courses or materials.
You can easily manage membership levels, control content access, and offer various pricing plans for different user groups.
Thrive Apprentice also supports customizable membership options, giving you flexibility in managing and monetizing your content.
Features:
- Drag-and-drop course builder.
- Drip content and course prerequisites.
- Customizable course pages and templates.
- Integration with popular email marketing services.
- Detailed reporting and analytics.
Review and Ratings:
Thrive Apprentice has a rating of 9/10 on the course platforms review.
Pricing:
Thrive Apprentice is available as part of the Thrive Suite, starting at $299/year for the entire suite of tools.
11. Paid Memberships Pro
Paid Memberships Pro is a powerful membership plugin which helps in creating and managing multiple membership levels, with numerous integrated options and complex features that are ideal for all kinds of pages with membership.
Memberships pro comes with reporting and analysis tools, where one is able to monitor members’ activity, as well as income from the membership program and other necessary statistics.
Features:
- Supports multiple membership levels and pricing models.
- Integrates with popular payment gateways.
- Drip content and content restriction.
- Detailed reporting and member management.
- Extensive add-ons for additional functionality.
Review and Ratings:
Paid Memberships Pro has a rating of 4.4/5 stars on WordPress.
Pricing:
Paid Memberships Pro offers a free version with basic features, with premium plans starting at $174/year for advanced features and support.
12. Ultimate Member
Ultimate Member Ultimate Member is a powerful and flexible plugin for the creation of online communities and membership sites. It offers numerous options concerning user fields and registration forms, while integration with popular outside services is smooth.
Of all of the features that are available in the Ultimate Member plugin, I think that form builder is the best because it is easy to use and it does not involve coding to be done through a simple drag and drop. It brings you an ability to build unique templates for initiatives such as sign up, log in, profiles, etc.
Moreover, Ultimate Member integrates with many plugins of the WordPress platform and add-ons such as WooCommerce, bbPress, and Mailchimp.
Features:
- Customizable user profiles and registration forms.
- Restrict access to posts, pages, and custom post types.
- Integrates with popular payment gateways.
- Drip content and content restriction.
- Built-in member management tools.
Review and Ratings:
Ultimate Member has a rating of 4.3/5 stars on WordPress.org.
Pricing:
Ultimate Member offers a free version with basic features, with premium extensions available starting at $249/year.
13. Simple Membership
Simple Membership is an easy-to-use plugin that helps you limit access to certain content and manage member sign-ups. It has different membership options and makes it easy to connect with payment systems.
What makes Simple Membership special is that it is easy to use and straightforward. It offers a simple and quick way to set up and use.
The plugin has email alerts and tools to manage members, so you can talk to members and run your site easily without dealing with a complicated interface.
Features:
- Restrict access to posts, pages, and custom post types.
- Supports multiple membership levels and pricing models.
- Integrates with popular payment gateways.
- Drip content and content restriction.
- Customizable registration and login forms.
Review and Ratings:
Simple Membership has a rating of 4.5/5 stars on WordPress.
Pricing:
Simple Membership is free, with optional premium add-ons for additional features.
14. ARMember
ARMember is a WordPress tool that helps you create and manage membership websites easily.
It offers a range of tools for content protection, managing members, and handling subscriptions, which makes it good for different kinds of membership websites. It is known for being flexible and having many useful features.
ARMember’s affiliate marketing feature allows you to set up a program where members can earn money by promoting your website.
Features
- Restrict access to posts, pages, and custom post types
- Multiple membership levels and subscription plans
- Drip content and content protection
- Integration with popular payment gateways
- Customizable registration and login forms
- Advanced member management and role assignments
- Built-in email notifications and marketing tools
Review and Ratings
ARMember has a strong 4.4/5 stars on WordPress.org.
Pricing
ARMember offers a free version with essential features and premium plans for $69 for advanced functionalities and support.
How to Choose the Best WordPress Membership Plugin?
Choosing an ideal WordPress membership plugin will vary based on your objectives and requirements. Here are some tips to help you choose wisely.
Look For Essential Features
- Ensure the plugin allows you to create different membership levels with varying privileges.
- Look for a plugin that offers robust user management tools for creating, editing, and deleting accounts.
- Confirm that you can restrict access to specific content based on membership levels.
- Make sure the plugin can schedule content to be released bit by bit if you want to share it slowly.
- Make sure it works with popular payment systems like PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize. net
User-friendliness and Customer Support
- The plugin should be easy to install and configure, even for non-technical users.
- Make sure the plugin offers comprehensive documentation. This will help you get started and troubleshoot any issues.
- Look for a plugin with responsive and helpful customer support.
Check for Security
- The plugin should be actively maintained and updated regularly to address security vulnerabilities. Review the change logs to ensure that the plugin is updated frequently.
Scalability and Performance
- If you anticipate a large number of members, ensure the plugin can handle the traffic.
How to Use and Manage a Membership Plugin
Community plugins are easy to install and activate, often requiring just a few simple steps to get started.
While different plugins may offer unique capabilities, most community plugins share a common set of features, including member management, transaction tracking, content protection, and communication tools.
Once you have activated the community plugin, you can browse the dashboard to test different features. You can also review the plugin’s documentation to see exactly how to implement your desired functionality.
Just to give you an idea of how membership plugins work, let’s take a look at the MemberMouse plugin.
Manage Members
The Manage Members section allows you to oversee all member-related activities. Here, you can create new member profiles by entering essential information to set community membership levels or roles.
- This feature is crucial for maintaining an organized and engaged membership base.
- You can also import existing member data from other platforms via a CSV file, making the migration process smooth and straightforward.
- Most community plugins allow you to export member data for backup purposes or transfer it to another system, ensuring that your member information is always accessible and secure.
- You can also export your members’ data by clicking on the export button. The CSV file will download into your system.
View Transactions
The View Transactions section provides a detailed overview of all financial transactions related to your community site. This includes payments made by members for subscriptions, products, or services.
This feature is essential for maintaining financial transparency and ensuring that all payments are processed correctly.
Payment Settings
Payment Settings is a critical area where you set up how your site will handle financial transactions.
For a membership website, you need to set up two kinds of payment options: one that works on the website and one that works outside the website.
Whereas, onsite payment methods let you take credit card information directly on your site, so customers can finish their purchases without going to another page.
Email Settings
In an Email Settings tab, you can integrate your email provider with your membership site. Along with that, you can also design your email template under the Email Templates section.
Reporting Suite
The Analytics Suite offers comprehensive reporting tools that provide insights into your community’s performance. This section usually includes graphs and charts showing key metrics such as total revenue, average daily revenue, member growth rates, and engagement levels over specific time periods.
This is how membership plugins work. Some offer better features than others, but they come with added costs. Feel free to pick any from our list to create a members-only website of your own.
Wrapping Up!
Opting for the right membership plugin for your website can significantly enhance your ability to manage and grow your membership community. The options are diverse and versatile, from powerful all-in-one solutions like MemberPress and Restrict Content Pro to niche-specific tools like Thrive Apprentice for member-only e-learning content.
Take the time to assess your requirements, consider the plugin’s scalability, and take advantage of free trials and demos to make an informed decision. With the right plugin, you can streamline your membership management, offer valuable content, and create a dynamic online community.
Q. What is the best subscription plugin for WordPress?
A. The best subscription plugin for WordPress is MemberPress, known for its robust features and ease of use.
Q. Does WordPress have a membership plugin?
A. Yes, WordPress has several membership plugins, including popular options like MemberPress, Restrict Content Pro, and Paid Memberships Pro.
Q. Is WordPress good for a membership site?
A. Yes, WordPress is an excellent platform for membership sites due to its flexibility and the wide range of available membership plugins.
Sandhya Goswami
Sandhya is a contributing author at Cloudways, specializing in content promotion and performance analysis. With a strong analytical approach and a keen ability to leverage data-driven insights, Sandhya excels in measuring the success of organic marketing initiatives.