In this article, we have analysed the highest ranking articles, and paired this with our industry expertise to select five of the best WordPress membership plugins. We have selected plugins that will work for a variety of use cases.
This article will compare some of the most popular membership plugins, considering different factors like features, customisation options and more.
What is a WordPress membership plugin?
A WordPress membership plugin allows website owners to create and manage a membership-based (also known as a subscription-based) website. This offers capabilities like content restriction, user management, payment processing and member communication.
What are the benefits of a WordPress membership plugin?
The advantages of a WordPress membership plugin include:
Monetisation
WordPress membership plugins assist with the monetisation of your website, by providing the ability to unlock premium content with different membership levels.
Content Protection
By restricting content access based on membership tiers, you can ensure that only paying members have access, helping to protect your content.
Community & Exclusivity
Membership plugins can also help you to build a community, through providing member-only forums.
How to choose a good membership plugin
Factors to look for when choosing a membership plugin include:
- Ease of use
- Integration with your existing setup
- Subscription/membership levels offered
- Integration with payment gateways
- Content management options
- Drip content/regular content scheduling
- Support, documentation and tutorials available
We have considered these factors when selecting membership plugins to highlight in this guide. The following sections will discuss these factors in more detail.
WordPress membership plugins comparison
| Plugin | Key features | Pros | Cons | Best for |
| MemberPress | Unlimited membership levels Content restriction Integration with payment gateways | Ease of use Comprehensive features Strong integrations | May be too much for simple sites Pricing increase with additional features | All-in-one membership solutions Content-based membership sites |
| MemberMouse | Advanced analytics Smart tags Tiered memberships One-click upsells | Scalable Member management Advanced reporting | Steeper learning curve | Large membership sites Advanced analytics |
| Thrive Apprentice | Course creation focus Integration with email marketing | User-friendly Excellent for educational content | Limited features outside of course creation | Educational content providers Online course creators |
| Paid Memberships Pro | Multi-tiered memberships Customisability | Cost-effective Open-source Strong community support | Steeper learning curve Core features may be limited without add-ons | Highly customisable membership websites |
| WooCommerce Memberships | Integration with WooCommerce Product-based memberships | E-commerce integration Flexible product-based memberships | Requires WooCommerce Complex for non-e-commerce sites | Online stores already using WooCommerce wanting to add membership features Product-based membership sites |
What are the best membership plugins for WordPress?
MemberPress
MemberPress is listed in several ‘best membership plugins’ guides, and for good reason.
Its key benefits include ease of use, it’s designed for anyone to use regardless of skill level.
It’s built with scalability in mind, so as your business grows, so too can your membership options. Through MemberPress you can provide tiered membership plans.
MemberPress provides content restriction. So it’s simple to create restricted areas where users need to sign up or pay to access your content. You can build a sense of exclusivity by choosing the content or courses you’d like users to see by membership or subscription level, and you can choose when you’d like users to gain access. Specific pages and custom post types can be locked too. MemberPress also supports online courses and digital downloads.
MemberPress offers content protection, meaning you can protect your content from being accessed by non-members. It also supports content dripping, so you can gradually release content over time.
MemberPress offers integration with popular payment gateways like PayPal and Stripe. Payment options can be easily added in a few clicks. It can accept one-time fees, or you can set up recurring membership payments.
With user access control, you can control who can access different parts of your website. You can get more signups using the coupons and discounts features too.
Other key features include integration with email services, reporting tools, membership management and more.
The comprehensive feature set, integrations, ease of use and excellent support available make MemberPress a top choice of membership plugin. However, some of the features may be too much for simple websites, and pricing can increase with additional features.
Benefits of MemberPress:
- Ease of use
- Scalable
- Content restriction
- Content dripping
- Integration with payment gateways
- Integration with email services
- Automated billing
Disadvantages of MemberPress:
- May be too much for simple sites
- Pricing increase for additional features
Best for: All-in-one membership solutions and content-based membership sites
MemberMouse
MemberMouse is an excellent membership plugin designed for WordPress sites.
It offers several benefits, including multiple membership tiers as well as content restriction capabilities. You can offer paid content, member subscriptions and can set passwords to protect pages that contain premium content.
MemberMouse’s strengths include member management, with an easy to use CRM and dashboard which allows you to view members, automate tasks and more.
MemberMouse offers essential features like drip content and payment integration, as well as a members-only area, password-protected courses, coupons and special discounts, and automation tools. It offers advanced analytics, enabling you to see metrics such as lifetime customer value, retention and churn rates and affiliate channel tracking for easy reporting.
You don’t need to worry about overdue payments – MemberMouse will handle this for you.
However, MemberMouse is not as beginner-friendly as plugins like MemberPress and doesn’t offer integration with as many payment gateways and email providers.
Benefits of MemberMouse:
- Ease of use
- Scalable
- Content restriction
- Content dripping
- Advanced analytics
- Overdue payments functionality
Disadvantages of MemberMouse:
- Not as beginner-friendly as other options
- Doesn’t offer integration with as many payment gateways and email providers
Best for: Large membership sites
Thrive Apprentice
Thrive Apprentice is particularly strong for websites who are looking to create online courses. It offers essential features such as drip content and integration with different email marketing services.
If you aren’t looking to create full membership options, and would just like to provide online courses, Thrive Apprentice is an excellent option. You can structure your content easily, providing courses broken up into lessons, modules and topics.
It features an easy to use drag-and-drop editor, with arrangement options and the ability to add text, multimedia and other content elements. Providing varied content to your users is simple with Thrive Apprentice, as you have the option to embed various content types such as PDFs, quizzes, audio files, videos and more. Users can also track their progress within a course.
Thrive Apprentice is built with scalability in mind. If you decide to expand the WordPress membership section of your site as your business grows, you have the option to integrate easily with MemberPress.
To accept payments with Thrive Apprentice, you must connect it to a checkout plugin like WooCommerce.
Benefits of Thrive Apprentice:
- Good for online courses
- Drip content functionality
- Integration with email marketing
- Structured content
- Can embed various content types
Disadvantages of Thrive Apprentice:
- Steeper learning curve compared to other options
- Does not automatically inherit your WordPress theme’s styling
Best for: Educational, course-based websites
Paid Memberships Pro
Paid Memberships Pro is cost-effective, highly customisable membership plugin. You can build a simple members-only area or create a more complex subscription based option.
It offers essential features like multi-tiered memberships, integration with popular payment gateways like PayPal and Stripe, as well as content dripping. The easy-to-use dashboard makes the setup process simple for beginners.
With Paid Memberships Pro, you can hide content based on post type, also including products, categories and tags. It offers a dedicated theme, which may be an excellent option for you if you’re starting from scratch.
You can create custom membership pages based on a user’s membership level. Content dripping is offered as standard, meaning you can schedule the release of content depending on a member’s start date.
If you’re a Divi user, you can get seamless integration with Paid Memberships Pro which allows you to restrict content to pages or even sections of pages through Divi’s Visual Builder.
Depending on the pricing you select, you can gain access to additional features like managing memberships over a network through WordPress multi-site installations.
Payment processors offered include PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.net and Braintree.
The setup can be more tricky than the other plugins mentioned, and you may find the core features too limited without add-ons.
Benefits of Paid Memberships Pro:
- Unlimited levels of membership
- Content dripping
- Integrates with various payment gateways
- Custom dashboard creation
Disadvantages of Paid Memberships Pro:
- Core features can be limited without add-ons
Best for: Highly customisable membership websites
WooCommerce Memberships
If you already have an online store using WooCommerce, using this plugin is likely the next best step.
The WooCommerce Memberships plugin is designed to work seamlessly with WooCommerce, making it simple for you to offer product-based memberships. Perhaps you already sell products, either physical or digital and want to start providing exclusive member content to create an additional revenue stream.
This plugin offers the standard features you’d expect such as content dripping, tiered membership levels, communication with members, invitation-only areas and integration with Constant Contact.
If you’re not already using WooCommerce, this may not be the best option for you, due to the steeper learning curve compared to other options. This plugin is limited to only product-based memberships and likely won’t be suitable for non-ecommerce membership sites.
Benefits of WooCommerce Memberships:
- Good for product-based memberships
- Restrict product viewing to members
- Restrict purchasing
- Content dripping
- Manually assign memberships
Disadvantages of WooCommerce Memberships:
- Steeper learning curve if not already a WooCommerce user
- May be too complex for simple membership setups
Best for: Online stores using WooCommerce wanting to add membership features (such as content dripping)
These are just a selection of some of the best membership plugins for WordPress. Overall your choice of membership plugin depends on your business’ requirements and goals.
Find out more about the best tools to use with WordPress in our Best WordPress Themes, Best WordPress Plugins and Tools for 2025 and Best WordPress Speed Plugins guides.
Perhaps you’re seeking custom WordPress plugin development, or wondering how to develop a WordPress site, but don’t know where to start. Consider reaching out to an agency like Yellowball. We’re a London web design agency, contact us today!
