The 21 Best WordPress Membership Plugins

The 21 Best WordPress Membership Plugins 2024

Finding the right WordPress membership plugin for your blog is not a simple matter. There are now many options, which almost all have a similar, but in detail then entirely different functionality. Today I’ll introduce you to the best WordPress membership plugins in a little more detail and then show you what really matters and what you should pay attention to.

The best membership plugin

The problem with looking for a WordPress membership plugin is that all of these plugins seem very similar at first but then have very different focuses.

Here you will find the best WordPress Membership Plugins, including advantages and disadvantages, as well as a short introduction to the plugin itself. I try to show you all the important features, so you can make the right choice for yourself.

1. MemberPress

MemberPress content permissions
MemberPress content permissions
  • Features: Members area, paywall, paid downloads. Dashboard for members
  • Special:  Any type of membership site realizable
  • Price: From about $180 to $400 per year

MemberPress can basically do everything, it’s that simple. The name already reveals that it was developed with a strong focus on the WordPress content management system. From drip content to courses, to classic paywalls, MemberPress really can do just about anything.

Whatever you use a WordPress Membership Plugin for, MemberPress masters all areas and functions. At the same time, the extension remains simple, understandable, focused on WordPress and consequently very easy to customize.

Moreover, MemberPress can be connected to Zapier for automation or combined with many different newsletter systems. For international websites, it calculates taxes, supports downloads for members, and has an extensive API on board for customization. No matter if classic PayWall, large community, personal coaching or paid downloads for members – with MemberPress all this is no problem anymore. A truly comprehensive and useful plugin of its kind.

Advantages

  • Particularly comprehensive and yet very simply designed WordPress Membership Plugin
  • Takes care of every aspect of membership management, which is why MemberPress is considered very mature and complete
  • Easy to set up and also hassle-free to maintain due to the many third-party providers supported

Disadvantages

  • Quite expensive, at least if all functions are to be used
  • For some users certainly too much of a good thing, because it is not a minimal, but rather a very extensive solution

2. Restrict Content Pro

In the metabox you can restrict every page and every post.
In the metabox you can restrict every page and every post.
  • Features: User-only content, different membership levels, member dashboard, PayPal, Stripe and other integration options.
  • Special: All addons already included in the Pro version
  • Price: Free of charge and starting at about $100 to $250 a year

At first glance, Restrict Content Pro is just another WordPress membership plugin. However, at second glance, it turns out that the extension appears to be very well thought-out, attractively priced and exceedingly powerful. I love the simple design of the plugin. You can select membership under any content in the metabox.

Besides countless possibilities to integrate various third parties, all addons of the extension are also available for free. Or rather, they are already included in the Pro version. Whether drip content, marketing tools, IP blocks, newsletters or time locks for content, all this is realized via extensions. There are more than thirty of them and also unofficial addons can be used and developed to implement own functions.

The basis, which Restrict Content Pro brings along, is already very extensive. Even the free version will be completely sufficient for simple purposes. However, it occasionally reaches its limits and especially when it comes to paid memberships, the Pro version quickly becomes necessary.

Since the price for the basic version is kept very fair with just about 100 US dollars per year, but nothing speaks against the same. Especially since the WordPress Membership Plugin in its free version can first be tried out completely free and without any problems.

Advantages

  • The free version already well usable, but also the pro version is absolutely fairly priced, as I find
  • Countless addons for special functions, but they are all more or less already included in the Pro version
  • Super easy to integrate into an existing WordPress website
  • Easy to use

Disadvantages

  • Not designed for the German market

3. SureMembers

  • Features: Memberships via access groups, drip content, access rules, paywall, menu access
  • Special: Close connection with SureCart
  • Price: From $69 annually

SureMembers is a WordPress membership plugin that allows website owners to restrict access to content on their websites. It provides an easy way to create membership groups and restrict content for different groups of members. The plugin also allows content to be released gradually (drip content) and automates user login. SureMembers can be used with SureCart, another WordPress plugin that allows website owners to sell digital products and subscriptions.

The plugin it so interesting because it was developed brand new and does not carry any old baggage.

The video above shows three simple steps for creating access groups, selecting content to restrict, and enrolling users. SureMembers has integration with SureCart and WooCommerce. There is also a feature to restrict access to menu items. The site includes comments from users who have already tried the plugin.

Advantages

  • Modern plugin with well thought-out architecture
  • Future-ready integration with SureCart and WooCommerce

Cons

  • No free version

4. DigiMember

How to block content in DigiMember for a group.
How to block content in DigiMember for a group.
  • Features: Offer memberships, create products with protected content, offer sequential activation, one-time payment or subscriptions
  • Special: Plugin comes from Germany
  • Price: Free of charge and for 37 euros a month or 347 euros a year

Use my link and save € 100,00, which will make you pay only € 247,00.

The WordPress Membership Plugin DigiMember is an extension that originates from Germany. Many people don’t know this, but DigiMember is developed by oc media GmbH from Münster and sold by them via Digistore24.

Here you can download DigiMember Free, from the provider.

With it you can create 1 product and 50 paying members.

Personally, I think that the point is not to be underestimated, because also the support can thus logically take place in German and many mechanisms correspond to the standards that are common in Europe, for example, in terms of payment service providers. The plugin itself is kept rather simple, but this does not mean that it cannot be used effectively. In fact, it has a lot of features but focuses on the simplest possible administration.

It is interesting that DigiMember thinks and works product-based. You create products and protect certain pages or areas for them. This allows you to market individual articles, files, tutorials or even courses and sell them as a one-time payment or by subscription. Sequential activation is also available for this purpose, or an expiring membership that only releases content for a certain number of days after purchase. The basic version of DigiMember is also free, while the Pro variant can be purchased as a monthly or annual subscription.

With DigiStore24 automatically comes the payment options Sofortüberweisung, direct debit, bank transfer, PayPal and credit card.

Advantages

  • Solution from Germany, which therefore allows German-speaking support
  • Relatively simple to use, which makes it especially beginner-friendly

Disadvantages

  • None known

5. Wishlist Member

Whishlist Member access settings.
Whishlist Member access settings.
  • Features: Memberships, membership levels, different types of memberships, drip content, payment processor support.
  • Special: Very comprehensive and can be combined with the CourseCure LMS Plugin.
  • Price: 199 US dollars per year

Wishlist Member also wants to make it especially easy for you to create your own community and earn money from paying users accordingly. Examples are classic membership systems that make content accessible only to users who have a corresponding paid account. The WordPress Membership Plugin is documented in great detail, which is why you always have practical help at your side if you don’t know exactly how to implement a certain function.

Another exciting thing about Wishlist Member is that the WordPress Membership Plugin is also available in combination with an LMS plugin. CourseCure LMS also comes from the developer and promises particularly seamless integration and collaboration with Wishlist Member.

So if you are already planning to offer a course, the combination could be worthwhile, also because you will then of course be offered a price saving compared to the individual purchase. If the plugin or the combination of extensions is something for you, you have to find out yourself. After all, the requirements in both areas are usually too specific to make blanket recommendations.

Advantages

  • In combination with CourseCure you get a course builder as well
  • The diverse feature set, so that really no function is missing and everything you need for a membership website is available

Disadvantages

  • Quite expensive in comparison, which is why Wishlist Member is not necessarily the tip for beginners who are looking for the cheapest solution

6. aMember

aMember Dashboard
aMember Dashboard
  • Features: Member management, WordPress integration, Free installation from provider, Multilingual
  • Special: Not only usable for WordPress
  • Price: Approximately $150 to $400 as a one-time payment

The membership software aMember is not just a WordPress plugin, but a full-fledged membership system. It, therefore, offers full functionality for other websites in addition to a WordPress plugin, if you have the necessary know-how to customize it. The extension for WordPress, on the other hand, makes it easy for you to provide content only for registered and paying users. So, primarily, aMember is suitable for hiding content behind a membership and unlocking it for appropriate users.

It is exciting that aMember supports well over 100 payment providers so that everything from PayPal to Bitcoin is included. The integration into WordPress is also cleverly solved. Because aMember is very comprehensive, it presents itself as a standalone application. However, the WordPress plugin integrates the functionality in a simple way. Price-wise, aMember is not expensive, however, according to its scope. One-time payment is only partly true because updates and support are only included here for six months. However, membership plugins also do not constantly get new features or updates, so this point is less important than other offers for WordPress.

Advantages

  • Proven and established system for managing membership areas
  • Fair pricing for the scope and service offered

Disadvantages

  • Rather less suitable for small sites and also not exclusively specialized for WordPress

7. ARMember

Create ARMember Plan
Create ARMember Plan
  • Features: Activation of content, paywalls, social media features and much more, depending on addons and version
  • Special: Extendable with paid addons
  • Price: Free of charge and about 60 US dollars

With the WordPress Membership Plugin ARMember, you can see very clearly what the plugin has to offer before you buy it. The demo area on the website makes it possible. ARMember allows you to generate members and manage them directly in WordPress. The paying customers can choose between different tariffs, which you can configure individually in advance. Out of the box, ARMember also offers different design options, so you have to customize very little yourself. The extension takes over many administrative tasks for you and makes things much easier.

In terms of pricing, the actual plugin is available for free to begin with. The premium variant then costs around $60. In addition, there are various addons that further specialize the Membership Plugin for WordPress and also cost again between about 15 to 50 US dollars.

Here, for example, paid downloads, SMS notifications or similar extras are added. The model certainly does not like everyone, but it ensures that not all users have to pay for all features, if they do not even need them in doubt. In the end, the system can be both an advantage and a disadvantage.

Advantages

  • Well-maintained membership plugin for WordPress
  • Functionality still expandable through addons
  • Single purchase with support over a period of time

Disadvantages

  • Addon system certainly not everyone likes, especially since these extensions can be quite expensive

8. Groups

Groups member plugin
Groups member plugin
  • Features: Group management of users, display content by groups, extensive API for customizations
  • Special: Core features only available as paid addons
  • Price: Free of charge and addons starting at about 20 US dollars

The good news with Groups is first of all that the WordPress Membership plugin is offered completely for free in the WordPress plugin directory.

The bad is that there are a lot of paid addons. But fortunately, you don’t necessarily need them. Only for newsletters, a forum or WooCommerce features are addons needed. If you don’t want that, you can also implement many ideas with the free version and build a corresponding membership site.

Groups rely, just as the name suggests, on an administration in groups. The whole thing is based on groups, which in turn only get access to certain areas of your website. These groups can be freely named and managed, and when publishing content, you can choose for which groups the content should be available.

The concept is clever and works a little differently than many WordPress membership plugins. In the end, of course, they all serve to hide or share certain content from certain users. Groups is not much different.

Advantages

  • The actual plugin is available completely free of charge
  • Management of users in groups is the most important feature here and can therefore be used very efficiently
  • Powerful API for customizations that specifically serve your own website and your own offer

Disadvantages

  • Sooner or later you’ll spend money here, too, because the full-featured features (aside from the basic function) are all offered as addons only

9. Memberful WP

Memberful WP-Plugin
Memberful WP Plugin
  • Features: WordPress sync with Memberful, set up paywalls, offer memberships.
  • Special: Service independent of WordPress
  • Price: Free and from about $25 to $100 per month plus transaction fee.

Memberful WP is again a combination of service and WordPress plugin. Namely, the plugin itself has hardly any functions, it rather integrates the Memberful software into your WordPress blog. So you need Memberful to bring the functionalities to your WordPress website with Memberful WP. The plugin only synchronizes the data of Memberful with WordPress, does the automatic login within the CMS and creates paywalls for members with appropriate access levels. Everything as far as known, but just not in pure WordPress function, but via Memberful.

So basically you just connect your Memberful membership with the plugin and then you can use corresponding functions directly in WordPress. Because Memberful focuses on its own service and only integrates with WordPress, it is a detached platform. This can have great advantages because it still works without WordPress or when you change platforms, but it can also cause problems. For example, with WordPress updates or in conjunction with other extensions. However, Memberful currently does its job flawlessly, is clearly designed and thus ideal to offer especially paid podcasts or classic premium content that should only be available to members.

Advantages

  • Administration outside of WordPress is under circumstances an advantage
  • Very simple and well running plugin, with nice administration on the Memberful website

Disadvantages

  • Management outside of WordPress can be a disadvantage as well

10. MemberMouse

MemberMouse Products
MemberMouse Products
  • Features: Member management, paywalls, selling products, recurring payments, member areas
  • Special: Extremely comprehensive membership plugin
  • Price: From about 25 to 170 US dollars per month

For many, MemberMouse is something of an insider tip among WordPress membership plugins. This is because it is often overlooked and is only available in a hidden way.

For example, there is no plugin in the official WordPress plugin directory, but MemberMouse offers the same only directly on its website. MemberMouse is an absolutely powerful and versatile membership plugin for WordPress. It has too many features to list them all here, so I will limit myself to the most important features.

First of all, MemberMouse is quick to install and set up. It allows free and paid memberships, recurring payments, selling products and hiding certain content via paywall.

Members can also be extensively managed and configured. In addition, there are different types of automation and a reporting with statistics and analysis you will also find at MemberMouse. So basically everything you might need for a membership website at some point.

Advantages

  • MemberMouse offers you features without end and is certainly one of the most comprehensive WordPress membership plugins
  • Fair pricing for what it offers, especially considering the competition often charges more for far less

Disadvantages

  • None known

11. Paid Member Subscriptions

Paid Member Subscriptions
Paid Member Subscriptions
  • Features: Paywall for content, WooCommerce support, content dripping, user management and much more.
  • Special: Basic version is very simple to use
  • Price: Free and Pro from about $70 to $150 a year

Paid Member Subscriptions allows you to earn money immediately after activation with your own member area or corresponding subscriptions. You install the plugin, add your PayPal address in the admin, create a tariff and add the simple login via shortcode. You can then hide content directly behind the paywall when you create it, all very easily and based on your existing blog. This is one of the biggest advantages Paid Member Subscriptions has to offer.

Unlike similar plugins, this one isn’t overloaded and doesn’t come with all sorts of extra features. Those exist as well, but here they come in the form of extensions. The basic function just allows you to set up a paid area based on WordPress, without much effort or additional resources. I like the simplicity of the plugin quite a bit, though it can also be expanded a bit through addons if that’s what’s needed. But it’s the simple core functionality that makes it ideal for you if you’re not looking for or wanting more at all.

Advantages

  • Very simple, easy to use membership plugin for WordPress
  • Addons don’t bloat the system, they just add what is needed at the time
  • Fair price and fair system in the background

Disadvantages

  • None known

12. Paid Membership Pro

Paid Membership Pro
Paid Membership Pro
  • Features: Membership site, paywalls, addons for further functionalities, integration of WooCommerce
  • Special: Addons are not an extra purchase, but included in the tariff
  • Price: Free and Pro from about $250 to $700 a year

The WordPress membership plugin Paid Membership Pro promises many things, but above all it wants to be a complete solution. Anyone who wants to realize on the basis of WordPress, so membership areas, should feel particularly comfortable with Paid Membership Pro. This succeeds the WordPress plugin especially because it really does not miss any function. Whether content only for members, coaching and courses or communities as well as products and downloads that are only visible to corresponding members, almost everything can be implemented quickly and easily with the help of extension.

See also
WordPress-Themes - The 15 Best WordPress-Themes

Various addons, for example for PayPal Express, additional input fields, affiliates or automations, are also available accordingly. In addition to PayPal and Stripe, Braintree, Authorize and other interfaces are also available for payment processing.

An API allows the adaptation to your own systems and also enables you to realize a wide range of automations. Paid Membership Pro thus becomes an all-purpose weapon for membership areas, even for larger projects or correspondingly extensive ideas.

Advantages

  • Clear and simple design, therefore usable directly after installation
  • Extensible through addons and adaptable via API to all conditions of your website

Disadvantages

  • Relatively expensive and therefore certainly not the first choice for small websites

13. PrivateContent

PrivateContent access limitation
PrivateContent access limitation
  • Features: Members only content, private members area, form builder and skin builder, WordPress user sync, website lock
  • Special: Support for Page-Builder
  • Price: 35 US dollars as single purchase

Sold well over 10,000 times, already developed and maintained since 2012 as well as supported until today. This is PrivateContent, a WordPress membership plugin that has been doing its thing brilliantly for many years. This is also reflected in the reviews.

But the mere fact that the plugin has been selling since 2012 also clearly shows that it is one of the better WordPress plugins on the platform. The extension turns WordPress into a full-fledged membership website, is DSGVO compliant, and can hide the entire website behind a paywall if desired.

Of course, all this is not a must, as the WordPress Membership plugin also allows a more targeted approach to make only certain areas accessible to members. There is also a form builder and skin builder to customize the appropriate signups etc to your particular WordPress theme.

Speaking of themes, it must also be mentioned that PrivateContent also supports all major WordPress Page-Builders. Namely that would be Divi, WPBakery or Elementor. So everything is included to build your own WordPress membership site. Be sure to check out the plugin if you’re looking for a cost-effective and solid solution.

Advantages

  • Cheap and uncomplicated solution for a WordPress membership plugin, which is also offered as a one-time purchase
  • Long-lasting support and an extremely efficient development so far

Disadvantages

  • Not quite as powerful and depending on the intended use, many adjustments are still necessary

14. ProfileGrid

ProfileGrid
ProfileGrid
  • Features: Profile creation for users, own blogs, chat and groups
  • Special: All functions for your own community
  • Price: Free and from about $80 to $140

The WordPress Membership Plugin ProfileGrid is ideal if you do not want to build a particularly extensive membership website, but you are more interested in a community. Especially in its free version, it contributes in the best possible way to users creating an appropriate profile, which in turn can be seen by others. This then helps to build a community, because members feel connected to the platform on your website. Apart from that, ProfileGrid has all the features of the typical WordPress membership plugins on board.

Maybe even a little more, because in addition to profiles, with their own pictures and other personal details, ProfileGrid gives users the option to create their own blogs. You can also join groups, add friends and chat with each other.

This way, your WordPress website becomes a real community, with real social media features. Pretty exciting to see what can be implemented with ProfileGrid. The question is whether you really need all this in the end. If not, then the free version of the membership plugin might be enough for you.

Advantages

  • Already excellent usable for free
  • In comparison very inexpensive, even in the paid version of the plugin
  • Ideal for a community that wants to engage its users everywhere in the best possible way and motivate them to be part of the big picture

Disadvantages

  • None known

15. Restrict User Access

Restrict User Access
Restrict User Access
  • Features: Show content only for specific members, hide widgets and menus
  • Special: Select triggers for membership levels
  • Price: Free and paid addons

Not looking for one solution for everything? You just want to block certain content on your site so that not every guest can see it right away? Maybe to encourage registrations or even reward regular readers? Then the Restrict User Access plugin for WordPress is exactly what you need. This primarily takes over the task of making certain content accessible only to registered users. The extension remains pleasantly simple and is therefore quickly set up and managed.

The main focus of the Membership Plugin for WordPress is actually the restriction of content. This starts with articles, but can also affect categories or only certain authors. In this way, it is possible with the plugin to control very precisely which content is free and which requires at least a registration. The whole thing is also combined with WooCommerce if desired, so that products in WooCommece result in the user roles. Everything conceivably simple and accordingly comfortable to set up.

Advantages

  • Free to use and therefore an alternative for those who do not want to pay permanent fees
  • Ideal for displaying content for members only or introducing certain levels of membership

Disadvantages

  • Functionality is very limited and focuses mainly on hiding content

16. s2Member

s2Member
s2Member
  • Features: Show content only for members, offer paid memberships, content dripping, login widget and much more
  • Special: Free version already extensively usable
  • Price: Free of charge or approx. 90 or 190 US dollars as a one-time payment

The WordPress Membership Plugin s2Member already announces itself as a framework and that’s exactly what it is. It is quickly installed, very easy and uncomplicated to set up, but can do much more as a framework than is obvious at first glance. In its free version, s2Member allows you to accept memberships and display certain content only to the respective users. Simple PayPal buttons are also included.

If you want more, there are two options, both of which can be purchased as a single payment. Here you then get the full range of framework options that allow you to expand s2Member into a full-fledged membership software. There are more forms, integration with Stripe and similarly popular payment service providers, and many more options. s2Member is powerful, but as a framework it also requires a bit of training and initiative to take full advantage of its features. In return, however, it is paid for only once and does not require an expensive subscription itself.

Advantages

  • Free version and one-time payment of the Pro version make s2Member a cost-effective alternative
  • Extensive framework for membership sites based on WordPress, which provides a lot of functions

Disadvantages

  • Framework aspect and design require some training time before s2Member shows its true strengths
  • The plugin seems to be completely outdated

17. Simple Membership

Simple Membership
Simple Membership
  • Features: Free and paid memberships, display content for members only, additional functions can be implemented via addons
  • Special: Particularly simple and kept simple
  • Price: Free of charge, but there are a few premium addons

The name already reveals what was the focus during the development, because Simple Membership wants to be a simple and inexpensive way to realize memberships in WordPress. Based on this, it simplifies the provision of premium content, i.e. content that is only visible to paying users. To realize this, you can create infinite levels of memberships. This way it is possible to offer free as well as paid memberships together.

For the paid membership variants, PayPal and Stripe are supported, as well as other payment service providers. The plugin has also already been translated into many languages. Fortunately, German is also included.

It can be quickly and easily integrated into existing WordPress themes and is also otherwise a universally well-maintained and popular extension. At the same time, the Membership Plugin, the name already underlines it, remains particularly simple at all times. So if you are looking for more than simple memberships, you have to reach for another plugin. But it is exactly this simplicity that makes Simple Membership so valuable. It simply works immediately, without any complicated options.

Advantages

  • Really a simple plugin, which can be used immediately after installation and without complicated options
  • Infinite membership types possible, which then show certain content that can be withheld from users without membership

Disadvantages

  • None known

18. Ultimate Member

Ultimate Membership Pro
Ultimate Membership Pro
  • Features: Membership management, members-only content, WooCommerce membership.
  • Special: Everything included in one plugin, without additional addons
  • Price: Approx. 60 US Dollar as a single purchase

With Ultimate Member, you easily create different types of memberships for your WordPress website. Readers can then choose a membership and have to pay from then on to see certain posts or content. It works especially easy in this case and Ultimate Member already supports PayPal, Stripe and some other payment providers out of the box. Moreover, everything is nicely and clearly displayed in a dashboard within WordPress, so you always have full control over memberships, paying subscriptions and other statistics.

For myself, it’s always important with such plugins that they are maintained appropriately well. This is the case with Ultimate Member, as the WordPress membership plugin has been in development since 2015 and has been consistently receiving new updates and features ever since.

Moreover, it is a single purchase via Envato, so it does not require a classic subscription. The plugin is very extensive and powerful, which is why it will quickly overwhelm beginners with its features. So, if you are looking for something particularly simple, you are not necessarily well advised here, because as a WordPress membership plugin, Ultimate Member is rather one of the more comprehensive ones.

Advantages

  • Very wide-ranging membership plugin for WordPress, which masters almost all functions that are needed in this area
  • Plugin runs without the need for further addons, as all features are directly included and also usable

Disadvantages

  • Due to the fact that Ultimate Member can really do almost everything, it seems very cluttered and complex, which will surely overwhelm beginners

19. WooCommerce Memberships

WooCommerce Memberships
WooCommerce Memberships
  • Features: Create memberships for your online store, make content and products visible only to members, offer exclusive deals and discounts for members
  • Special: Focuses more on WooCommerce than WordPress
  • Price: Approx. 200 US dollars per year

WooCommerce Memberships works a little differently than existing WordPress membership plugins, because it combines directly and overtly with products from your online store. This way you can not only hide content, but also present products exclusively to certain members. Depending on the use case, this can be a clever feature for communities and also to increase the exclusivity of your own goods. The WooCommerce Memberships extension makes exactly that possible.

The advantage with this plugin is clearly that it connects seamlessly with WooCommerce and builds on it. So if you want to create even a rudimentary membership system and plan to use it in combination with WooCommerce, you will surely find one of the best plugins of its kind here.

This way, you can offer members special products, grant exclusive discounts, but also block posts and pages accordingly. WooCommerce Memberships is easy to set up and basically self-explanatory, which is much more convenient than many similar solutions. However, in return, it also has a significantly higher price.

Advantages

  • Ideal if you want to offer exclusive products or offers in your WooCommerce store
  • Create your very own “Amazon Prime” and grant members special discounts and special offers
  • Easy to set up and therefore a particularly hassle-free membership plugin for WordPress and WooCommerce

Disadvantages

  • None known

20. WP-Members

WP-Members
WP-Members
  • Features: Unlock content for members only, login and register directly on the website, present teasers for hidden content
  • Special: Free of charge already very extensively applicable
  • Price: Free of charge, support and addons from approx. 60 to 125 US dollars per year

You’re looking for the most cost-effective way to integrate a membership system into your WordPress website. Then WP-Members is certainly one of the best plugins, because this is not only free, but also offers a relatively simple way to implement memberships within WordPress.

The WordPress Membership Plugin works directly after installation and does not require any complicated settings from you. This alone is already a real blessing for such extensive plugins.

Both the registration itself, as well as the subsequent login, take place directly on your website and require no detours via the WordPress login. The dialogs, texts and emails can be completely customized with WP-Members. All this you define yourself in the settings of the plugin. Once the basics are selected, you can hide content to display it only for members and can integrate login and registration via a shortcode. The WP-Members plugin is well supported and if you want, you can book the premium support. However, this is then logically subject to a fee.

Advantages

  • Without extra support completely free to use and still very extensive in the functions offered
  • Super easy to configure and set up, most takes care of itself or already comes with the correct default settings

Disadvantages

  • None known

21. YITH WooCommerce Membership

YITH WooCommerce Membership
YITH WooCommerce Membership
  • Features: Offer products, discounts or downloads for members, a system for members in WooCommerce
  • Special: Specialized in WooCommerce stores
  • Price: Approx. 150 US dollars per year

In addition to classic WordPress membership plugins, I’ve already introduced you to a few extensions here on the site that focus on WooCommerce. At the latest since Prime memberships have become popular in other online stores (except Amazon), the membership system is becoming more and more interesting for e-commerce offers. YITH WooCommerce Membership is also such a membership plugin, which brings memberships to your store and thus offers that extra something to your customers, if they register for it beforehand.

In this way, you can display certain offers or products only to your members, grant them special discounts or even build areas that are exclusively available to members of your store. The YITH WooCommerce Membership plugin is too powerful to go into detail about all of its features right now, but if you’re looking for a membership system that works with WooCommerce stores, you should definitely take a closer look at this one.

Advantages

  • Full featured membership system for WooCommerce stores
  • Offer hidden content, discount codes, products or downloads only to paying members

Disadvantages

  • None known

Extra: More member and content restriction plugins

Here I would like to list some more membership plugins that didn’t make it into the guide.

Use WordPress Membership Plugin

If you want to make your WordPress website a little more than just a blog, then you need a WordPress Membership Plugin. This ensures that you can provide certain content only for registered users, which thus remain hidden from other visitors. Premium content, if you will, that wants to be paid for.

This can be downloads, courses, tutorials, special articles or columns. Everything you want to hide behind a paywall needs a membership plugin in WordPress. At the same time, you can also create a community, which then has the corresponding amenities, as soon as they bind themselves to your website in a certain way.

Paywall is perhaps the wrong term, because a WordPress membership plugin is not automatically a paywall. You can, after all, configure it to require only a signup. Or in such a way that it allows members in your WooCommerce store to have a kind of prime offer. Also, to make downloads available only to registered users, such a plugin is great. So the possibilities for practical use are almost endless.

Problems with Membership Plugins for WordPress

Dark Membership Guy
Dark Membership Guy

But there has always been a problem with WordPress membership plugins. They are very complex, extensive to set up and therefore often require a high level of basic knowledge. At least, that has always been the case so far, because that has also changed a lot in recent years. Through ever new plugins, the functions have been constantly improved and often even significantly simplified. APIs and interfaces were added, which also made the integration of any third-party providers simpler than ever before.

All this led to the fact that there are now a variety of WordPress membership plugins, some of which are clearly specialized. Almost every membership plugin for WordPress has a kind of unique selling point, so a very special feature or a unique focus, which distinguishes it. One builds groups, another focuses on downloads, yet another wants to primarily add paywalls for articles, and so on. So almost every WordPress membership plugin has a main focus that it started with at least once.

So be sure to pay attention to which plugin you end up choosing. Above all, think beforehand already extensively about what exactly you want to realize with the WordPress Membership Plugin. A store? Downloads for registered members? Paid memberships and exclusive content? Knowing what exactly you want to build a membership system for is important to choose the right extension for this purpose.

Finding the right WordPress membership plugin

First of all, my tip is that you don’t base it on the price. Almost all membership plugins for WordPress cost money. Even the free ones usually offer paid support or addons. So don’t pay so much attention to the price, but rather to what the respective extension has to offer. If you pay attention to the price and less to the functionality, you will inevitably make a bad choice, because the plugin is not ideal for your blog, but only for your price expectations.

A WordPress membership plugin is usually an investment in the future. So you pick the right extension once, and then use it for years to come. Whether it costs money in the end, therefore, does not matter too much. It is much more important that the membership plugin receives regular updates, meets your requirements and in the best case has been consistently developed for years. Nothing would be worse than if you customize and set everything, only to realize that it doesn’t work as desired or lacks updates. Especially free plugins are often very limited in their possibilities. Is that enough for you or is it rather the price that tempts you?

So ask yourself beforehand what exactly you expect and then pick out the plugins that meet your requirements. From these, you can choose the most suitable one. The cost of the plugin is usually recovered through the generated memberships and if not, the membership plugin may not be worth it for your type of blog.

Anyway, the only tip I can really give you is to take a good look at all the membership plugins available before making your final choice. Most of them have a money-back guarantee, so you can try them out without any obligation before you have to decide. This way you’ll also notice pretty quickly if the plugin suits you and your WordPress website or if it’s rather less suitable.

My membership plugin recommendation

For international membership sites, I would go with MemberPress. In my opinion, this is the market leader and also offers good value for money.

As mentioned above, I would always recommend DigiMember for German-language WordPress membership sites. It will save you a lot of headaches.

If you need more advanced features for online courses, LearnDash is the best choice.

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