Subscription-based content is a popular way of making money online. WordPress membership plugins help you create a website for members only. But with thousands of membership extensions, how do you find the best WordPress membership plugins? Let’s find out!
Finding the right WordPress membership plugins for your website is crucial for expanding your business and generating online revenue. We tested the top WordPress membership plugins on the market and compared them for your convenience. In this article, we will highlight the key features of each widget, discuss the pros and cons, and help you find the right WordPress membership plugin for your website.
What is a WordPress Membership Plugin?
A WordPress membership plugin hides posts, pages, and resources behind a paywall. When you add a feature-rich WP subscription plugin to a website hosted on an anonymous VPS, you can offer exclusive content, free trials, tiered membership benefits, and more.
Membership plugins have massive potential for increasing subscription and revenue since you control the buyer’s journey. These extensions are essential for blogs, e-commerce websites, forums, communities, non-profit organizations, online courses and e-learning platforms, and subscription-based services.
How Do You Choose the Best WordPress Membership Plugin?
Finding the top WordPress membership plugins is easy if you follow these three simple tips.
Compare the Key Features
The best WordPress membership plugins offer additional benefits over the competition. You must identify these key features and determine their use in your business. Are the basic features sufficient, or should you invest in a premium plan? Of course, price is a key motivation in this decision.
Check for Compatibility
The best WordPress membership plugins are compatible with all the popular themes and extensions. Check if your preferred WordPress membership plugin will work within your website’s existing framework. You will find this information in the WordPress Plugin Directory.
Test the Ease of Use
If you’re new to web development, finding a user-friendly WordPress plugin is crucial. The most efficient way to familiarize yourself with a widget’s user interface is to test it yourself. Most WP extensions offer free or trial plans. Install them on your website, and don’t be afraid to experiment.
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Top 5 WordPress Membership Plugins
Here are the top WordPress membership plugins for websites on offshore hosting. We have compared their key features, pros, and cons to help you find the best fit.
MemberPress – Best WordPress Membership Plugin Overall
MemberPress is one of the best WordPress membership plugins for amateur and experienced web developers, entrepreneurs, professionals, and business owners. The extension helps you sell unlimited subscriptions and membership levels, is super easy to set up, and lets you add drip content to your website. You can use it with a top-rated WordPress SSL plugin to curate an excellent viewing experience for website visitors.
Key Features
- Paywall Function: MemberPress has an excellent paywall that lets you create paid membership levels and accept payments in your preferred mode.
- Divi Integration: With the add-on Divi integration, you can limit access to content rows, modules, or pages within Divi from the MemberPress tab on the Visual Builder.
- ReadyLaunch Page Maker: Effortlessly create registration, login, and pricing pages with your brand logo and colors with the ReadyLaunch Page Maker.
- Zapier Integration: Create multiple membership levels, set up community forums, and integrate Zapier without third-party plugins.
Pros
- The plugin provides total control for managing user’s access to the website content
- Choose from various payment options, such as recurring fees, one-time subscriptions, and free trials
- Seamless integration with popular third-party widgets like ActiveCampaign, Divi, WooCommerce, ChatGPT, etc.
Cons
- Lacks a free plan. Although you get a 14-day money-back guarantee
Ultimate Membership Pro – Best WordPress Membership Plugin
Ultimate Membership Pro is one of the best WordPress membership plugins for beginners. The widget offers WooCommerce integration, unlimited membership levels, and restricted access. Better yet, you pay a one-time fee for lifetime access and can buy add-on services as required. The user-friendly dashboard lets you manage user access levels from one place.
Key Features
- Easy to Set Up: The extension is easy to set up despite providing hundreds of features and options.
- Unlimited Membership Levels: You can create unlimited subscription packages, including free, trial, and paid memberships.
- WooCommerce Integration: Offer discounted prices for Woo products or sell memberships directly with WooCommerce payment modes.
- Developer-friendly: Seamlessly access hundreds of API calls and hooks directly from the plugin dashboard.
Pros
- You can configure recurring payments daily, weekly, or monthly
- Partly restrict your navigational menu till members subscribe
- Integrate seamlessly with over nine popular email services
- Get intuitive features and bug fixes with regular updates
Cons
- Limited customization is available on registration and login forms
Paid Memberships Pro – Best Free WordPress Membership Plugin
Paid Memberships Pro is the best free WordPress membership plugin for beginners. You can restrict content and manage member subscriptions, from user registration and recurring payments to custom profile fields and excellent member management. The plugin is free to download and offers plenty of premium features as add-ons.
Key Features
- Restrict Default Content: Restrict pages, posts, categories, and blocks or offer sneak peeks with one click.
- Content Dripping: Let members access content according to a schedule based on their subscription date.
- Custom Profiles and Directories: Let members search for content on public or privileged databases based on their access levels.
- Unlimited Levels: Create multiple membership plans with diverse access levels at different prices.
Pros
- The free version is pretty robust and offers basic video support, documentation, and 19 add-ons
- Integrate with six payment methods, including PayPal, Stripe, etc.
- Insert and customize advertisements right from the plugin
- Run the plugin on unlimited sites using the free plan
Cons
- You need to be familiar with CSS to customize the templates
MemberMouse – Best WordPress Membership Plugin for Enterprise Use
MemberMouse is a capable, flexible, and affordable WP membership extension with many useful features for protecting website content. The plugin offers advanced reporting and support automation with performance analytics, enabling you to track useful metrics like customer lifetime value, retention rate, affiliate tracking, etc.
Key Features
- Sell Products Easily: Sell products from your website using intuitive features like flexible pricing, one-click upsell, free/paid trials, affiliate integration/support, etc.
- Manage Members: Use intuitive CRM software to track member info, transaction history, activity, and more.
- Restrict Content: Protect premium content with several access controls like auto-lock shared accounts, limited login attempts, and more.
- Automation: Automate member engagement, marketing, and support with intuitive tools and seamless API integration.
Pros
- You can enjoy lots of essential features in the free plan
- Deliver drip content, upsell products, or promote cross-selling with one click
- Lock content anywhere on the site at your convenience
- Integrate MemberMouse with other organizational tools with a simple API
Cons
- The premium plan is pretty expensive
Restrict Content Pro – Best WordPress Membership Plugin for E-commerce Websites
Restrict Content Pro is one of the most popular WordPress membership plugins on the market. The extension offers several built-in integrations, powerful content restrictions, easy paywall setup, and discount coupons. The plugin is competitively priced and provides scalable solutions based on your business requirements.
Key Features
- Easy Member Management: Track all members on a single dashboard and decide who can access what.
- Customizable Member Emails: Automatically send welcome emails to new members and send payment receipts, confirmations, and reminders with one click.
- Detailed Sales Reports: Get detailed analytics of membership performance over the last three months or longer.
- Data Export: Generate a CSV of every payment made on your website and every active member or segment them based on access levels.
Pros
- 13 free add-ons are included with every premium subscription
- Seamless payment integrations with PayPal, Stripe, 2Checkout, Braintree, and more
- A lifetime subscription plan is available
- Advanced users can customize the plugin’s API using CSS
Cons
- Upgrading and downgrading user access can be challenging
Conclusion
This concludes our list of the 5 top WordPress membership plugins on the market today. We compared the key features, pros, and cons to help you find the most suitable widget for your website. MemberPress and Restrict Content Pro are our top two picks. Which one do you like? Tell us in the comments below.
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FAQ
Which is the best WordPress membership plugin?
MemberPress is our favorite WordPress membership plugin. It offers a diverse feature list, is priced competitively, and has excellent user reviews.
What is the most essential feature of a WordPress membership plugin?
The best WordPress membership plugins support popular payment methods and content restrictions and offer a unified member dashboard.
Which is the best beginner-friendly WordPress membership plugin?
Ultimate Membership Pro is our top choice. The extension is easy to install and configure and offers simple integrations for e-commerce, LMS, and other plugins.
Which is the most secure WordPress membership plugin?
Restrict Content Pro is our favorite WordPress membership plugin. The widget has a stellar reputation for maintaining safety standards, and the users love it.
Which is the best free WordPress membership plugin?
Paid Memberships Pro is our favorite free WordPress membership plugin. The free plan offers excellent features, and the widget is suitable for amateur web developers and SMEs.
