How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Rankite is independent; if a vendor ever pays for a featured spot, that listing is clearly labeled Partner.
Key takeaways
- Already on WordPress? MemberPress (from $179.50/year) keeps everything on your own site; Memberful ($49/month + 4.9% fee) and MemberSpace ($24/month billed annually) add memberships to any site.
- Nonprofits and associations should start with Wild Apricot ($66/month, 60-day free trial): member database, events, email and website in one flat price.
- Creators choosing an all-in-one: Podia ($42/month billed annually) is the value pick, Kajabi (from $143/month billed annually) the premium one, Teachable ($29/month billed annually) the course-first middle ground.
- Patreon costs nothing upfront but takes 10% of earnings: fine for testing an audience, expensive once revenue grows.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 MemberPress | WordPress site owners who want to own the whole stack | From $179.50/year (Launch plan) | No (14-day money-back guarantee) |
 Wild Apricot | Nonprofits, clubs and associations managing members and events | $66/month (100 contacts) or $59.40/month billed annually | Free trial (60 days, no credit card) |
 Kajabi | Creators who want courses, email, funnels and community in one subscription | $143/month (billed annually, Basic plan) | Free trial (14 days) |
 Mighty Networks | Paid communities where discussion is the product | $79/month (billed annually, Launch plan at $950/year) | Free trial (14 days, no credit card) |
 Podia | Creators who want one simple, affordable all-in-one | $42/month (billed annually, Mover plan) | Free trial (14 days, no credit card) |
 Teachable | Course creators adding memberships and coaching | $29/month (billed annually, Starter plan) | Free trial (7 days) |
 Memberful | Publishers and creators who already have a website and audience | $49/month + 4.9% transaction fee (Standard plan) | Free until you go live (no charge while building) |
 MemberSpace | Adding memberships to any existing website fast | $24/month (billed annually, Starter plan) | Try for free |
 Patreon | Creators monetizing an audience they already have | Free (10% platform fee on earnings for new creators) | Yes (free to start, fees only when you earn) |
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
The best membership site software
Picture a fitness coach with 2,000 Instagram followers and a PDF workout plan that keeps getting requested in DMs. Or a trade association still collecting dues by check. Both need the same thing: a way to charge for access, deliver content to members only, and get paid without chasing invoices. The platforms below do that nine different ways, and the right one depends on where your audience already lives and how much of the tech you want to own.
Starting priceFrom $179.50/year (Launch plan)
Free planNo (14-day money-back guarantee)
MemberPress is the default answer when someone asks how to build a membership site on WordPress, and the reason is breadth. One plugin handles paywalls, membership tiers, recurring billing through Stripe or PayPal, drip content, coupons and corporate accounts. The built-in Courses addon means many owners never need a separate LMS, and newer additions cover coaching programs and community forums.
The honest catch is the total cost of ownership. The plugin starts at $179.50 per year for Launch, but you also pay for WordPress hosting, and some integrations sit in higher tiers. For a single locked page it is more tool than you need. But if your business already runs on WordPress and you want memberships, courses and community without renting space on someone else's platform, this is the most complete option.
What we like- Everything runs on your WordPress site, so you keep your data, domain and design
- Built-in course builder, coaching tools and community features reduce plugin sprawl
- Strong documentation and setup wizard
Watch out for- No free tier and costs add up with hosting and add-ons
- Overkill if you only need to gate a single page
#2
Wild Apricot
Best for: Nonprofits, clubs and associations managing members and events
Visit wildapricot.com
Starting price$66/month (100 contacts) or $59.40/month billed annually
Free planFree trial (60 days, no credit card)
Wild Apricot is not really creator software. It is membership management for the real world: chambers of commerce, professional associations, alumni groups and nonprofits that need dues collection, event registration, a member directory and email newsletters without hiring a developer. Every plan includes the same features; you pay by contact count, starting at $66 per month for 100 contacts.
That flat all-inclusive structure is the appeal and the limit. A 2,000-contact association pays the 2,000-contact price regardless of how few features it uses, and the website builder looks dated next to Squarespace or Webflow. But the 60-day trial with no credit card lets a volunteer board evaluate properly, and free onboarding help is genuinely useful for non-technical teams. If you run an organization rather than a personal brand, start here.
What we like- Member database, website builder, event registration, email and donations in one flat price
- 60-day free trial with no credit card is unusually generous
- Onboarding coaches included at no extra cost
Watch out for- Pricing scales by contact count, so large lists get expensive fast
- Design flexibility lags behind modern site builders
#3
Kajabi
Best for: Creators who want courses, email, funnels and community in one subscription
Visit kajabi.com
Starting price$143/month (billed annually, Basic plan)
Free planFree trial (14 days)
Kajabi is the premium all-in-one. One subscription replaces a course platform, an email tool, a funnel builder and a website: products, payments and marketing share one system, and Kajabi takes no cut of your sales beyond payment processing. The January 2026 repricing raised the floor to $179 per month billed monthly ($143 on annual billing), with Growth at $249/$199 and Pro at $499/$399.
That price only makes sense at volume. Basic caps you at 5 products and 2,500 contacts, and the features that justify Kajabi over cheaper tools, affiliate programs, advanced automations, no Kajabi branding, live on Growth. A creator earning $5,000 per month from courses may still come out ahead versus five separate subscriptions; a creator earning $500 will not. Do the stack math before falling for the demo.
What we like- True all-in-one: website, courses, memberships, email marketing, funnels and checkout with no plugins
- 0% platform transaction fees on every plan
- Polished checkout and student experience
Watch out for- The priciest option here by a wide margin
- Basic plan limits (5 products, 2,500 contacts) push growing creators to Growth at $199/month billed annually
Starting price$79/month (billed annually, Launch plan at $950/year)
Free planFree trial (14 days, no credit card)
Mighty Networks starts from the opposite end of Kajabi: the community is the product, and courses, events and memberships layer on top. Hosts get native iOS and Android apps, discussion spaces, live streaming and event tools, with unlimited members and spaces even on the $79-per-month Launch plan. Engagement features like polls, streaks and member matching are genuinely good at keeping people active.
The fee structure is the thing to read twice. Every plan takes a transaction fee (2% on Launch, 1% on Scale, 0.5% on Growth and Pro), and no tier reaches zero. There is also no email marketing or blogging built in, so most hosts run a separate email stack. If your membership is really a community with content attached, Mighty Networks is the best tool for the job. If it is really a course with a forum attached, look at Teachable or Podia.
What we like- Community-first design with native mobile apps members actually open
- Unlimited members and spaces on every plan
- Courses, events and live streaming built in
Watch out for- Transaction fees on every plan with no 0% tier
- No built-in email marketing, so you still need a separate email tool
#5
Podia
Best for: Creators who want one simple, affordable all-in-one
Visit podia.com
Starting price$42/month (billed annually, Mover plan)
Free planFree trial (14 days, no credit card)
Podia is the anti-Kajabi: everything the solo creator needs, none of the enterprise weight. Courses, memberships, community, coaching, email newsletters and a website run in one dashboard that a non-technical person can learn in an afternoon. The Mover plan at $42 per month billed annually ($49 monthly) undercuts every other all-in-one on this list, and Podia will migrate your products from another platform free.
The 5% transaction fee on Mover is the catch, and it matters as revenue grows: at $2,000 per month in sales you pay $100 in fees, which narrows the gap to Shaker at $84 per month with no fees. Shaker also adds affiliates, upsells and Zapier. Start on Mover, move to Shaker when the fee math flips. For creators who want simplicity over power, Podia is the easiest yes on this list.
What we like- Clean, beginner-friendly builder covering courses, community, coaching, email and website
- Mover plan is the cheapest true all-in-one here
- Free migration from other platforms
Watch out for- Mover plan takes a 5% transaction fee
- Smaller ecosystem of integrations and advanced features than Kajabi
Starting price$29/month (billed annually, Starter plan)
Free planFree trial (7 days)
Teachable built its name on courses and has been expanding into memberships, coaching and communities from that base. The course builder, quizzes, certificates and drip content are mature, and Teachable Payments handles sales tax, VAT and GST in 45+ countries, which matters the moment you sell internationally. Students get iOS and Android apps on every plan.
Pricing starts at $29 per month billed annually for Starter ($39 monthly), but the 7.5% transaction fee makes it expensive at any real volume: Builder at $69 per month billed annually drops the fee to zero and is the realistic starting point for a business. The 7-day trial is short, so have your content ready before you start the clock. Course-first creators who want memberships as an add-on will feel at home.
What we like- Lowest entry price among the course-first platforms
- Built-in tax handling across 45+ countries and 35+ payment methods
- Student mobile apps included on every plan
Watch out for- Starter plan charges a 7.5% transaction fee
- Community and membership features are thinner than Mighty Networks or Kajabi
#7
Memberful
Best for: Publishers and creators who already have a website and audience
Visit memberful.com
Starting price$49/month + 4.9% transaction fee (Standard plan)
Free planFree until you go live (no charge while building)
Memberful takes the opposite approach from the all-in-ones: instead of moving your business onto its platform, it bolts memberships onto the site you already have. A WordPress plugin, a website builder for new sites, or an API for custom builds; checkout, member accounts and content gating all carry your branding on your domain. You connect your own Stripe account, so the money and the customer data stay yours.
The pricing is one simple tier: $49 per month plus 4.9% of revenue, with a custom Enterprise option. You can build everything free and only pay when you go live, which makes evaluation genuinely risk-free. The fee math deserves attention at scale: at $10,000 per month in memberships you pay $490 to Memberful plus Stripe's cut. Publishers and newsletter writers with an existing audience get the most from this model.
What we like- Works with your existing site (WordPress, or any site via the website builder) so you keep your brand and domain
- You connect your own Stripe account and own the customer relationship
- Free to build until you start charging
Watch out for- The 4.9% transaction fee applies on top of Stripe processing on every plan
- $49 per month minimum makes it pricey for tiny memberships
Starting price$24/month (billed annually, Starter plan)
Free planTry for free
MemberSpace is the quickest path from "I have a website" to "I have a membership site." Paste a snippet, or use the integrations for Squarespace, Webflow, Wix, WordPress, Duda, Weebly, Showit and Notion, and you can gate pages, sell courses, run a community forum and manage members from one dashboard. Unlimited members on every plan.
Starter costs $24 per month billed annually ($39 monthly) with a 5% transaction fee, which makes it the cheapest way to start charging. Growth at $99 per month billed annually drops the fee to 2% and adds multiple site connections and API access. The tradeoffs are the fee on the low tier and the MemberSpace branding in URLs unless you pay for the top plan. For creators who love their current site and just need the paywall, this is the path of least resistance.
What we like- Works with any website builder (Squarespace, Webflow, Wix, WordPress, even Notion)
- Cheapest entry price on this list
- Real human support with free migration help
Watch out for- 5% transaction fee on the Starter plan
- White-labeling the MemberSpace subdomain requires the top tier
#9
Patreon
Best for: Creators monetizing an audience they already have
Visit patreon.com
Starting priceFree (10% platform fee on earnings for new creators)
Free planYes (free to start, fees only when you earn)
Patreon is the only tool here with no subscription at all. You launch a page, set tiers, and Patreon takes 10% of what you earn plus payment processing (2.9% + $0.30 per pledge). For a creator testing whether anyone will pay, that is the lowest-risk start possible: no monthly bill while you find out.
The math turns against you as revenue grows. At $5,000 per month in pledges, the 10% cut is $500, before processing fees, which buys a lot of Podia or MemberPress. Legacy creators on old 5% or 8% plans should stay put; everyone new pays 10%. Patreon is also rented land: limited branding, limited data portability, and your business lives under Patreon's rules. Use it to validate, then move to a platform you control when the fees exceed a subscription.
What we like- Zero upfront cost and zero monthly fee
- The audience already knows and trusts the platform
- Unlimited membership tiers with community features built in
Watch out for- 10% platform fee plus payment processing takes a real bite at scale
- You build on rented land with limited branding and data control
How we chose
We started with the categories buyers search: membership site software, membership platform and membership website builder. For each candidate we opened the vendor's own homepage and, where pricing was published, the vendor's own pricing page. We checked feature lists and documentation against public reviews on G2, Capterra and Reddit, and cut tools that were discontinued, acqui-hired into a different product, or priced only for enterprise. Where a price could not be verified on the vendor's own site we wrote "See website" rather than guessing.
Membership software splits into two philosophies, and picking the wrong one costs months. Platforms (Kajabi, Podia, Teachable, Mighty Networks, Patreon, Wild Apricot) host everything: you trade control for convenience, and migrating away later means rebuilding. Plugins and overlays (MemberPress, Memberful, MemberSpace) attach to a site you own: you keep the domain, the design and the data, but you own the maintenance too.
The rule of thumb is audience-first. If your audience lives on your own site or email list and you plan to be in business for years, the plugin route pays off: MemberPress on WordPress or Memberful on your own domain. If you are validating an idea or your audience lives on social media, a platform gets you charging faster: Podia or Patreon to test, Mighty Networks if community is the product. Nonprofits with events and chapters are a third case entirely, and Wild Apricot is built for exactly that.
Then do the fee math at your expected revenue, not at zero. A 5% transaction fee on Podia Mover or a 10% Patreon cut looks free until you multiply it by real sales. At $3,000 per month in memberships, Patreon's cut is $300 plus processing; Podia Shaker at $84 with no fee is cheaper. Model twelve months out, not month one.
The transaction fee trap
Almost every platform here takes a cut beyond the subscription, and the fee tables are where buyers get surprised. Podia Mover charges 5%, Teachable Starter 7.5%, Memberful 4.9% on every plan, MemberSpace 5% on Starter, Mighty Networks 2% on Launch, Patreon 10%. Only Kajabi, Wild Apricot and the annual-fee-free tiers charge zero platform fees, and payment processing (usually 2.9% + $0.30) stacks on top everywhere.
Two details matter. First, some fees shrink or vanish on higher plans: Podia Shaker and Earthquaker charge no fee, Teachable Builder and above charge none. The upgrade often pays for itself; find the crossover point for your revenue. Second, watch what the fee applies to: per-transaction fixed fees punish small tiers hardest. A $5 monthly membership loses a bigger share to a $0.30 fixed processing fee than a $50 one does. Annual billing, which collapses twelve charges into one, is the cheapest lever most creators never pull.
Frequently asked questions
How much does membership site software cost?
From $0 to $499 per month. Patreon is free to start (10% of earnings). MemberSpace starts at $24 per month billed annually, Teachable at $29, Podia at $42, Memberful at $49 plus 4.9%, Wild Apricot at $66, Mighty Networks at $79, Kajabi at $143, all billed annually. MemberPress is $179.50+ per year plus hosting.
Should I use a WordPress plugin or an all-in-one platform?
Use a plugin (MemberPress, Memberful) if you already have a WordPress site or an audience on your own domain and want to own your data long-term. Use a platform (Podia, Kajabi, Mighty Networks) if you want to launch fast without managing hosting, plugins and updates. Platforms are faster to start; plugins are cheaper and more controllable at scale.
What is the cheapest way to start a membership site?
Patreon costs nothing upfront, and MemberSpace ($24/month annual) and Teachable ($29/month annual) are the cheapest subscriptions. But compare transaction fees too: Patreon's 10% cut exceeds a flat subscription once you pass a few hundred dollars in monthly revenue.
Can I migrate my members from one platform to another?
Mostly yes, but it is work. Podia and MemberSpace offer free migration help, and Mighty Networks includes migration support on its Growth plan. Member lists and content move; payment subscriptions usually do not, so expect to ask members to re-enter payment details. That friction is why choosing carefully upfront matters.
Do I need an email marketing tool separately?
It depends. Kajabi and Podia include email marketing; Wild Apricot includes email and newsletters. Mighty Networks, Memberful and MemberSpace do not, so budget for a separate email tool or pick a platform that bundles it.
How do transaction fees affect my pricing?
Add the platform fee and the payment processor fee (usually 2.9% + $0.30) to your costs before setting tier prices. On a $10/month tier with a 5% platform fee, you keep about $9.20 after processing. Many creators set tiers slightly higher than the round number to absorb fees without thinking about them.
Sources we checked (16)
- https://memberpress.com
- https://memberpress.com/blog/memberpress-vs-kajabi/
- https://www.wildapricot.com/pricing
- https://kajabi.com
- https://www.kajabi.com/pricing-new
- https://mightynetworks.com/
- https://podia.com/
- https://www.podia.com/pricing
- https://teachable.com
- https://www.teachable.com/pricing
- https://memberful.com/
- https://memberful.com/pricing
- https://www.memberspace.com
- https://www.memberspace.com/pricing/
- https://patreon.com/
- https://www.g2.com/categories/membership-management
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has spent more than a decade helping SaaS and e-commerce brands grow through search. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.