Are you looking for the best membership plugins for WordPress?

Choosing the right tools to build your membership-based website can greatly impact its success. Use the right tool, and you’re looking at a full-on membership site that can be set up in minutes.

But use the wrong tool? You’re facing hours of headaches and customer support tickets for as long as you maintain your site.

That’s why, in today’s post, we’re going to share the best membership plugins for WordPress. First, though, let’s get clear on the advantages of creating a membership site in the first place.

Why Create a Membership Website?

Building a membership website is one of the most effective ways to make money online.

The right membership plugin lets you create exclusive content for paying subscribers. In many cases, this means leveraging the content you already have and reserving it for your members.

That also means you can likely get started creating your membership website immediately. But there are many other advantages to creating a membership website on WordPress, including:

• Establish Authority in Your Niche: Creating a membership site allows you to grow a community of people interested in your niche. And since you’re the leader of the group by default, you’re seen as an authoritative leader on the topic.
• Grow Your Email List: Member’s-only websites are a great way to get more subscribers. Even if you offer a free membership to access your content, you can use your site to grow a robust and valuable email list.
• Improve UX: Membership sites allow you to deliver more value to your target audience. This added value improves user experience (UX) and leads to more trust and loyalty with your brand.
• Drive More Revenue: One of the major advantages of growing a community around your topic is that you’ll be surrounded by warm leads for your new products, courses, or any other item you sell. This makes membership sites great at generating more profits for your business.

And much more. The point is that having a membership website has tons of advantages. And using the right membership plugin makes it easy to get started.

So, with that in mind, let’s turn our attention to the best membership plugins for WordPress.

Best Membership Plugins for WordPress

1. MemberPress

MemberPress is the best membership plugin for WordPress. It’s easy to set up, has a low learning curve, and gives you access to advanced features and functionality you’d want from a membership site.

Even people who don’t consider themselves “tech-savvy” can install and run MemberPress in a matter of minutes.

Then you can integrate all of your favorite WordPress plugins for marketing, promotions, and sales to get more paying subscribers to your site.

Features

• Restrict content for “members only”
• Build online courses to educate your audience
• Generate coupons for promotions
• Add community forums to boost engagement
• Create tiered membership plans to suit more users
• Integrate with all of your favorite marketing tools
• Add payment gateways to easily collect payments
• And much more…

With all of its advanced membership features, MemberPress is hands down your best bet when it comes to selecting a membership plugin for WordPress.

Price: Paid plans begin at $149/year.

Get started with MemberPress today!

2. MemberMouse

MemberMouse is one of the most powerful, flexible, and scalable WordPress membership plugins on the market today. It comes with many advanced features that are designed to help you grow your business. Plus, it’s easy to use and has great support.

Features:

• Dynamic Content Protection with SmartTagsTM
• Create 1-Click Purchase Links
• Offer Free and Paid Memberships & Trials
• Automatic Overdue Payment Handling
• Advanced Membership Metrics Reporting Suite
• Integrates with key payment gateways, email tools, and Zapier
• And much more!

MemberMouse is a powerful membership plugin that’s loaded with features. It’s perfect for businesses that are serious about growth.

Price: The Basic Plan starts at $199.50 per year, the Plus Plan starts at $299.50 per year, and the Pro Plan starts at $399.50 per year.

Get started with MemberMouse today!

3. LearnDash

LearnDash is another popular membership plugin that you can choose. This is a learning management system (LMS) plugin specializing in creating online courses for instructional purposes.

That makes it the perfect membership plugin if you want to create an educational component to your online community.

Features

• Create and promote online courses easily
• “Drip-release” content to keep students motivated and excited
• Add notifications to keep students and teachers informed
• Include forums to encourage students to engage
• Track progress with powerful analytics dashboards
• Integrate your favorite marketing tools for faster promotion

If you’re thinking about starting an online course, LearnDash might just be the solution you’ve been looking for.

Price: Paid plans start at $159/year.

Get started with LearnDash today!

4. WooCommerce Memberships

WooCommerce Memberships is an excellent option if you’re already using (or considering) WooCommerce for your online store. If you do use WooCommerce, then you have this membership plugin ready to go.

This plugin is easy to install and, as you’d imagine, syncs seamlessly with your WooCommerce content and products.

Features

• Sell or assign memberships
• Restrict or grant access to premium content
• Provide better shipping options to members
• Promote memberships with special discounts and coupons
• Communicate more easily with your members
• Offer multiple memberships for companies or groups

Again, if you already have an active WooCommerce store, then this plugin is likely your best option for integrating membership functionalities to your site.

Price: This plugin costs $199/year.

Get started with WooCommerce Memberships today!

5. Wishlist Member

Wishlist Member is a highly flexible, versatile, and powerful membership plugin. You can build an entire membership community and protect your exclusive content.

If you’re looking for an all-inclusive membership plugin, Wishlist Member is worth checking out.

Features

• Customize your membership areas exactly how you’d like
• Create tiered membership levels to provide users with more options
• Make triggers to deliver content based on user behavior
• Archive old or outdated content
• Give users a “sneak peak” to build excitement for product or course launches
• Integrate with your favorite marketing tools and payment gateways
• Offer free trials to attract more users
• And much more

Wishlist Member is a fantastic option for anyone looking to create a membership site with WordPress.

Price: Paid plans start at $149/year (Starter) and $249.50 (Advanced).

Get started with Wishlist Member today!

6. Restrict Content Pro

Restrict Content Pro is a powerful yet lightweight membership plugin for WordPress. As the name suggests, this plugin restricts exclusive content on your site for members only.

Features

• Easy to set up
• Offer discount codes to encourage signups
• Integrate with your favorite marketing tools and payment gateways
• Gather data and display them with powerful analytics reports
• Manage users directly from your WordPress dashboard
• Create multiple tiers for membership options

Restrict Content Pro is a straightforward, easy-to-use membership plugin for WordPress.

If you need something to restrict content without all the bells and whistles other plugins offer, this might be the right choice for you.

Price: Paid plans start at $99/year.

Get started with Restrict Content Pro today! 

7. Paid Membership Pro

Paid Membership Pro is one of the most robust and complete membership plugins for WordPress. It has tons of advanced features, gives you total control over your membership program, and is easy to install.

Paid Membership Pro also provides a list of other sites that have used the plugin. That way, you can see what this plugin can do before purchasing it for your website.

Features

• Restrict content for exclusive members
• “Drip content” to keep users more engaged
• Personalize content for members
• Create multi-tiered membership programs
• Integrate with your favorite marketing tools and payment gateways
• Set up recurring and automatic payments
• And much more…

If you’re looking for an advanced membership plugin, this can be an excellent place to start.

Get started with Paid Membership Pro today!

8. s2Member

S2Member is a free membership plugin for WordPress that has more advanced features with a paid plan. Still, if you need a quick, easy, and free solution to start, S2Member is a great option to have.

Features

• Integrate with PayPal (more options with paid plans)
• Assign user roles and tasks
• Restrict exclusive content for members
• Protect video and audio content
• Customize memberships area with your brand
• And much more

Again, S2Member is a simple and straightforward membership plugin that you can use to create your site. Plus, it has a free version that you can use to kick things off.

Price: Though there is a free version available, paid plans begin at $89/year.

Get started with S2Member today!

9. aMember Pro

aMember Pro is a user-friendly membership plugin that you can start using to build your membership site. It comes ready to use and is loaded with advanced features to give you total control over your site’s functionality.

Features

• Integrate with marketing tools and payment gateways
• Translate into multiple languages
• Secure your membership site and user data
• Support clients with an integrated help desk
• Install the plugin for free (white-glove service)

aMember Pro is a good option if you’re looking for an extensive membership plugin. Plus, the aMember Pro team will install the plugin to your site for free, providing added support.

Price: Pricing is unclear from their website, though it looks to be roughly $150/year.

Get started with aMember Pro today!

Which Is the BEST Membership Plugin?

So far, we’ve covered some of the best membership plugins for WordPress. But now you may want to know, out of all those options, which one is the BEST.

We’re confident that if you want to build a membership website with WordPress, MemberPress is your best option.

Not only does MemberPress offer all the advanced functionality your membership site will need, but it also comes at an affordable cost. This makes it powerful enough for large businesses, but affordable enough for small businesses.

But remember, once your membership site is up and running, you still need to get people to sign up. For that, you’ll need a social proof tool like TrustPulse.

And that’s it! These have been the best membership plugins for WordPress.

We hope you found this article helpful. If you did, we think you’d also be interested in the following:

• 18 Best WordPress eCommerce Plugins to Build & Grow Your Business
• 9 Best Google Analytics Plugins for WordPress (Compared)
• 6 Proof Alternatives to Boost Your Credibility (& ROI)

These articles will have all the tools you need to take your membership website to the next level.

Want an instant boost in conversions of up to 15%? Sign up for your risk-free TrustPulse account today!