8 Best WordPress Membership Plugins for 2023

Choosing the right WordPress membership plugin is crucial for building a successful membership site. With numerous options available, it’s essential to evaluate the features, ease of use, and customization capabilities of each plugin.

In this article, we will review some of the best WordPress membership plugins, including MemberPress, Ultimate Member, Wishlist Member, MemberMouse, LearnDash, Restrict Content Pro, WP-Members, and ARMember. By examining their key features, strengths, and limitations, you’ll gain valuable insights to make an informed decision that aligns with your membership site goals.

1. MemberPress

MemberPress is an all-in-one WordPress login-based plugin designed to streamline the process of building fully-featured membership sites. With MemberPress, you have the ability to create unlimited customizable memberships, providing a flexible structure for your site’s user base.

The plugin integrates seamlessly with other popular WordPress plugins like bbPress, fostering user interaction and creating a vibrant online community within your membership site. By leveraging the power of bbPress, you can facilitate forum discussions, engage your members, and promote collaboration.

One of the standout features of MemberPress is its ability to organize members into groups and control upgrade paths. This allows you to manage different membership tiers and provide exclusive content or benefits to specific groups. Additionally, the plugin enables you to create dynamic pricing pages, giving you the flexibility to offer varied membership options to your audience.

MemberPress provides comprehensive control over coupons and payments, offering support for popular payment processing options such as PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.net. This ensures that you can seamlessly handle the financial aspect of your membership site. Furthermore, the plugin integrates with email marketing services like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, GetResponse, and Easy Affiliate, enabling you to leverage email campaigns and maximize member engagement.

Key Features of MemberPress:

1. Unlimited customizable memberships.
2. Integration with plugins like bbPress for community building.
3. Group management and upgrade path control.
4. Dynamic pricing pages for flexible membership options.
5. Payment processing support for PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.net.

Use Cases for MemberPress:

1. Building an exclusive online community with interactive forums using bbPress integration.
2. Creating a multi-tiered membership site with different access levels and benefits for each group.
3. Offering online courses with structured content release and learning management features.
4. Monetizing premium content by restricting access to members-only.
5. Implementing a subscription-based model for digital products or services.

MemberPress Pricing:

• Basic: $179.50 per year
• Plus: $299.50 per year
• Pro: $399.50 per year

Get started with MemberPress today and unlock the full potential of your WordPress membership site!

2. Ultimate Member

Ultimate Member is the leading user profile and membership plugin for WordPress, providing a seamless solution for user registration, profile creation, and community building. With Ultimate Member, you can enhance your website by adding beautiful and customizable user profiles, making it an excellent choice for creating advanced online communities and membership sites.

One of the standout features of Ultimate Member is its ability to create front-end user profiles, allowing users to easily sign up and become members of your website. The plugin offers a drag-and-drop form builder, conditional logic for form fields, and customizable form fields, providing flexibility in capturing user information and tailoring registration forms to your specific requirements.

Ultimate Member extends the core functionality of WordPress by enabling front-end user login, ensuring a seamless user experience. Additionally, the plugin offers features like custom user roles, member directories, and user emails, empowering you to create a comprehensive user management system for your website.

The plugin’s content restriction functionality allows you to restrict access to specific content, granting exclusive privileges to your members. Furthermore, Ultimate Member integrates seamlessly with popular plugins like bbPress, allowing you to showcase author posts and comments on user profiles, fostering community engagement and interaction.

Key Features of Ultimate Member:

1. Front-end user profiles and registration.
2. Customizable form fields with conditional logic.
3. Front-end user login for a seamless user experience.
4. Content restriction to provide exclusive access to members.
5. Integration with popular plugins like bbPress for enhanced community engagement.

Use Cases for Ultimate Member:

1. Building advanced online communities with rich user profiles and interactive forums using bbPress integration.
2. Creating membership sites with custom registration forms and access restriction to exclusive content.
3. Enhancing user profiles for websites that require comprehensive user management and interaction.
4. Integrating job boards or forums with user profiles to create a holistic community platform.
5. Enabling social features like user following, private messaging, and user reviews on your website.

Ultimate Member Pricing:

Ultimate Member offers a range of paid extensions that can be purchased individually or as part of an All Access Pass, providing flexibility based on your specific needs.

Explore the possibilities with Ultimate Member and empower your WordPress website with advanced user profile and membership functionality!

3. Wishlist Member

Wishlist Member is an all-in-one WordPress membership plugin that offers a comprehensive solution for building membership sites. With Wishlist Member, you can create unlimited membership levels and customize your site to fit your specific needs.

Key Features of Wishlist Member:

1. All-In-One Solution: Get unlimited membership levels and members with every Wishlist Member site.
2. Easy Payment Setup: Integrate with your preferred payment processor and offer free trials, recurring payments, and one-time payments.
3. Unmatched Flexibility: Connect with any WordPress theme and configure unlimited membership levels and permissions.
4. Dedicated Support: Benefit from a robust FAQ, knowledge base, video tutorials, and a dedicated support team.
5. Favorite Integrations: Extend the functionality of your membership site with popular integrations like Zapier, WooCommerce, and email service providers.

Wishlist Member provides a beginner-friendly experience with a simple getting started wizard and step-by-step video tutorials. You can set up your site quickly and easily, protecting member-only content with just a few clicks.

Use Cases for Wishlist Member:

1. Building a membership site with various membership levels and access restrictions.
2. Offering premium content and gated sections to members only.
3. Creating drip-fed content to deliver courses or exclusive materials gradually.
4. Setting up a pay-per-post model, allowing members to pay for specific content.
5. Integrating with existing tools like payment providers, autoresponders, and CRM systems for a seamless workflow.

Wishlist Member offers two pricing plans:

• Starter: $149.50 per year for use on one site, unlimited members, unlimited membership levels, and standard email support.
• Advanced: $249.50 per year for use on up to 10 sites, priority email support, and additional benefits like free access to OptinMonster, OptinMonster University, and TrustPulse.

4. MemberMouse

MemberMouse is a powerful, flexible, and scalable membership plugin for WordPress. It offers advanced features for content protection, product selling, and revenue optimization.

Key Features of MemberMouse:

1. Dynamic Content Protection: Use MemberMouse SmartTags to display personalized content based on member attributes.
2. Advanced Reporting Suite: Keep track of important business metrics like customer value, retention rates, and member engagement.
3. 1-Click Purchase Links: Create upsells and cross-sells for members to purchase with a single click, without re-entering payment information.
4. Free & Paid Memberships: Attract new users with both free and paid membership options.
5. Overdue Payment Handling: MemberMouse automatically handles overdue payments to ensure a smooth revenue flow.

While MemberMouse offers fewer design options compared to other plugins, it compensates with its built-in push notifications and handling of overdue payments.

Use Cases for MemberMouse:

1. Building membership sites with personalized and dynamic content for different member segments.
2. Selling products and upsells with easy 1-click purchase options.
3. Offering both free and paid membership levels to attract and engage users.
4. Automating content distribution and archiving to enhance member experience.
5. Utilizing push notifications for effective member communication and engagement.

MemberMouse pricing:

MemberMouse pricing starts with the Basic Plan at $199.50 per year, which includes core features and unlimited members. The Plus Plan at $299.50 per year offers additional benefits, while the Pro Plan at $399.50 per year provides advanced features and priority support.

Both Wishlist Member and MemberMouse offer powerful solutions for creating and managing membership sites on WordPress. Choose the plugin that best fits your specific requirements and take your membership site to the next level.

5. MagicMembers

MagicMembers is a well-established WordPress membership plugin that has been serving over 90,000 sites for more than 10 years. With its reasonable pricing and continuous maintenance, MagicMembers offers a reliable and accessible solution for building membership sites.

Key Features of MagicMembers:

1. Payment Gateway and Autoresponder Integrations: Seamlessly integrate with popular payment gateways and autoresponders to handle membership payments and communication.
2. Custom Widgets: Add custom widgets to your site to enhance the membership experience and provide additional functionality.
3. Scheduled Content Delivery: Control when and how your content is released to members by scheduling its availability.
4. Controlled and Partial Content Display: Restrict access to specific content or display only a portion of it, offering different levels of membership access.
5. Pay-per-view or Post Access: Sell individual courses or products as pay-per-view or grant access to specific posts for a fee.

MagicMembers Use Cases:

1. Online Course Platform: Create a membership site with MagicMembers to offer online courses and monetize your expertise.
2. Exclusive Content Access: Restrict premium content and offer exclusive access to members, providing added value to your audience.
3. Pay-per-View Videos: Utilize MagicMembers’ pay-per-view feature to sell access to video content on your site.
4. Membership Community: Build a thriving membership community where members can interact, share insights, and network.
5. Product Selling Platform: Use MagicMembers to sell digital products, downloads, or subscriptions, maximizing revenue opportunities.

Pricing:

MagicMembers provides three pricing options: Single ($97 one-time payment), 3-Site ($197 one-time payment), and Unlimited ($207 one-time payment).

6. Restrict Content Pro

Restrict Content Pro is a powerful WordPress membership plugin that gives you full control over content access on your site. Whether you want to create a full-fledged membership site with multiple levels or simply restrict access to specific pages or posts, Restrict Content Pro offers the flexibility to cater to your needs.

Key Features of Restrict Content Pro:

1. Membership Levels: Create unlimited membership levels or subscription packages with different access permissions and pricing options.
2. Auto-Created Member Pages: Automatically generate essential member pages like registration, success, account, edit profile, and update billing card.
3. Payment Gateways: Accept payments using popular payment gateways like Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.net, Braintree, or create custom payment options.
4. Upgrade/Downgrade Membership: Allow members to switch between membership levels easily, with prorated payments for upgrades or downgrades.
5. Member Management: Easily manage your members, track their memberships, and provide self-service options for account management.

Use Cases for Restrict Content Pro:

1. Build a subscription-based website offering premium content, granting access to paid members only.
2. Create a members-only forum or community where discussions and resources are limited to registered users.
3. Develop a job board or listing site with restricted access to job postings for paying subscribers.
4. Offer online coaching or consulting services with exclusive content accessible to clients only.
5. Create a digital library or resource center with restricted access to specific user roles or membership levels.

Restrict Content Pro Pricing:

Restrict Content Pro offers different pricing options based on the number of sites you want to use it on: Personal ($99/year for 1 site), Plus ($149/year for 5 sites), and Professional ($249/year for unlimited sites). The Professional plan includes additional features like discount codes, detailed reporting, and email customization.

Both MagicMembers and Restrict Content Pro provide robust solutions for creating and managing membership sites on WordPress. Choose the plugin that aligns with your specific requirements and start building your thriving membership community.

7. WP-Members

WP-Members is a popular membership plugin for WordPress that offers content restriction, custom registration, and more. It provides a simple yet flexible solution for creating membership sites without the need for extensive technical knowledge.

Key Features of WP-Members:

1. Content Restriction: Restrict or hide posts, pages, and custom post types, allowing access only to registered users.
2. User Registration: Seamlessly integrate user login, registration, and profile functionalities into your theme with custom fields.
3. Easy Configuration: Simple installation and setup process with customizable options for creating membership levels and user access.
4. Form Builder: Build material-style forms for user registration, login, profile editing, and password management.
5. Extensibility: Benefit from a library of API functions and over 120 action and filter hooks for advanced customizations.

Details of WP-Members:

WP-Members simplifies the process of building a membership site by providing a user-friendly interface and straightforward configuration options. It allows you to restrict content, create custom registration and profile fields, and notify the admin about new user registrations. With shortcodes, you can easily implement login, registration, and content restriction functionality throughout your site.

Use Cases for WP-Members:

1. Create a membership site where specific posts, pages, or custom content can only be accessed by registered users.
2. Build a community or forum with restricted access, allowing only registered members to participate in discussions.
3. Develop a paid subscription service offering premium content, courses, or digital downloads.
4. Create a private members-only area on your website for exclusive content, resources, or support materials.
5. Establish a user database by collecting user information through custom registration fields for targeted marketing or communication.

Pricing:

WP-Members is a free WordPress membership plugin. While the base plugin is free to use, there are premium extensions available for purchase individually or as part of the Pro Bundle. The Pro Bundle provides access to all premium extensions and includes priority support. Pricing for the Pro Bundle can be found on the WP-Members website.

8. ARMember

ARMember is a highly rated membership plugin for WordPress that offers an extensive range of features with a modern user interface. It provides a comprehensive solution for building fully functional membership sites, complete with advanced membership management and flexible form builder capabilities.

Key Features of ARMember:

1. Membership Management: Easily manage unlimited membership levels, including free and paid memberships, with trial periods and recurring payments.
2. Advanced Form Builder: Create stylish and spam-free registration, login, profile editing, and password management forms using a drag-and-drop interface.
3. Content Restriction: Restrict access to posts, pages, and custom content on your site, ensuring that only registered members can view them.
4. Integration Options: Seamlessly integrate with popular email marketing services, social logins, and other plugins like BuddyPress and bbPress.
5. Drip Content: Schedule and deliver content to members gradually over time, providing a structured learning or subscription experience.

ARMember aims to simplify the process of building and managing membership sites. It offers an intuitive user interface for membership setup, advanced form building capabilities, and built-in anti-spam mechanisms. The plugin allows you to configure various membership features such as trial periods, recurring payments, multiple memberships subscriptions, and user profile customization.

ARMember provides extensive integration options, including social logins with platforms like Facebook and Twitter, email marketing software integrations, and compatibility with popular page builders like Elementor and Cornerstone. It also offers features like user directories, badges and achievements, invoicing and sales tax management, and support for various payment gateways.

Use Cases for ARMember:

1. Build a subscription-based platform for online training services, offering various plans and step-by-step sessions.
2. Create a membership community or forum where members can access exclusive content and interact with like-minded individuals.
3. Develop an online fitness or wellness platform with membership levels for personalized training, yoga classes, or diet plans.
4. Establish an OTT (over-the-top) platform for delivering television, movie, or video content based on user subscriptions.
5. Launch a coaching or training membership site, providing access to online classes, tutorials, and live seminars.

Pricing:

ARMember offers a free version with limited features. To access all the premium features and addons, there are different pricing plans available on their website. The pricing structure includes options for single-site licenses, multiple-site licenses, and a developer license. Additionally, they offer various addons for specific functionalities, allowing users to customize their ARMember experience based on their needs.

What’s My Choice?

After reviewing several WordPress membership plugins, it can be overwhelming to decide which one is the best fit for your specific needs. To simplify the selection process, we have analyzed some of the top plugins in the market, including MemberPress, Ultimate Member, Wishlist Member, MemberMouse, LearnDash, Restrict Content Pro, WP-Members, and ARMember. Let’s take a closer look at these plugins and their key features to help you make an informed choice.

Review Analysis:

MemberPress is a powerful WordPress membership plugin that offers a comprehensive set of features for creating and managing membership sites. It provides robust content restriction, payment integration, and membership management functionalities. With its intuitive interface and extensive customization options, MemberPress is suitable for both beginners and advanced users.

Why I Choose This?

MemberPress stands out for its user-friendly interface, making it easy to set up and configure membership sites. It offers a seamless integration with popular payment gateways, allowing you to monetize your content effectively. The plugin also provides advanced features such as drip content, coupon management, and affiliate program integration, giving you the flexibility to create diverse membership offerings.

Best 3 Features:

1. Robust content restriction options, allowing precise control over access to posts, pages, and custom content.
2. Seamless integration with popular payment gateways, making it easy to manage subscription payments.
3. Advanced features like drip content, coupon management, and affiliate program integration for flexible membership offerings.

Please note that the above analysis is based on general observations and may vary depending on specific requirements and preferences. It is recommended to explore each plugin in detail and consider your specific needs before making a final decision.

Conclusion

Selecting the best WordPress membership plugin requires careful consideration of your specific requirements. Each plugin reviewed in this article offers unique features and functionalities that cater to different membership site needs. Whether you prioritize content restriction, payment integration, customization options, or ease of use, there is a plugin suitable for you. Evaluate the pros and cons of each plugin, assess how well they align with your membership site objectives, and choose the one that provides the right balance of features and user-friendliness. With the right WordPress membership plugin, you can create a seamless and engaging membership experience for your users.