11 best membership site platforms for creators in (2024)

Are you looking for the best membership site platform but not sure where to start?

We have everything you want to know!

Membership sites are incredibly popular thanks to their huge revenue potential. It’s a billion dollar industry and is still growing.

Whether you want to boost an existing membership business or start one from scratch, this article will help you choose the right membership site software for your needs.

Top 11 Membership Site Platforms in 2024

Choosing the right membership website platform can be challenging for your project. Here are our top picked membership platforms of 2024 summarized in a table for you.

Let’s look at them in a little more detail.

1. SureMembers

SureMembers comes first on our list of the best membership site platforms.

Features

• Flexible user group management
• Reports and analytics showing membership status and performance
• Seamlessly integrate with hundreds of third-party tools
• Ability to restrict content and downloads
• Enables multiple payment methods and easy subscription handling with SureCart
• Fully automate your membership site by integrating with SureTriggers
• Offers excellent support for video-centric membership sites through its integration with Presto Player

Pros & cons

Cost: SureMembers offers three annual plans: Pro ($99/yr), Business ($199/yr), and Agency ($299/yr). You can save up to 50% in the first year.

Our opinion

SureMembers is one of the most powerful all-in-one membership plugins for WordPress.

You could be an agency, blogger, podcaster, influencer, eCommerce guru or anyone who wants to build an engaging community.

SureMembers is a simple-to-use membership software that allows you to configure multi level memberships in just a few clicks. You can specify how content can be accessed by members or groups based on your preferences.

There are a range of membership features available with this plugin, including a flexible content restriction option, drip content, customized checkout process, user-friendly interface, and a variety of other features.

With the drip content feature, you can release content on a predefined schedule.

For instance, you can deliver content to members when you want, after signups or distribute it over a certain time period.

It is up to you whether to restrict posts, eBooks, audio files or sell membership video lessons to paid members or allow free or partial access.

In addition to content, SureMembers can hide and show menu items to eligible members depending on the settings you configure. Additionally, you can create different membership levels and groups following your user base.

SureMembers integrates seamlessly with SureCart to add Stripe, PayPal and Mollie to your site. It means you can offer a wide range of payment methods to members.

2. AccessAlly

AccessAlly is designed for coaches, trainers and creators.

Features

• Comprehensive subscription management
• Bulk course enrollment
• Easy to receive one-off and recurring payments
• Built-in support to manage an affiliate program
• Easy member migration from other platforms and existing website
• Add a membership feature to any existing WordPress website

Pros & cons

Cost: AccessAlly offers three plans: Essentials ($82/mo), Pro ($108/mo), Community ($124/mo)

Our opinion

It’s the all-in-one WordPress plugin you need to build a course and membership business with all the bells and whistles in your WordPress site.

It’s loaded with a built-in LMS, affiliate marketing tools and tons of supportive features to teach better, sell more and engage longer.

You can also build a strong community around your business and manage it through built-in tools to keep it alive and engaging.

AccessAlly is an end-to-end membership site platform suitable for large projects with multiple requirements and high budgets.

With all the features at your disposal, the plugin has a learning curve. You may need some time to fully understand a number of modules you may never need in your business.

3. Kajabi

Creators who want a simple solution and create a membership site to publish and sell their content will like Kajabi.

Features

• Extensive community management tools
• Lots of premade templates
• Easy to use drag and drop visual builders
• Allows drip content and video hosting
• Set subscription tiers such as recurring payments, one-off payments and one-click upsells

Pros & cons

Cost: 0% transaction fee. Kajabi offers three plans: Basic ($149/mo), Growth ($199/mo), and Pro ($399/mo)

Our opinion

Kajabi is a membership and content subscription platform that anyone can use to earn from online courses, coaching, podcasts, memberships and communities.

It makes life simple for non-coders by offering a drag and drop website builder, landing page creator, several themes and comprehensive membership management tools.

You only need to select the right option and Kajab creates everything for you. For instance, when you select a membership site template, Kajab creates essential pages, opt-in forms, landing pages and course pages.

Moreover, It’s highly effective for creators who focus on video content, offering extensive features for video hosting and streaming, making it an ideal video membership site for creators looking to offer high-quality video content as part of their courses or memberships.

Its email marketing module automates most manual tasks to target the right members. Kajabi automatically tags members based on their behavior and engagement.

You can also create private communities and monetize them with recurring payments.

Features such as live calls, real-time chat, leaderboards, challenges and many more make communities more engaging.

Overall, Kajabi has a user friendly interface but an extremely feature-rich platform to help you successfully run your membership business.

4. Kartra

Kartra is a comprehensive marketing solution and membership site builder for your online business. It automates everything and makes things as simple as possible.

Features

• Comprehensive marketing and sales features for various tasks
• 500+ customizable product and content page templates
• Customizable member areas to match your brand needs
• Create a weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or annual subscriptions
• Easily add video, audio playlists or quizzes wherever you need

Pros & cons

Cost: Kartra offers four plans: Starter ($99/mo), Silver ($199/mo), Gold ($299/mo) and Platinum ($499/mo). With annual options, you can save significantly. For high volume businesses, Kartra also offers enterprise level plans.

Our opinion

You can build a multi-tier membership website, choose a membership level and share content with your customers using Kartra’s membership and community features.

Its drag and drop editor allows you to design your membership site the way you want. You can use hundreds of pre-designed templates and products to give your site a professional look.

This membership management software offers in-depth analytics, strong lead generation and marketing tools to help you strategize your business in a better way.

The platform is reasonably priced and offers several plans to suit most business needs.

5. MemberSpace

MemberSpace is another free membership site platform offering a free plan designed to cater to creators looking to quickly establish a membership area without upfront costs.

MemberSpace can work with multiple platforms including WordPress, Squarespace, Notion, Duda, Wix and Hubspot. It’s designed in a way so anyone can build a membership site.

Features

• Several conversion-boosting features are part of the platform
• Create free and paid membership tiers
• Auto recover abandoned member signup
• Auto recover failed recurring member
• Automatically handles proration billing

Pros & cons

Cost: MemberSpace offers two plans: Free (1 website), Professional Plan ($49/mo for unlimited websites)

Our Opinion

You can create a membership website or use a part of it for memberships. This plugin can do both with ease.

Using MemberSpace, you can protect your content with a paywall and only allow it to be accessed when you want. For instance, you can offer a few free videos and enable a paywall for the rest through your membership model.

Your members don’t have to leave your site for essential tasks. They can sign up, login, access and manage their membership area, all on your website.

If you already have a membership site, MemberSpace can help you import the entire membership data including billing details. It also integrates with Stripe to collect payments.

If you’re a CMS fan, MemberSpace is definitely worth trying.

6. Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks is about more than just managing memberships and it is among the best membership website builders and platforms!

It’s a way to build a highly engaged community and offer courses or resources.

Features

• Build your own branded mobile app for Android and iOS
• Offer free mobile apps on Android and iOS for members
• Notify students about a new course or a course update
• Import existing networks into Mighty Networks
• Flexible membership pricing: one-time, monthly or annual subscriptions

Pros & cons

Cost: Mighty Networks offers two plans: Community ($33/mo), Business ($99/mo). The Mighty Pro plan is customized to fit your needs.

Our opinion

Your community can have a higher rate of interaction than any other social media page which makes Mighty Networks more suitable for businesses.

What’s even better is that you can have your own branded mobile app to offer members.

You could be an educator, nutritionist, or entrepreneur with endless ideas and Mighty Networks will help you sell anything in your exclusive space, as it also offers content subscription.

It also allows you to engage with your community in several ways. This includes creating courses, forums, live events, live streaming, Q&A sessions and messaging your members.

One thing that sets Mighty Networks apart is its integration with ChatGPT. This does a number of things, including creating community names, sales pages and more.

7. Podia

Podia is a robust membership site platform that makes it easy to build a revenue-generating community.

Features

• Easy to build, customize and host your membership website
• Allow linking an existing domain to your community
• Live chat and one-to-one video sessions are possible
• Allow connecting memberships to social platforms (Facebook groups or Slack)
• Bundle different products and sell them as one

Pros & cons

Cost: Podia offers three plans: Free, Mover ($33/mo) and Shaker ($75/mo).

Our opinion

Podia is a simple, no-code membership tool suitable for all skill levels. You can effortlessly create your membership website in 10 minutes and use its drag and drop builder to shape it however you want.

It allows you to generate revenue from selling a variety of products such as memberships, online courses, webinars and digital products.

You can create free and multi-tier paid dedicated membership communities and offer your members a price plan of your choice.

Members can interact with posts, topics and comments in their feeds and use multimedia such as images, videos, and text in their discussions.

Although Podia does not offer a mobile app like Mighty Networks, it’s responsive enough to work on any device making it one of the best membership site platforms for 2024.

Podia stands out as an excellent entry-level option for those exploring free and basic membership site platforms without immediate investment. It offers a free plan that allows creators to build and customize their membership website, albeit with an 8% transaction fee on sales.

This plan is ideal for beginners who want to test the waters before fully committing financially, providing a risk-free start to building a highly engaging community.

8. Teachable

Whether a passion project or a multi-million dollar business, Teachable is suitable for all types of online course membership websites.

Features

• Multiple payment methods with an end to end payout solution
• Lots of third-party integrations available such as Zapier, MailChimp and Aweber
• AI course curriculum generator makes creators more productive
• Built-in upsell and order bump features to maximize revenue
• Built-in marketing features to promote your business

Pros & cons

Cost: Teachable offers four plans: Free, Basic ($39/mo), Pro ($119/mo) and Business ($499/mo)

Our opinion

Teachable is designed exclusively for educators looking to monetize their online courses, set up a membership and build a business from the ground up.

One of the things that attracts course creators to Teachable is the freedom to choose a medium for their course. As a course creator you will be able to sell courses in any format that you desire such as videos, audios, and PDF’s.

Although this platform is designed to sell online courses, you can benefit from several subscription features.

For instance, you can create membership subscriptions with the course bundle feature and sell them monthly or annually.

Online creators love platforms that are feature rich and make it easy to process payments. Teachable is one of them!

You can integrate a variety of third party tools and offer students multiple payment methods so they can pay you easily.

Although Teachable has no built-in community feature, you can integrate with the third-party community building platform.

Teachable also stands out in the free membership site platforms category with a free plan that supports educators just starting out. This plan makes Teachable accessible without upfront costs, allowing course creators to sell their courses and collect payments directly, though it includes a transaction fee.

It’s a great option for those new to online education, providing necessary tools and integrations to help them gradually scale their operations.

9. Thinkific

Just like Teachable, Thinkfic is designed to help you set up your membership, build courses and monetize them.

Features

• Design and customize your website and courses with a drag and drop page builder
• Create payment plans and subscriptions in a variety of ways. Even offer free trials
• Use multiple payment methods through Stripe and PayPal
• Track course progress and auto notify the students
• Drip content tools
• Create multiple membership levels

Pros & cons

Cost: Thinkfic offers four plans: Free, Basic ($36/mo), Start ($74/mo), Grow ($149/mo)

Our opinion

Thinkfic makes it easy to sell online courses, memberships and digital products.

It gives you several options for choosing the format for your course, including video, audio, PDF or webinar, making it a top membership tool.

There’s a number of interactive surveys, assignments, and quizzes your students can take to show their progress and help engagement.

The platform also provides options to ensure students watch complete videos.

You can use the mandatory video completion feature to decide what comes next. You can even disable downloads to keep students engaged on the platform.

Thinkific’s free plan offers robust features that enable creators to design, market, and sell their online courses directly to their audience. It’s a great starting point for those looking to explore the capabilities of a free membership site without any initial investment.

This plan includes basic features needed to launch a course, making it suitable for new creators who want to create and manage membership without financial pressure.

Even though Thinkfic has endless features for designing and selling your courses, it falls behind Kartra and Kajabi when it comes to marketing.

10. Uscreen

While there are many membership platforms that allow you to display video content, only a select few are dedicated to videos.

Features

• Create a Netflix-style viewing experience
• Monetize videos through rental, purchase or subscriptions
• Use premade video themes or design your own with a drag and drop builder
• Develop your own branded OTT app for iOS, Android, Roku or Apple TV
• Powerful search and discovery features to help boost views

Pros & cons

Cost: Uscreen offers three plans: Basic ($79/mo + $0.99 per subscriber/mo), Growth ($159/mo + $0.85 per subscriber/mo) and Uscreen Plus (custom quote + $0.50 per subscriber/mo)

Our opinion

Uscreen is a robust content subscription and membership platform for video and content creators that want to create a streaming service like Netflix.

If you’re a YouTuber like Mr. Beast or a yoga instructor like Adriene, Uscreen gives you fully loaded space to create, upload and sell video content however you want.

Exclusivity is the biggest advantage you can enjoy on Uscreen which is rare on crowded social networking platforms.

Instead of hopping from one social network to another, you can manage your entire video business in one place. This way you can own your audience and build your brand.

Uscreen plans include video hosting, website creation, lots of built-in tools and endless third-party integrations so you can scale your video business within your membership site.

A few interesting features we like about Uscreen are the ability to generate leads, create landing pages, build mobile and TV apps, and powerful analytics to know what’s happening on your site.

Additionally, with Uscreen, creators can design their own branded OTT apps for platforms like iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV, highlighting its prowess as a premier video membership site platform.

11. Wild Apricot

Wild Apricot is the ideal membership website software for organizations who value the simple handling of day-to-day membership tasks.

Features

• Access and manage the platform from mobile apps
• Instant payment, auto-generated invoices and receipts make life easy
• Receive donations and recurring payments on your site
• Drag and drop builder and premade themes to build a site and mobile app
• Create private or publicly accessible membership directories

Pros & cons

Cost: Wild Apricot offers seven plans: Personal ($60/mo), Group ($75/mo), Community ($140/mo), Professional ($240/mo), Network ($440/mo), Enterprise ($530/mo), Global ($900/mo)

Our opinion

The cloud-based technology Wild Apricot uses stores your membership data and makes things super convenient and secure.

Searching through a large database, automating renewals, customizing membership levels and storing data securely are some of the benefits of Wild Apricot cloud.

It provides a drag and drop builder which makes it very simple for anyone to build a mobile responsive website. Not just websites, the builder also helps you create blogs, member areas, member directories and event listings.

Additionally, you get two separate apps: one for admins to manage memberships and payments on the go. The other for members to access the site, edit profiles and register for events.

Wild Apricot also works seamlessly with existing systems. For instance, its email system can integrate with your contact list to send out emails to keep members informed.

10 Features to Look for in a Membership Website Platform

When choosing a membership site platform, there are several key features you’ll want to consider to ensure you create a robust, user-friendly, and scalable solution.

User Management

• Registration and Login: Make sure the registration and login processes are secure and easy for your members.
• Profile Management: Allow your members to update their personal information and preferences easily.
• Membership Levels: Offer multiple membership tiers, each with different access levels and benefits.
• Access Control: Restrict content and features based on membership levels to maintain exclusivity.

Content Management

• Content Delivery: Efficiently manage and deliver various types of content, whether it’s videos, articles, or podcasts.
• Content Dripping: Release content over time to keep your members engaged and coming back for more.
• Search and Filtering: Ensure your members can easily find content through search and filtering options.
• Member-Only Content: Create exclusive content that only paying members can access.

Payment Processing

• Subscription Management: Support recurring payments, trials, and different billing cycles to give your members flexibility.
• Multiple Payment Gateways: Integrate with popular payment gateways like PayPal and Stripe.
• Invoicing and Receipts: Automatically generate and send invoices and payment receipts to your members.
• Coupons and Discounts: Offer promotional codes and discounts to attract and retain members.

Community Features

• Forums and Discussion Boards: Facilitate member interaction and build a strong community.
• Social Media Integration: Enable your members to share content and activities on social media platforms.
• Private Messaging: Allow members to communicate privately with each other, enhancing community bonding.

Engagement Tools

• Email Marketing: Use integrated email marketing tools to keep in touch with your members.
• Gamification: Implement badges, points, and leaderboards to increase engagement.
• Surveys and Feedback: Collect member feedback through surveys and forms to continuously improve.

Analytics and Reporting

• Membership Statistics: Track your membership growth, retention, and churn rates to understand your community better.
• Content Performance: Analyze which content is most popular and engaging among your members.
• Revenue Tracking: Monitor your revenue, sales trends, and overall financial performance.

Security and Privacy

• Data Encryption: Ensure all member data is securely encrypted to protect their privacy.
• GDPR Compliance: Adhere to data protection regulations and privacy policies.
• Access Logs: Monitor and log access to sensitive data and content to maintain security.

Customization and Flexibility

• Customizable Design: Customize the look and feel of your site to match your brand’s identity.
• Third-Party Integrations: Integrate with other tools and services like CRM and email marketing platforms.
• API Access: Provide APIs for custom integrations and extended functionality.

Mobile Responsiveness

• Responsive Design: Ensure your site works well on all devices, including desktops, tablets, and mobiles.
• Mobile Apps: Consider offering dedicated mobile apps for an enhanced user experience.

Support and Resources

• Customer Support: Provide robust support options, such as live chat, a ticketing system, and a knowledge base.
• Documentation and Tutorials: Offer comprehensive guides and tutorials to help both admins and members navigate your platform.

Membership site platforms FAQs

What are membership platforms?

Membership platforms are online platforms and tools (plugins) you use to create a membership business. They allow you to build communities in your private space where only members can access exclusive content.

For instance an English teacher can offer free lectures on their YouTube channel but for a complete course they can ask you to join their membership site.

Whoever becomes a member can enroll in the course they want to take.

Members also get access to cool perks such as one-to-one meetings with their teacher, certificates for completing the courses or getting special treatment for being a part of the inner community.

What is the best membership platform for beginners?

We’ve listed several of the top membership site platforms for beginners in our guide. The TLDR; is we think SureMembers is the all-in-one membership site platform, but there are other options.

Its intuitive interface is easy for beginners who can set up their membership platform in just a few minutes.
An added benefit is that you have complete control over every aspect of your website.

It becomes much easier to decide when you know what kind of creator you are – a blogger, videographer or educator. It also helps if you know the amount you want to invest initially and the course you want to take.

What is the best membership platform for course creators?

We think the best membership platform for course creators is Kajabi. It’s the platform we would use to create online courses, podcasts, memberships and communities. Its drag and drop membership website builder that offers easy websites building websites for non-coders.

If you are starting out with a tight budget, Teachable and Thinkfic are worth trying. You will be able to integrate a number of external tools into these platforms. This adds more power and features to your membership site.

How do I create a subscription and membership website?

You can create a subscription and membership website once you’ve chosen the type of platform for your business.

If you’re a WordPress fan, there are many high performing multipurpose themes like Astra. You can use it to build your membership site in just a few minutes.

Astra integrates seamlessly with SureMembers, SureCart and SureTriggers – the plugins you need to run an impressive subscription site.

Final thoughts

As the social space becomes more and more crowded, creators need platforms that connect them with their true fans and help them grow a steady income.

If that sounds like something you want to create, these 11 membership site platforms are the top ones to choose from.

Some of them are WordPress solutions while others are SaaS platforms.

Whichever you choose, they can all give you a great start!

Do you have an active membership business? Would you like to start one? Ready to build a membership? We would love to hear about your experience in the comments.