MemberPress alternatives: where to go and how to switch without losing members

Why switch to Paid Memberships Pro. If your WordPress site works and only MemberPress's business model bugs you, this is the softest landing. The core plugin is free and open source, with 25 Add Ons included: membership levels, recurring billing, content restriction. The big one: there's a free toolkit built specifically to leave MemberPress. It carries over your levels, members, orders, access rules and Stripe subscriptions without a billing gap.

Who it's for. Creators, nonprofits and course sellers who already run WordPress, bill members by card through Stripe, and want to keep their pages, theme and search rankings.

Who should skip it. Anyone who wants off WordPress entirely so they stop babysitting updates, backups and caching. It's still a plugin, so site upkeep stays on you.

The catch. Without an active license, payments through Stripe Connect carry a per-transaction fee. You dodge it by plugging your own Stripe API keys into the settings. Also, the plugin left the WordPress.org directory; you download it from the vendor's site now.

Moving from MemberPress. Install the MemberPress Migration Toolkit Add On on the same site, take a full backup, then run it. Stripe subscriptions keep billing and nobody re-enters a card. PayPal and Authorize.net subscriptions don't come across: those members get an expiration date and pay again at renewal.

Why switch to Memberful. Memberful runs billing, payments and member accounts on its own servers and connects to your WordPress site with a lightweight plugin. No more cache conflicts, no update breaking checkout, no license you must renew to keep using your dashboard. And when you leave MemberPress, their team re-links your existing Stripe subscriptions for you.

Who it's for. Creators, paid newsletters and podcasters who bill through Stripe and want to spend less time on tech.

Who should skip it. Small revenue: Standard is $49 a month plus 4.9% per transaction. At $2,000 a month in sales, that's $98 in fees on top of the plan and Stripe's own cut.

The catch. You're paying a transaction fee again, much like the MemberPress Launch plan you might be running from. The upside: it's free until you start charging, so you can set everything up first.

Moving from MemberPress. Give the team 3 to 5 business days' notice. They recreate your Stripe subscriptions in Memberful and remove the old ones, which takes one to two hours. Keep MemberPress live until then and turn off its renewals only after the cutover.

Why switch to Paid Member Subscriptions. If your MemberPress bill feels out of proportion for a small site, this is the cheapest paid plugin on the list. Basic is €99 a year for one site, less than MemberPress Launch's first year and far below its $399 renewal.

Who it's for. Small gated-content sites, clubs and solo operators selling one simple monthly access level.

Who should skip it. Anyone who needs structured courses with quizzes and certificates, or a community area: you'll stack more plugins and the total climbs.

The catch. Advanced features sit on higher tiers: Pro at €169 a year for 3 sites, Agency at €299 a year for unlimited sites. List what you need (gateways, restrictions, integrations) and check which tier has it. The refund window is short: 15 days.

Moving from MemberPress. There's no dedicated MemberPress importer. Recreate your levels, then import members from the MemberPress CSV export. For active Stripe subscriptions, the safe route is to let them run to the end of their term and invite each member to resubscribe.

Why switch to Kajabi. Kajabi bundles courses, website, email, funnels and community into one hosted subscription. No plugins to update, no fights between your theme, cache and payment gateway.

Who it's for. Course creators with steady revenue who want one tool and one support desk for everything.

Who should skip it. Side projects: Basic is $179 a month ($143 billed yearly), over $1,700 a year. That's more than MemberPress Growth costs over two years.

The catch. Fees depend on how you get paid. With Kajabi Payments in the US, it's 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. With a third-party processor, Kajabi adds 2% on Basic, 1% on Growth ($249) and 0.5% on Pro ($499). Read that line before you compare.

Moving from MemberPress. No WordPress import: you rebuild courses module by module. The low-risk path is to let MemberPress subscriptions run to renewal, then have members pay on Kajabi at that point. 30-day money-back guarantee.

Why switch to Podia. Podia sells courses, downloads and memberships from a very simple dashboard, with nothing to install. The Shaker plan drops the platform fee to zero, unlike MemberPress Launch.

Who it's for. Solo creators selling a handful of products who want a clean site in a day and never want to open WordPress again.

Who should skip it. Sites built on lots of gated articles and organic traffic: you lose WordPress's flexibility and your URLs change.

The catch. Mover at $49 a month ($42 yearly) takes 5% of sales. You need Shaker, $99 a month ($84 yearly), to hit 0%. Earthquaker is $179 ($150 yearly).

Moving from MemberPress. 14-day trial, no card required: use it to rebuild your first course and import members by CSV before paying. Existing subscriptions don't transfer, so plan a resubscribe email.

Why switch to Circle. If members pay mostly to talk to you and to each other, Circle does discussions, events, courses and paid access in one hosted space. It's built around the community, where MemberPress bolts forums on through its Growth plan.

Who it's for. Coaches, cohort courses and paid communities where engagement matters more than gated articles.

Who should skip it. Content-heavy sites that live on search traffic: your posts don't move, and Circle's concierge migration list doesn't include WordPress.

The catch. Transaction fees shrink as you go up: Professional is $89 a month billed yearly with a 2% fee, Business $199 with 1%, Scale $419 with 1%.

Moving from MemberPress. 14-day trial without a card. Rebuild spaces and courses, import members, then send a resubscribe link as MemberPress renewals come due.

Why switch to Systeme.io. If you mainly use MemberPress to sell a course with a sales page and emails, Systeme.io replaces the plugin, your email tool and your page builder in one go. The free plan covers 2,000 contacts, 3 funnels and 1 course (up to 500 students), and there's no commission on sales.

Who it's for. Coaches and course sellers starting out, with little content to move, who want to stop running WordPress.

Who should skip it. Sites with lots of gated articles and fine-grained rules per category or page. That's not how it thinks.

The catch. No import from WordPress: courses and pages are rebuilt by hand. Paid plans are $17, $47 and $97 a month, with two months free on yearly billing.

Moving from MemberPress. The vendor advertises free migration help. Import members as contacts by CSV, rebuild the course, and let MemberPress subscriptions reach renewal before you send the new checkout link.

Why switch to SureMembers. SureMembers focuses on content restriction and access groups and doesn't try to be everything. Pro covers 10 sites for $149 a year, while MemberPress charges $69 a year for each extra site. For agencies, that gap is real.

Who it's for. Agencies and people running several small gated sites who already handle payments elsewhere.

Who should skip it. Anyone wanting full recurring billing, invoices and dunning in one plugin.

The catch. Renewal pricing isn't shown on the pricing page. Ask before you buy, since that's exactly what drives people away from MemberPress. A lifetime deal exists at $599.

Moving from MemberPress. No dedicated migration tool. Recreate access groups, reassign protected pages, import members, and keep your current recurring billing in place until the new forms are checked.

Why switch to Ultimate Member. Ultimate Member is for sites where members have profiles, a directory and custom signup forms. The core is free and runs on 200,000+ sites. A rare perk: stop paying and you keep your installed extensions, just without updates.

Who it's for. Associations, professional networks and clubs that need a member area with profiles more than a subscription checkout.

Who should skip it. Anyone mainly selling paid subscriptions: Stripe is a paid extension and billing isn't the core of the product.

The catch. Standard is $276 a year for one site, Pro $348 a year for two sites with the Stripe extension. No license means no security updates, so don't leave a live site without them.

Moving from MemberPress. Recreate roles and forms, import members, then add the Stripe extension. Active MemberPress subscriptions don't carry over: let them expire before offering the new checkout. 30-day guarantee.

Why switch to WooCommerce Memberships. If your site already runs WooCommerce, adding memberships to the store saves you from running two payment systems side by side. Members buy a product like any other and access follows.

Who it's for. Online stores adding a club, member-only discounts or paid content next to their products.

Who should skip it. Sites with no store: installing WooCommerce just to manage members adds weight for nothing.

The catch. Recurring billing isn't included. Memberships is $199 a year and you need WooCommerce Subscriptions at $279 a year for recurring payments: $478 a year in total, close to MemberPress Growth at renewal.

Moving from MemberPress. Rebuild levels as membership plans, tie them to subscription products, import members, and let active Stripe subscriptions run out. Our guide to leaving WooCommerce covers the other direction too.

Why switch to MemberMouse and WishList Member. Plenty of lists call them alternatives. Know this first: Caseproof, the company behind MemberPress, bought MemberMouse and WishList Member in 2023 and AccessAlly in 2024. You'd change plugins, not owners. If you're leaving over MemberPress's pricing or license policy, these three won't fix it.

Who it's for. People who need one specific feature (MemberMouse's one-page checkout flow, for example) and are fine with yearly licensing.

Who should skip it. Anyone fleeing the renewal price jump: the model is the same.

The catch. Same pricing pattern as MemberPress: MemberMouse Basic is $149.50 the first year then $299, Plus $249.50 then $499, Pro $349.50 then $699. WishList Member matches those numbers exactly, for 1, 2 or 5 sites. 14-day guarantee on both.

Moving from MemberPress. No MemberPress migration tool is promoted by the vendor: CSV export, import, then access rules by hand. With so little difference in the model, check whether moving to MemberPress Growth isn't enough.