Easy Digital Downloads vs MemberPress
We give Easy Digital Downloads a 2.2 GPA and MemberPress a 1.8, out of 4.0. Easy Digital Downloads grades higher on the free plan. MemberPress grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Easy Digital Downloads
WordPress plugin for selling digital downloads from your own site
MemberPress
WordPress plugin for paid memberships, courses and communities
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAEasy Digital DownloadsFair | 1.8GPAMemberPressWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CThe free Lite plugin adds a 3% fee to Stripe sales: $30 on $1,000, plus the cost of hosting WordPress, which isn't on record. Extended at $399 a year drops the fee. Software that's free only if you host it yourself counts as a C here. | CLaunch is $399 a year at renewal plus 4.9% of every payment, about $131 a month at $2,000 of sales. Growth drops the fee: $699 a year at renewal, about $58 a month ($349.50 in the first year). The middle of this category, with hosting on top. |
| Free plan and trial | BLite is free on WordPress.org with unlimited products and transactions, so you can run a real store on it. Not an A: it needs a WordPress site on a paid host, and subscriptions and discount codes need a pass. | FNothing free: no free version and no trial in the listing. You buy a yearly license to see it. |
| Features | CStore, cart and checkout, then subscriptions, content restriction, license keys, a multi-vendor marketplace and cart recovery on paid passes. A broad kit, but it needs a WordPress site to be useful, and much of it sits on Professional at $599 a year. | CPaywall rules, memberships, a course builder, quizzes and certificates on Growth, ClubSuite forums and a member directory, and CoachKit coaching. A broad kit, but it needs a WordPress site to be useful, and Zapier and the API wait for Scale. |
| Ease of use | DNo rating on record. You host it yourself: a WordPress site you run, or a WordPress.com business plan, plus yearly licence renewals to keep support and updates. | CNo rating on record. You need WordPress on a host before anything else, then content rules and memberships to set up, so it takes some learning. |
| Platforms and integrations | BRuns in the browser inside WordPress, with Stripe, PayPal, Square, Authorize.net, Zapier, Mailchimp and Elementor, and an API on Professional. No phone or desktop app is listed. | BRuns in the browser inside WordPress, with Stripe, PayPal, Square, Authorize.net, Zapier, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign and Kit. The REST API and webhooks are on Scale. |
| Best for | selling files from your own WordPress site | paid memberships on your own WordPress site |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Easy Digital Downloads and MemberPress. How we grade
Where they differ
- Easy Digital Downloads starts at $199 per year at renewal, after a first year for $99.50. MemberPress starts at $399 per year at renewal, after a first year for $199.50.
- Easy Digital Downloads has a free plan. MemberPress does not.
- Easy Digital Downloads also covers online store and digital downloads.
- MemberPress also covers online courses and community.
At a glance
| Easy Digital Downloads | MemberPress | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $199 per year at renewal, after a first year for $99.50 | $399 per year at renewal, after a first year for $199.50 |
| Free plan | The Lite plugin is free on WordPress.org with unlimited products and transactions and Stripe and PayPal checkout; Stripe sales carry an extra 3% fee in the free version. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Sandhills Development, LLC | Caseproof, LLC |
| Price read from | easydigitaldownloads.com | memberpress.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Easy Digital Downloads
- WordPress site owners who want to sell files from their own site
- Plugin and theme makers who need license keys and updates
- Sellers who want no platform fee once on a paid pass
MemberPress
- Site owners who want to sell memberships on their own WordPress site
- Paywalled content, courses and coaching under one login
- Builders who want to own their member data and pick their own host
Worth knowing
Easy Digital Downloads
- It needs a WordPress site you run yourself, or a WordPress.com business plan, which allows third-party plugins.
- First-year prices are introductory: passes renew at full price, from $199 a year for Personal.
- The free version and the Personal pass do not include no-platform-fees; EDD's blog puts the free version's Stripe fee at 3%.
- Licenses renew yearly; cancelling ends support and updates, and you lose your locked-in price.
MemberPress
- MemberPress needs a WordPress site. Each plan covers one site activation, staging sites included; up to 15 more are sold as separate yearly subscriptions.
- Launch takes 4.9% of every payment and accepts Stripe only; Growth and Scale drop the fee, though Stripe or PayPal charges still apply.
- First-year prices are half the list price, and every plan renews at full price: $399, $699 or $999 a year.
- Forums, coaching and quizzes start on Growth; Zapier, the REST API and webhooks, and affiliates need Scale.
Key features
Easy Digital Downloads
- Store on your own WordPress site
- Unlimited products, a cart and checkout inside WordPress, with full ownership of your store data and Elementor checkout templates.
- Payments
- Stripe, PayPal and Square in the free plugin, Apple Pay listed on every paid pass, and Authorize.net and 2Checkout from Extended up.
- Subscriptions and memberships
- Recurring payments with free trials and setup fees on paid passes, plus content restriction for members from Extended up.
- Software licensing
- Issue license keys and deliver updates for plugins, themes and other software, on Professional and All Access.
- Marketplace and commissions
- Run a multi-vendor marketplace and pay commissions to sellers, on Professional and All Access.
- Marketing tools
- Discount codes, abandoned cart recovery, cross-sells and upsells, AI product recommendations and syncing with Mailchimp, ConvertKit and others.
MemberPress
- Paywall and content rules
- Smart Rules protect pages, posts, custom post types, categories, tags, files or parts of a page by membership; dripping content on a schedule needs Growth.
- Memberships and checkout
- Unlimited one-time and recurring memberships with upgrades, downgrades and pausing, coupons, a multi-item cart and a self-serve member dashboard.
- Courses and quizzes
- A drag-and-drop curriculum builder for unlimited courses and lessons; quizzes, assignments and certificates come with Growth.
- AI Course Generator
- Describe a course and AI drafts the sections, lessons and quiz questions, using a yearly allowance of AI credits that grows with the plan.
- ClubSuite community
- Forums and private groups called Circles, member profiles and a searchable directory on Growth, with direct messaging added on Scale.
- CoachKit coaching
- Run coaching programs with unlimited coaches, clients and cohorts, milestone and habit tracking, and dashboards for coaches and clients.
Plans
Easy Digital Downloads
Lite$0
Free plugin from WordPress.org that you run on your own WordPress site. EDD adds a 3% fee to each Stripe transaction in the free version.
Personal$199
per year at renewal, after a first year for $99.50
1 site, subscriptions and free trials, discount codes, EU VAT, AI recommendations and cart recovery. Platform fees are not waived on this pass.
Extended$399
per year at renewal, after a first year for $199.50
1 site, no platform fees, Authorize.net and 2Checkout, multi-currency, content restriction, bundles, reviews and Zapier.
Professional$599
per year at renewal, after a first year for $299.50
2 sites, adds software licensing and API, a multi-vendor marketplace with commissions, shipping, post-purchase funnels and premium support.
All Access$999
per year at renewal, after a first year for $499.50
3 sites, every extension, including loyalty rewards, fraud prevention, advanced reports and bulk discount codes.
MemberPress
Launch$399
per year at renewal, after a first year for $199.50
$199.50 the first year. One site, unlimited members and courses, Stripe only, 25,000 AI credits. MemberPress takes a 4.9% fee on each payment.
Growth$699
per year at renewal, after a first year for $349.50
$349.50 the first year. No transaction fee, PayPal and Square, forums and member directory, CoachKit, quizzes, certificates, dripping, 50,000 AI credits.
Scale$999
per year at renewal, after a first year for $499.50
$499.50 the first year. REST API and webhooks, Zapier, Easy Affiliate, direct messaging, gradebook, corporate accounts, Authorize.net, 100,000 AI credits.
Ways to pay less
Easy Digital Downloads
- Other savings
Half price in the first year
EDD's pricing page shows introductory first-year prices of half the regular rate, from $99.50 for Personal; renewals are at full price.
MemberPress
- Other savings
Half price for the first year
The pricing page sells the first year of Launch at $199.50, Growth at $349.50 and Scale at $499.50; renewals are at the full $399, $699 and $999.
- Nonprofit
Introductory price for life for nonprofits
Qualifying nonprofits keep the introductory price at every renewal, which MemberPress describes as up to 50% off all plan levels.
