Memberful vs Supporting Cast (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Memberful grades higher than Supporting Cast: 2.0 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Memberful grades higher on the free plan and platforms. Supporting Cast grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Memberful
Membership platform for paid newsletters, podcasts and communities
Free trial · from $49/mo
Supporting Cast
Podcast subscriptions delivered through listeners' own apps
Paid
Which one is for you
Pick Memberful if
- Fits if you run a paid newsletter or podcast on your own website
- Works for WordPress sites that need a members-only paywall with Discord or Discourse access
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you're small, as $49 a month comes before the 4.9% cut and Stripe's fee
- Not for you if you want upsells, order bumps or affiliates, which aren't in the listing
- Watch out: a Stripe account is required, and billing starts the day you connect it and go live
- Tight if you need volume pricing or migration help, which only the custom-priced Enterprise plan offers
- Not for you if you want a phone or desktop app, as only the web is listed
Pick Supporting Cast if
- Fits if you make a podcast and want paid feeds in Apple Podcasts or Spotify-style apps
- Makes sense if you already have a host and want to keep it
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a price up front, because none is published and you request a demo
- Tight if you want to try it first, as no free plan or trial is listed
- Watch out: subscriber support is handled by Supporting Cast only if the publisher wants that
- Too light for anything but podcasts, as it is built for audio shows
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAMemberfulFair | 1.6GPASupporting CastWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$49 a month plus Memberful's 4.9% of every charge, $49 more on $1,000, comes to $98 a month, with Stripe's fee on top (not counted). That's in this category's dearest tenth, about level with Patreon's 10%. | CNo price is published and the site sends you to a demo. C is where no price is published. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but test mode is free for as long as you like: you can build everything, and billing starts only when you connect Stripe and go live. | FNothing free is listed: no plan and no trial, only a request for a demo. |
| Features | CMemberships of every shape, paywalls, a website and newsletter builder, Discord and Discourse access, email sync, referrals and global tax collection. It does the membership job fully, but it's a smaller job: no upsells, order bumps or affiliates in the listing. | CPrivate feeds in existing apps, membership setups, branding, piracy protection, reporting and promo codes. It does that one job fully, which is a smaller job than a general store. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record. You'll connect Stripe, set up plans and either build a site or wire it into WordPress before members can join. | CNo store rating on record, and getting started means a demo and setting up membership tiers and feeds. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with Stripe, WordPress, Discord, Discourse, Mailchimp, Kit, ActiveCampaign and Google Analytics. No phone or desktop app is listed. | CWeb setup, with listener access through their existing podcast apps and three listed integrations. No other apps are listed. |
| Best for | paid memberships on your own website | paid podcast feeds that work in listeners' own apps |
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: Memberful and Supporting Cast. How we grade
Where they differ
- Memberful also covers online courses, community and digital downloads.
- Supporting Cast also covers reports.
In commonWebPaid newsletters
At a glance
| Memberful | Supporting Cast | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | $49 per month | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free in test mode for as long as you like; billing starts when you connect Stripe and go live | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Memberful LLC | Supporting Cast |
| Price read from | memberful.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Memberful
- Memberful takes 4.9% of every successful charge on top of the $49 monthly fee, and Stripe adds its own fee, typically 2.9% + $0.30.
- A Stripe account is required: Stripe processes the payments and transfers the money to your own bank account.
- There is one self-serve plan; volume pricing and migration help are only on the custom Enterprise plan.
Supporting Cast
- No prices are published; the site directs visitors to request a demo, so pricing is recorded as unverified.
- The site says the platform can host premium content, or publishers can keep their current host.
- The site says it is part of Graham Holdings and that subscribers can take their card relationships and data if they leave.
- Support for subscribers is handled by Supporting Cast only if the publisher wants that.
Key features
Memberful
- Flexible memberships
- Weekly, monthly or annual subscriptions, one-time payments, group plans, gifts, free and paid trials, free registration and pay-what-you-want pricing.
- Content behind a paywall
- Gate newsletters, podcasts, courses, downloads and community access, with dynamic paywalls and integrated comments.
- Website and newsletter builder
- Build a site and landing pages on a custom domain with your own theme, or protect members-only content on a WordPress site.
- Community integrations
- Paid members are invited to a Discord server or Discourse forum and lose access automatically when their subscription ends.
- Email list sync
- Keeps members in sync with Mailchimp, Kit, ActiveCampaign, Klaviyo, MailerLite, Campaign Monitor, Drip or Sailthru, segmented by plan.
- Retention and growth tools
- Coupons, a built-in referral program, automated retention discounts, cancellation surveys, global tax collection and growth reports.
Supporting Cast
- Private feeds in existing apps
- Listeners subscribe in two taps and use their current podcast app, with Apple Pay and Google Pay for mobile payments.
- Flexible membership setups
- Single shows or multi-show bundles, monthly or annual pricing, tiered benefits, pay-what-you-want and one-time payments.
- Branding and site integration
- Branded landing pages, no Supporting Cast logo in the member experience, a WordPress plugin and an API.
- Piracy protection
- Sharing thresholds flag members for review or disable access automatically.
- Reporting
- Growth, revenue and engagement reports, with CSV export or a data pipeline.
- Promo codes and localized currencies
- Promo codes and discounts, localized currencies, bulk user invites and single sign-on with two-factor authentication.
Plans
Memberful
Standard$49
per month
Everything Memberful offers, unlimited members. Memberful also takes a 4.9% transaction fee on each successful charge, plus Stripe's processing fee.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom volume-based pricing, premium services and success management, and custom migration and implementation support.
Supporting Cast
Pricing could not be confirmed. See supportingcast.fm.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Memberful or Supporting Cast?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Memberful starts at $49 per month, and Supporting Cast has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Memberful or Supporting Cast?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Memberful nor Supporting Cast has a free plan. Memberful has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.