Memberstack vs Paid Memberships Pro (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Paid Memberships Pro grades higher than Memberstack: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Memberstack grades higher on value for money and ease of use. Paid Memberships Pro grades higher on the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Memberstack
Logins, payments and gated content for Webflow sites
Paid Memberships Pro
Open-source WordPress membership plugin with managed hosting
Which one is for you
Pick Memberstack if
- Fits if you build on Webflow and want logins and gated pages
- Works for a small paid community under 1,000 members
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you sell a lot: 4%, 2% or 0.9% transaction fees apply on lower tiers on top of Stripe's
- Tight if you grow: Basic stops at 1,000 members
- Skip it if you are not on Webflow or Stripe, as the page is framed around them
- Watch out: the $399 Established plan is the way to remove the fee entirely
Pick Paid Memberships Pro if
- Fits if you run WordPress and want paid membership with free software
- Works for developers who will add the add-ons they need
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't want WordPress, because it only runs there
- Tight if you stay free: no license key, no support and no premium add-ons
- Pricey if you want managed hosting: that starts on Max at $99 a month
- Watch out: Max plans are billed per server, and Standard covers one site with no hosting
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAMemberstackFair | 2.4GPAPaid Memberships ProFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B$25 a month billed yearly is inside the cheapest quarter of courses and communities tools ($29), plus a 4% transaction fee on top of Stripe's fees. | CThe core is free but needs your own WordPress hosting, so it counts as a middle price. Standard is $49 a month and Max $99. |
| Free plan and trial | CAn unlimited free trial: you can try every feature and pay once you launch and accept members. No free plan beyond that. | BSelf-host the core plugin with 25 free add-ons and payment gateways at no cost. There is no support and no premium add-ons. |
| Features | CLogins, Stripe payments, content gating, member data and branded email. The page frames the product around Webflow and Stripe. | BRestricting content, payment gateways and many add-ons, with managed hosting on Max. Nothing in the listing is missing from the job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You wire logins and gating into your own site. | DIt runs only on WordPress, which you host, unless you pay for Max managed hosting. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with Webflow and Stripe as the named connections. | BWeb only, with Stripe, PayPal, Paystack and CCBill gateways. |
| Best for | logins and payments on a Webflow site | a free membership plugin for WordPress |
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: Memberstack and Paid Memberships Pro. How we grade
Price against what you get
Memberstack starts at $25 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Paid Memberships Pro starts at $49 a month and scores 2.3.
Paid Memberships Pro scores higher, and starts $24 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other course and community platforms on the chart, 7 score higher than Memberstack for less, and 7 score higher than Paid Memberships Pro for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Paid Memberships Pro is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Memberstack also covers marketing automation, no-code and email campaigns.
- Paid Memberships Pro also covers templates and paid newsletters.
At a glance
| Memberstack | Paid Memberships Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $25 per month, billed yearly ($29 billed monthly), plus a 4% transaction fee | $49 per month for Standard (self-hosted), or a free self-hosted core |
| Free plan | None | Self-host the open-source PMPro platform with the core plugin, 25 free add-ons and payment gateways; no support or premium add-ons. |
| Free trial | Unlimited free trial: try every feature, and pay only once you launch and accept members. | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Memberstack Inc. | Paid Memberships Pro |
| Price read from | memberstack.com | paidmembershipspro.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Memberstack
- The pricing page frames the product around Webflow sites and Stripe payments.
- Transaction fees of 4%, 2% or 0.9% apply on lower tiers, on top of Stripe's fees.
- Tiers are set by member count, with the cheapest plan stopping at 1,000 members.
Paid Memberships Pro
- It runs only on WordPress; Free has no license key or support.
- Standard covers one site and does not include hosting.
- Max plans are billed per server, with the vendor saying a 100-day money-back guarantee applies.
Key features
Memberstack
- Member logins
- Email, social, passwordless and custom SSO sign-in, listed on every plan.
- Stripe payments
- Subscriptions, one-time payments and trials through Stripe, with the processing fee paid on top of the plan.
- Content gating
- Make pages members-only without writing code, based on a member's plan or role.
- Member data
- Profiles, roles and custom fields stored per member, working as a lightweight member CRM.
- Branded email
- Branded transactional emails and email campaigns are listed on every plan.
- Same features, falling fee
- The vendor says every tier has the same features; the transaction fee drops as the tier rises.
Paid Memberships Pro
- Restrict content
- Limit pages and posts to members by level, with registration, subscriptions and member emails built in.
- Payment gateways
- Gateways listed include Stripe, PayPal, Paystack, CCBill and manual payment.
- Add-ons
- 25 free add-ons come with the free plugin and 54 premium add-ons come with paid plans.
- Managed hosting on Max
- Max plans run on a dedicated server with caching, daily backups, a CDN and free migration from other platforms.
- Do It For Me credits
- Max includes 25 credits every month for custom code, add-on setup and design changes, which the vendor quotes per request.
- Use cases
- Pages cover courses, paid newsletters, private video, podcasts, member directories and communities.
Plans
Memberstack
Basic$25
per month for up to 1,000 members, billed yearly ($29 billed monthly)
4% transaction fee plus standard Stripe fees.
Professional$39
per month for up to 5,000 members, billed yearly ($49 billed monthly)
2% transaction fee plus standard Stripe fees.
Business$79
per month for 10,000+ members, billed yearly ($99 billed monthly)
0.9% transaction fee plus standard Stripe fees.
Established$399
per month for 10,000+ members, billed yearly ($499 billed monthly)
No transaction fee, only standard Stripe processing fees.
Paid Memberships Pro
Free$0
Open-source core plugin and 25 free add-ons that you host yourself, without support.
Standard$49
per month, billed monthly ($499 billed yearly)
1-site license with all 54 premium add-ons and support; you host the site.
Max$99
per month, billed monthly ($999 billed yearly)
Managed hosting, free migration and 25 credits a month; the page crosses out a normal price of $149.
Max 2x$299
per month, billed monthly ($2,999 billed yearly)
Twice the server and 50 credits a month, for busier sites.
Ways to pay less
Memberstack
- Annual discount
Save 20% with yearly billing
The pricing page shows each plan about 20% cheaper when billed yearly, for example $79 against $99 a month on Business.
Paid Memberships Pro
- Annual discount
Pay annually, save about 2 months
The pricing page lists yearly totals of $499 for Standard, $999 for Max and $2,999 for Max 2x against monthly plans of $49, $99 and $299.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Memberstack or Paid Memberships Pro?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Memberstack is cheaper to start with: $25 a month, against $49 a month for Paid Memberships Pro. Memberstack starts at $25 per month, billed yearly ($29 billed monthly), plus a 4% transaction fee, and Paid Memberships Pro starts at $49 per month for Standard (self-hosted), or a free self-hosted core.
Which has a free plan, Memberstack or Paid Memberships Pro?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Paid Memberships Pro has a free plan. Memberstack does not, though it 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.