WishList Member vs MemberPress vs SureMembers – Pick the best one for your membership website

Do you want to monetize your WordPress website?

One of the best ways to do that is by creating a membership site.

It’s a scalable business model that can bring you recurring income month after month.

When it comes to membership creation with WordPress, two plugins usually stand out from the crowd, WishList Member and MemberPress.

But in this case, we’ll add another opponent to the contest. SureMembers.

Do you want to know which one is the best?

Come along with us in this detailed comparison: WishList Member vs MemberPress vs SureMembers.

Let’s get started!

What types of websites can you create with a membership plugin?

There are many options when it comes to creating a membership website.

Let’s see this with some examples:

• Private Community: Communities are one of the most challenging memberships to create and maintain, but one of the most rewarding.
  You can build it around a forum and/or include other channels like Slack or Discord. Nomad List is a good example.

• Online School / Academy: The most classic membership example is to protect exclusive content behind a paywall. E.g. Videoschool.
• Alternative – Ad-free content: Many people don’t like advertising so if you don’t want to create exclusive content, give your members access to ad-free content.

• VIP eCommerce: You can create an online store where paying members have access to free shipping or exclusive products.
  Amazon is the best example of this. It offers exclusive discounts, free shipping and numerous other benefits for its Prime members.

Those are just three classic membership site examples, but you can add more, or even combine them to create the membership site you want.

PRO TIP:

When planning your membership benefits, divide them into different tiers with different prices and features. This way you’ll be able to satisfy the needs of different types of customers and hopefully increase profits.

DIY membership website vs. membership platforms

When it comes to creating a private membership site, you’ll have the option to build your own or use a cloud-based platform such as Teachable.

Cloud-based tools are very focused only on the creation of online courses and charge transaction fees unless you sign up for a paid plan.

These fees can range from $40 to $100+ per month.

You don’t have full control over your website or your content either.

We think it’s better to build your own website and use a plugin like the ones we will compare here.

To get everything up and running you will need:

• Web hosting. Our recommendation is SiteGround.
• A domain name. You can buy a name at SiteGround too.
• WordPress (free) You can create a WordPress website in less than 60 minutes.
• A good template. The free version of Astra is enough but you can also use the Pro version.
• A membership plugin. By the end of this guide, you will be able to decide which one to choose

You might also need video hosting if you want to share content in that format.

But this is totally optional, since your membership can be based on a community, discounts on a VIP store, written content, technical support or something else entirely.

Of course there are plenty of other addons you can use on your membership website to take it to the next level.

And they don’t have to be paid ones either!

If you want to make your membership website look more professional, use Spectra. It has all the tools you need to create amazing pages.

You’ll have more freedom to create the membership you or your client needs, allowing you to reach more customers and earn more money by offering more services, such as a more exclusive design.

WishList Member rundown (developer: WishList Products)

WishList Member is a WordPress plugin that simplifies the selling of digital products, online courses and memberships.

It’s a veteran tool, powering more than 16,000 sites and it doesn’t look like it’s going to stop.

It has a roadmap so you can see everything they have under development or planned for the future.

Pros of WishList Member:

• Extensive knowledge base full of video tutorials. Those are also included in the initial setup wizard.
• Direct integration with 50+ payment gateways, email providers and other services (including Zapier).
• It’s very easy to manage content restriction of specific items, as the plugin displays direct options on pages and articles.

Cons of WishList Member:

• The licenses are costly. The most expensive is capped to 5 sites.
• The back-end design looks a bit old-fashioned. It even has an animation while loading the option panels.
• The front-end checkout doesn’t look modern either which could impact conversions.

What makes WishList Member stand out:

• Actions feature lets you create simple automations inside WordPress using membership levels as triggers.
• Content archiving keeps subscribers active by archiving content, granting exclusive access only to those who were members prior to the archive date.
• Email broadcast so you can easily send emails and engage with your members without having to use an external email marketing provider.

MemberPress rundown (developer: Caseproof)

Caseproof has provided WordPress users with plugins to drive their online business for almost two decades.

Some solutions include Pretty Links (link cloaking and redirection) and Easy Affiliate (for creating and managing affiliate programs).

But the real showstopper is MemberPress.

It’s an all-in-one plugin that can protect WordPress content and organize it into lessons and courses, manage users and memberships levels.

It can also handle payments thanks to integrations with Stripe or PayPal.

Pros of MemberPress:

• Plugin with a solid track record where development is assured and there are hardly any bugs.
• All-in-one solution so you’ll only need addons for special cases, such as creating an affiliate system.
• Is a well-known plugin so there is a lot of information and tutorials available.

Cons of MemberPress:

• Lack of marketing tools such as order bumps, upsells and downsells.
• It’s difficult to create attractive checkouts to maximize sales.
• Licenses are complex to understand, and the most expensive is limited to only 5 sites.

What makes MemberPress stand out:

• The Pricing Tables Creator allows you to easily create membership levels.
• Corporate or umbrella accounts where a superuser can manage their own sub-members.
• Includes an LMS (learning management system) so you can organize the content into lessons, modules and courses.

SureMembers rundown (developer: SureCrafted)

SureMembers is a new plugin that makes it incredibly straightforward to create membership websites.

It’s part of the SureCrafted ecosystem which also includes other products such as:

• SureCart – An eCommerce platform that integrates into WordPress.
• SureTriggers – An automation tool that also works in WordPress that will allow you to connect your sites, plugins, and third-party applications.
• SureWriter – An online platform to help you write more and better thanks to AI.

Although it is the newest plugin we’re comparing in this article, SureMembers is in good hands and in good company.

Pros of SureMembers:

• Very simple to use, even if you have never used a membership plugin before.
• Customize checkout to your liking or for higher conversions.
• Easy to understand pricing. All the features are available in all the plans and the only thing that changes is the number of sites you can use it on.
• Development driven by the feedback from the huge WPCrafter community in mind after reviewing dozens of similar plugins.

Cons of SureMembers:

• The payment process is handled through WooCommerce or another plugin called SureCart (which is free and also very easy to use).
• Similarly, some integrations will rely on another plugin called SureTriggers. Although this will save you from having to install dozens of addons.
• It’s a new product, but the developers are investing heavily in products in the SureCrafted ecosystem.

What makes SureMembers stand out:

• Sales tools that can increase earnings. Like installment payments and “name your own price”.
• You can sell digital downloads, not only memberships.
• Login styler, so you can modify the appearance of the login page.

Features to consider when picking your membership plugin

Here’s a comparison of the points that we consider key when choosing a membership plugin.

• Important: Many features are closely related, but we have done our best to differentiate them so you can better understand each.

	WishList Member	MemberPress	SureMembers
Ease of use	Very difficult to master	Small learning curve	Very easy to use
Memberships	Lifetime, recurring, expiration date	Lifetime, recurring, expiration date	Lifetime and recurring
Content protection	Everything including blocks, files and sneak peeks	Everything including blocks, files and sneak peeks	Everything including blocks, files and sneak peeks
Content control	Drip content and content archiver	Drip content and expiration	Drip content management in one place
Payment gateways	Stripe, PayPal and 15 others	Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.net and offline payments	Stripe, PayPal and Wire Transfer. Mollie, Razorpay and Paystack upcoming
Integrations	Many built-in integrations with email providers and other tools	Through addons,  some of them paid	Some built-in. Many options through SureTriggers
Pricing	Starting at $299/year	Starting at $359/year	Starting at $69/year
Best for	Big companies	Online academies for companies	Freelancers, small business and agencies

Membership plan creation and management

We recommend creating different membership levels in order to reach the largest number of customers.

All these plugins offer unlimited levels so you can create as many membership tiers as you like.

Let’s see how level creation works in a little more detail.

NOTE:

Each plugin calls each plan something different. We have noted them next to each name so you can better understand the comparison.

WishList Member (Levels) – Very complex to set up properly

You’ll be able to create your membership levels from WordPress Admin Panel > WishList Member > Setup > Level.

They can be set as:

• Ongoing: Access with no expiration date unless the payment fails or gets canceled.
• Fixed Term: If you want the level to be canceled after a certain amount of time.
• Specific Date: Useful for courses, but not necessarily for memberships.

There are plenty of other settings in this section, which can be pretty overwhelming.

But this is not where you have to set what content you are protecting, or the price of the plan level.

This makes WishList even more difficult to use.

MemberPress (Memberships) – A bit simpler

In MemberPress, these levels (called memberships in this case) are created and managed from the WordPress Admin Panel > MemberPress > Memberships.

The interface is easy to understand. From here you can set the price of your membership, define its expiration date and other more advanced options.

But not as many as in WishList Member.

SureMembers (Access Groups) – The most intuitive way

In SureMembers, the different levels are known as access groups. They are created from the WordPress Admin Panel > SureMembers.

From there you’ll define the name of your level and the content that will protect.

This is much simpler to understand.

Remember that SureMembers doesn’t handle the sale That’s done through SureCart or WooCommerce.

This is an advantage, as those plugins are better designed to maximize sales.

• SureCart can recover abandoned carts, installment payments, order bumps and upsells.
• WooCommerce can be combined with CartFlows to create effective sales funnels.

This is something that can’t be easily done with the previous plugins.

Content protection capabilities

In this section you’ll see what each plugin can protect and a little bit about how they do it.

Protecting content is a step you’re likely to do on an ongoing basis, so you should get comfortable doing it.

	WishList Member	MemberPress	SureMembers
Protect full posts, pages and CPT	Yes	Yes	Yes
Lock files/downloads	Yes	Yes (addon required)	Yes
Block/partial protection	Yes	Yes	Yes
Sneak peek (intro)	Yes	Yes	Yes

WishList Member – Easy individual but unintuitive bulk protection

As WishList Member doesn’t let you decide which content to protect when creating your levels, you’ll have to do that afterwards.

This can be done individually. At the end of each post, page, or custom post type, you’ll find a WishList options box. This is where you can force the protection of that item for the level(s) of your choice.

If you want to protect content in bulk, you’ll need to go to the WordPress admin panel > WishList Member Content Protection.

From there you can decide what type of content you want to protect.

For example, a specific category, a group of articles, folders, or files.

The interface and usability of this screen seems a bit old-fashioned.

You have to select items and drop down a contextual menu to decide what to do with them.

If you want to protect partial content, WishList Member also allows this.

Either individually, block by block in each post or page:

Or globally, protecting all content after the “more” tags.

MemberPress – Powerful rules, shortcodes and blocks

MemberPress also allows you to protect posts, pages and custom post types.

You’ll do this from the rules section.

This section is a bit more complex to understand. In addition to the content to protect, you also have to set the access conditions, which don’t have to be related to a membership, but also to for example a role.

For partial protection, MemberPress offers shortcodes so you can restrict content using a page builder.

But the most convenient way of working is to use the block that locks all the child blocks you add to it.

If you use a page builder integrated into the WordPress editor such as Spectra, you’ll see it’s very easy to protect specific parts while having a spectacular design for your content.

From the general settings, you can also define whether you want to show a preview of content to unauthorized users or not.

This is something you can also modify individually for each article or page.

If you want to lock standalone files with MemberPress, you’ll need to install and configure a free addon.

You can perform advanced tasks like limiting file downloads, or adding download limits for each user.

You’ll probably need to read the official documentation to do that.

SureMembers – Easy centralized rules system and simple downloads restriction

In SureMembers, you’ll decide from the same page from which you create the access groups, the content that these groups will protect.

You don’t have to visit extra configuration pages to do it either.

• If you want to protect content in bulk, all content categorized or tagged with a specific keyword you specify.
• If you want to protect an individual article, page, or custom post type, you can also select them in this same box.

The same applies to excerpts.

You can define if you want to show excerpts to non-members and/or add a custom call to action to subscribe.

With SureMembers installed, an additional option will appear in the sidebar when you select each block so you can easily hide it.

NOTE:

SureMembers also offers shortcodes for this purpose. You’ll find them on the page where you create the access groups.

Where SureMembers really shines is when it comes to protecting files.

You will find an option to add the downloads associated with it on the access group creation page.

Adam, the blogger at WPCrafter and co-founder of SureMembers, has a detailed video tutorial about this process.

Content control

Now you know how to create the different levels of your membership and what kind of content each of them will protect.

If you run a simple membership website, that’s usually enough.

The member pays, and can then access the private content. End of story.

But if you want to create something more complex, there are some extra features to control when this content can be accessed.

Drip content is king when it comes to controlling content as it will let you open access to the different private areas little by little.

You can use drip to avoid saturating users with too much content, or to guide them to consume information in a particular order.

WishList Member – Great control, hard to configure

WishList Member has several tools to manage access to protected content across levels. Although it’s a kind of complex process to manage.

First, you need to go to the content control preferences to enable all those you want to use:

Then, go to the different pages, articles and custom post types to activate the content scheduler in each of them.

From here you can also archive content so that posts or pages are only available to users who were registered at the time of publication.

MemberPress – Powerful and simple, but arduous

MemberPress makes content management easier.

From the rules creation page you can:

• Enable the drip so that content is released X days after the user has signed up (or even from a specific date).
• Revoke access to the content following rules similar to the previous point.

Note that you can only set one content drip on this rule.

So if after the first week, you want to release other content, you would have to create yet another rule.

So on and so forth.

It’s not a complex process as with WishList Member, but it is laborious.

And it’s likely that after creating your 4th or 5th rule, you may make a mistake, as you won’t have an overview of what you are setting up!

SureMembers – The simplest way to drip content

SureMembers is the plugin that best handles content dripping. It’s really easy to understand and apply.

You’ll find the drip content box in the access group creation page.

All you need to do there is tell SureMembers what content you want to release (content labeled or categorized as X, child pages of a parent page and so on) and when.

That’s all.

You can create a long drip content structure as you’ll always have a bird’s eye view to check that everything is ok.

Payments and tax collection

In addition to protecting content, membership plugins should also handle member payments.

Although you can create free memberships, you’ll probably want to monetize them.

	WishList Member	MemberPress	SureMembers
Stripe and PayPal	Yes	Yes	Yes
Others	ThriveCart, SamCart, Clickbank, SendOwl…	Offline.Authorize.net (Pro Plan)	Wire Transfer, Mollie, Razorpay and Paystack upcoming
Taxes and VAT handling	No	Complete tax and automatic VAT  handling	Complete tax and automatic VAT handling

WishList Member – Many gateways and platforms but no tax management

WishList Member integrates with 17 payment providers.

In addition to the classic PayPal and Stripe, you’ll also find powerful solutions such as ThriveCart or SamCart.

The configuration of these gateways is quite complex.

• For Stripe, which will be one of the gateways you’ll want to use, you’ll need to add your secret keys.
• For PayPal, you’ll need the APIs of your account, and configure IPN redirects in some cases.

But the biggest drawback is that WishList Member doesn’t handle any taxes or VAT on transactions. It relegates that job to the payment providers.

MemberPress – Basic gateways and tax management

If you want to connect Stripe to your membership website in MemberPress, you just need to log in to Stripe to make the connection.

PayPal and Autorize.net still need some extra configuration.

In all MemberPress plans, you’ll find options to activate tax and EU VAT handling too.

SureMembers – Complete tax/VAT handling and more selling features

If you noticed, when configuring the different access groups in SureMembers, there is no option to configure the price.

This is because SureMembers handles payments through WooCommerce, or SureCart (free).

In both you can set up Stripe and PayPal as payment methods.

Our recommendation is that you work with SureCart, as setting up Stripe or PayPal is simple .

SureCart also takes care of VAT and taxes without having to use addons or third-party applications as in WooCommerce.

Connect SureCart and SureMembers is extremely simple.

When creating a SureCart product in the integrations section, select the membership you want to give access to with the purchase of the product and you’re done.

This is the place where you’ll also configure all your payment details such as installment plans, free trials, pay what you want and others.

Thanks to SureCart you’ll be able to create personalized checkouts, a private area for your customers, discount coupons, order bumps and much more.

We recommend taking a look at SureCart’s YouTube channel to keep up to date with all the news and learn how to use all its features.

Integrations

By integrations we mean the fact of sending and receiving information to/from these plugins with other tools and services.

Integrations are a complex point to compare.

One plugin may have many more than another, but if the one you want or need is not available, the rest won’t be relevant.

WishList Member – More than 50 built-in integrations

At this point WishList shows its strength, since along the way it has been creating new integrations with all kinds of tools.

In addition to the paid options you have just seen, you‘ll also find more than 20 integrations with email marketing providers:

There are also almost 25 integrations with other tools, such as LMS like LifterLMS, video players like Presto Player, or page builders like Elementor.

MemberPress – Some built-in and third party addons

MemberPress doesn’t have as many integrations as WishList Member, although this is not its biggest problem.

As you’ll see in more detail in the pricing section, not all integrations are available in all plans.

Since many of these integrations are done through addons, some of them must be bought independently.

This will increase the total cost of the plugin and make it difficult for you to know how much it will cost to maintain it.

SureMembers – Few built-in integrations and SureTriggers

SureMembers has some built-in integrations, especially with learning management systems such as LifterLMS or LearnDash.

But most of its integrations will rely on SureTriggers, a plugin that will let you connect your favorite apps with actions using simple “if this then that” (IFTTT) logic.

The great thing about this is that you’ll be able to integrate SureMembers with all the tools you need from a single place, without having to add more plugins or third-party addons.

Membership plugin pricing

All the plugins we have analyzed here are paid annually. You’ll have to renew them every year to continue receiving support and updates.

The easiest licenses to understand are those where the price only determines the number of sites where you can use the tool.

Unfortunately, this is only the case of SureMembers. The other two alternatives have different licenses that give you access to more or fewer features.

This can make it difficult to make a decision.

	WishList Member	MemberPress	SureMembers
All features included in all plans?	No	No	✔ Yes
Lowest tier price(Sites)	$299/year(1 site)	$359/year(1 site)	$69/year. Renews at $99/year(1 site)

IMPORTANT NOTE:

We show the normal pricing found on each plugin’s website without taking into account discounts as we don’t know how long they will last. The only exception is SureMembers, which clearly states that the discount is for the first year.

WishList Member – Difference depending on membership type

WishList Member could have significantly simplified its paid plans by offering the same features in its 3 levels. But this isn’t the case.

In addition to the number of sites where you can use this plugin (ranging from 1 to 5), there are some features that only become available from the medium plan onwards.

This difference is access to:

• CourseCure LMS, so you can easily organize your content into different course modules and lessons.
• Unlimited quizzes, badges, and points to gamify your teaching.
• A course layout to show your content in a more professional way.

So if you want an online academy-type membership, you’ll probably have to stick with the middle option.

MemberPress – Difficult to understand plans

The scenario for MemberPress pricing plans is even more complex than the previous one.

Each license will let you use the plugin from 1 to 5 sites. The problem is that the features also vary between these levels.

In the cheapest plan you have integration with Mailchimp, but not with Active Campaign or ConvertKit. These two options are email marketing providers as well, so the limitation can be a bit confusing or even unfair.

SureMembers – Straightforward pricing and more sites available

SureMembers is the only tool in this comparison that offers the same features for all its licenses.

This makes it much simpler to decide which one to use, since the only difference between them is the number of sites on which you can use it.

This is another point where the plugin wins.

• While the previous ones are limited to 5, SureMembers has a plan where you can use it on up to 10 sites.
• The medium plan allows you to use it on up to 5 sites instead of 2.

This makes it a more affordable solution to use.

WishList Member vs MemberPress vs SureMembers, who’s the winner?

As you have seen, each plugin has its advantages and disadvantages.

The comparison is very tight, and there is no clear winner, as each tool may have a key aspect that is indispensable to you.

WishList Members wins in content control and is aimed to midsize to large companies

WishList has a lot of options to set up.

You can tell it’s a plugin with a long history as it has added dozens of options over the years. Many of them are not relevant to the average user who simply wants to monetize their content.

You’ll love it if you like to dive through dozens of configuration pages or control in detail the protection of your content. The archiving feature especially, is a very powerful marketing tool.

That is why we believe that WishList Member is great for big companies with a large team able to manage both technical configuration of the plugin as well as marketing teams to take advantage of all its features.

MemberPress wins in flexibility, and can be great for professional online academies

MemberPress is not as complex to use as WishList Member. It is still a bit far from being the ideal solution to set up your first membership website.

It’s true that it’s an all-in-one solution. But that makes some important parts, such as marketing and sales a bit weak in terms of tools to sell more. It lacks order bump or cross-selling tools for example.

That’s why this plugin is also a good solution for medium-sized companies that can compensate for this with a marketing team.

Thanks to its integrated LMS, its advanced reporting tools and its umbrella accounts, MemberPress could be also the ideal tool to sell the membership creation service to companies that need these solutions.

SureMembers wins for simplicity and licensing and is ideal for agencies freelancers and small businesses

If there is one thing SureMembers really stands out, it’s its simplicity.

If you work as a freelancer or with a small team, you probably already know that resources can be very limited.

SureMembers is the most affordable plugin and offers the most seats in its highest-tier plan. So it’s ideal if you want to create many projects, either for yourself or for your agency’s clients.

Wrapping up

Simplicity is something you should always look for when choosing a working tool.

It’s essential if you don’t want to get frustrated and spend time navigating through pages of documentation and contacting technical support.

A membership plugin with many more options may not necessarily be better for your situation, especially if you’re not going to take advantage of those features.

Which of these three options do you like the most? What are you missing in each of them?

Let us know in the comments below.