Did you know that financial analysts project the LMS (Learning Management System) industry to grow to a value of $28.1 billion by 2025?
The education industry has changed dramatically in recent years, and remote learning has become increasingly convenient, popular, and accessible.
People love online learning because you can build your knowledge in the comfort of your own home, and it can be very affordable.
Building an online membership site is an excellent business idea to gain recurring revenue for all of these reasons.
However, to develop sustainable revenues, you need the best membership site platform to create a professional and user-friendly platform for your members. We’ve reviewed 14 membership site builders to help you make the right choice.
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What Are Membership Site Platforms?
A membership site platform is a tool that allows you to build a dynamic website where you can create, promote and even sell your membership site.
Various industries and organizations use these sites to provide exclusive content to members.
With a membership site, you can accept donations, fees, and online payments from members. Furthermore, you can offer members coupons and discounts on products and services.
Membership site platforms are a type of user-friendly online website developing (and usually hosting) software. They typically provide drag-and-drop editing tools, so you don’t need coding experience to build your site. They also come with features such as:
- Customizable templates
- Professional themes
- The ability to include live webinars
- SEO tools
- Marketing tools
- Customizable landing pages
- The ability to integrate your branding
The membership builder allows you to create a professional and intuitive site from scratch according to your organization’s requirements.
How to Choose the Best Membership Platform for Your Needs
1. Consider Your Goals
To understand what online course platform is best for your needs, you must consider your goals. For example, do you want to start your own business? Do you want to merely share scheduled training material internally with a small number of staff members? Or do you want to create an exclusive subscription-based fitness program for thousands of members?
Your goals will determine which membership builder to choose because they all have various features that may or may not work for what you’re trying to achieve. The membership site you choose must have all the features and tools you need to achieve your goals which may include:
- Gated content
- Payment gateways
- Membership tiers
- Contact segmentation
Write down what you’d like to achieve, what content you’d like to share, and how much money you want to make. Then choose a membership site platform based on your requirements.
2. Site/Platform Cost
Most membership site platforms will charge you between $35 and $500 per month, depending on the size of your business and the features you need.
Make sure the membership site hosting platform you choose fits your budget, and look out for hidden setup fees or extra costs for support and additional features.
3. Will it Be Easy for Your Members to Use?
If your membership site is challenging to use or overly complicated, this will negatively impact your customer registrations.
When building your site, you must consider how easy it will be for your members to use. User experience is crucial if you want to increase your conversion rates.
Before you choose a membership site builder, try it out for free first. Then, see if you can test the site from the member’s perspective to see how easy it is to use.
When trying the system, see how many clicks and steps it takes a member to register. You want to make the process as easy as possible for your members.
15 Best Membership Site Platforms
There are over 1,000 online membership vendors online today – so many that it would be difficult and unhelpful to research and catalog every single option.
So we’ve narrowed it down to the top 14 best membership site platforms to help you make better business decisions.
In this section, we’ll discuss these platforms and their costs so you can choose the best site for your needs.
1. Kajabi
Kajabi is an elite software that allows you to sell online courses effectively. It provides many ways to monetize your courses to increase your revenue.
With Kajabi, you can create online courses, memberships, coaching, and podcasts. It also allows you to create a fully functional site that you can market and sell.
And the best part is, you don’t need coding experience because it has drag-and-drop functions.
There are three monthly plans:
- The Basic plan – $149 per month
- Permits three products, three pipelines, 1,000 memberships, and unlimited landing pages
- The Growth plan – $199 per month
- Permits 15 products, 15 pipelines, and 10,000 active memberships
- The Pro plan – $199 per month
- Permits 100 products, 100 pipelines, and 20,000 memberships
Best For:
- Creating sales funnels
- Building and selling online courses
- Developing online tutorials
- Sharing podcasts
- Creating and sharing newsletters
Pros:
- Offers a free trial
- Allows you to track your leads
- No coding needed to build your site
- Provides free downloadable Kajabi guides
- A help center to assist with creating your membership site
Cons:
- More expensive than many other options
- Limited assessment customization
2. Thinkific
Thinkific is a platform that allows you to create and sell online courses through an intuitive membership site. It’s also a powerful all-in-one platform that will enable you to market your courses to grow your audience. The site comes pre-loaded with easy-to-use tools to build your site, so you don’t need coding experience.
It’s the ideal platform to use if you’re not tech-savvy because it offers pre-made customizable templates and themes.
Thinkific offers a free plan so you can test the site before you purchase a plan with more features, and you can pick from three paid plans:
- The Basic plan is $39 per month with customizable domains and unlimited course creations.
- The Pro plan costs $79 per month and offers advanced pricing options, memberships, and bundles.
- The Premier plan costs $399 per month with unlimited growth packages and up to 50 course admins.
If you need access to more features, a Thinkific Plus option provides more features at an additional cost. You may have to ask for a quote on the extra features you want to add to your plan.
Best For:
- Small to large businesses
- Course creators
- Marketing and selling courses
Pros
- Feature-rich platform
- Affordable plans
- Easy drag-and-drop functions
- Built-in SSL certificates
- Excellent customer support
Cons
- Online security could be better
- Themes are dated
3. Kartra
Kartra is an all-in-one membership site builder, and you can create various payment tiers.
This site also allows you to add your membership site to your product cart and include it on your website.
What’s more, you can create automated SMS and e-mail campaigns and a multi-page funnel to help you convert visitors or leads into paying customers.
There are four monthly pricing plans. However, if you choose an annual payment plan, you get a 25% discount.
- The Starter plan will cost you $99 per month and allows you to build two membership sites.
- The Silver plan costs $199 per month, and you can build unlimited membership sites.
- The Gold plan is $299 per month with unlimited membership site creation.
- The Platinum plan is $499 and provides unlimited membership sites, pages, videos, products, and team members.
Only the Starter plan is limited. The others provide unlimited bandwidth, membership sites, products, and pages. The only difference is the number of leads and custom domains permitted under each.
Best For:
- Building and selling courses online
- Selling products or services online
Pros:
- Easy-to-use platform
- Powerful automation features
- Dynamic opt-in forms builder
- Video hosting with pre and post calls to action
- Customizable landing pages
Cons:
- It can be difficult for beginners to use
- The drag-and-drop function can be slow at times
4. ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels is an online tool to help you create sales funnels, high conversion sales websites, or limited membership sites. With ClickFunnels, you can build a website to generate leads or grow your e-mail list. Additionally, you can use ClickFunnels to sell and market products or services. It has a large selection of pre-made customizable designs to make the membership site-building process a breeze.
ClickFunnels offers a 14-day free trial and three plans for you to choose from:
- The starting plan is $97 per month, including 100 subpages and 20 customizable funnels.
- The Platinum plan costs $297 per month with all the benefits of the first plan, plus priority support and unlimited follow-up funnels.
- The Two Comma Club X costs $2,497 per month and offers additional training, courses, and a range of other perks.
ClickFunnels offers a One Funnel Away Platinum plan at $977 per month with no hidden fees and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Best For:
- Automating the sales process
- Marketing and selling products and services
- Creating dynamic (but limited and simplistic) membership sites
- Develop e-mail and cart marketing
- Generating leads
Pros:
- Utilizes drag-and-drop tools
- Offers one-click upsells
- Hundreds of pre-built sales funnels
- User-friendly interface
- 24/7 customer support
- Free trial available
Cons:
- Expensive monthly plans
- The cheapest plan is extremely limited
- Less dedicated to membership sites than some competitors
5. LearnWorlds
LearnWorlds is a popular all-in-one membership site creator that allows you to develop a platform to sell courses, bundles, and memberships.
You can craft learning experiences your members will enjoy with free customizable themes and interactive video learning.
You can build a high-converting membership site quickly with the LearnWorlds block-based builder.
LearnWorlds doesn’t charge transaction fees on any of its plans, and it offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. There are four monthly plans to choose from, and if you pick the annual option, you can get 20% off your purchase:
- The Starter plan costs $29 per month and offers a site builder to create three pages, unlimited paid courses, and a custom domain.
- The Pro Trainer plan costs $99 per month that provides a customizable checkout page, subscriptions, and memberships.
- The Learning Center costs $299 per month and offers bulk user actions, user segmentation, and progress reports.
- There are custom plan prices on request. With this plan, you can choose the features you want to use for your membership site.
Best For:
- Beginner online course creators that need an affordable membership builder
- Creators that want to market their online products
- Course creators that need a professional site to create, promote, and sell their courses
Pros
- Affordable plans
- No transaction fees
- Offers monthly and yearly plans
- Excellent customer support
- The ability to create mobile and tablet friendly websites
Cons
- It doesn’t allow student authentication.
- Some users have had issues with the typing feature
6. Podia
Podia is a versatile platform because you can create a membership site with courses and sell digital products. In addition, you can create professional online tutorials. There are features to help you grow your audience and turn leads into paying members.
The drag-and-drop uploader also makes it easy for you to publish your professional video content on the site.
There are multiple customizable templates and tools to help you build the best membership site for your business.
Podia offers a 14-day free trial so you can test the site to see if you want to use it as a long-term solution for your membership site.
There are three monthly plans for you to choose from:
- The Mover plan is $39 per month, with zero transaction fees and unlimited products and accounts. However, it doesn’t let you sell memberships.
- The Shaker plan is $79 per month, which lets you sell memberships and includes course certificates and Affiliate marketing.
- The Earthquaker plan is $179 per month and offers everything you need for a comprehensive membership site.
If you need additional teammates, it will cost you an extra $20 on the Mover and Shaker plans. The Earthquaker plan includes five teammates without additional costs.
Best For:
- Creating and selling online course
- Small and large training businesses
- Selling digital products
- Unlimited video hosting
Pros
- Excellent user experience
- No coding needed
- Affordable plans
- Feature-rich builder
- Free migrations
- Seven days a week available support
Cons
- Limited customization options
- No phone support
7. Simplero
Simplero is another versatile builder that allows you to create membership sites, courses, coaching services, and digital products such as e-books. With Simplero, you can create professional sites for your online membership business using customizable themes. The platform also has an intuitive landing page builder so you can turn your leads into paying members.
Simplero offers a 14-day free trial, so you can test the site before purchasing a paid plan. The company also doesn’t charge transaction fees. There are three plans for you to choose from:
- The Build plan costs $29 per month, allowing you to draft a membership site and sell products and courses.
- The Launch plan costs $99 per month, allowing you to create one membership site and unlimited courses.
- The Rule The World plan costs $149 per month, allowing you to create unlimited membership sites with subscriptions and membership badges.
Best For:
- Creators who have no coding experience
- Course creators that need more site-building features
- Entrepreneurs who need advanced marketing tools to sell their digital products
Pros
- It comes with customizable themes
- Each plan has one-on-one onboarding
- There are annual and monthly plans to choose from
- Advanced marketing automation
Cons
- Learning how to use the builder takes time.
- Some users have had issues with the automation features
8. Teachable
Teachable is used by entrepreneurs to create and sell courses online.
It’s also a way to create a platform for coaching services. With this membership site platform, you can create courses with basic quizzes and free products and integrate a student management system.
This platform has essential features such as affiliate management and a sales tracker.
You can also create a stunning Teachable sales page with a few clicks and no coding.
Teachable offers a free plan but will charge you transaction fees of $1 + 10% (per sale).
However, it comes with all the core membership site-building tools, such as course design templates and third-party integrations.
If you want access to more site-building features, there are three paid plans to choose from:
- The Basic plan is $29 per month with a 5% transaction fee. It includes course creator training.
- The Pro Plan is $99 per month and charges no transaction fees. It includes everything from the basic plan, plus advanced reports and unbranded websites.
- The Business plan is $249 per month with no transaction fees. This plan includes advanced theme customization.
Best For:
- Start-up coaches needing an affordable membership builder
- Beginner and pro course creators
- Creators to post tutorials and sell them
Pros
- No coding needed
- Intuitive membership site builder
- Includes sales tracking
- Beautifully designed themes
- Third-party tool integration
Cons
- Charges transaction fees on the free plan
- Students may experience caching and stored payment issues
9. Ontraport
Ontraport allows you to build a fully functional membership site from scratch without coding. Or you can choose to use the pre-built campaigns to get you started.
This site builder can create course overviews, lessons, credit card update information, and a thank you page. After you create your pages, you can publish them and grant members to your site.
All Ontraport plans run on a month-to-month basis and allow you to cancel your plan at any time. You can also opt for the 14-day free trial. On the other hand, there are four paid plans for you to choose from:
- The Basic plan costs $79 per month, which includes 1,000 contacts and unlimited e-mail.
- The Plus plan costs $147 per month and includes 2,500 contacts and e-commerce features.
- The Pro plan costs $297 per month and allows 10,000 contacts and e-mail delivery consulting.
- The Enterprise plan costs $497 and allows 20,000 contacts and VIP support.
There are no transaction fees on any of the plans. In addition, with the Plus, Pro, and Enterprise plan, you get multiple membership levels and features that the Basic plan doesn’t offer.
Best For
- Entrepreneurs who want to sell digital products
- Content creators who want to generate sales from their work
- Educators who wish to sell courses online
Pros
- Feature-rich site builder
- Higher paying plans offer site protection
- Free and professional landing page templates
- Offers webform templates
Cons
- The Basic plan has limited membership features
- The system can be slow at times
10. CourseCraft
CourseCraft may be an ideal platform if you want to create and sell courses online. It is already beloved by people who develop and sell tutorials on baking, sewing, making costumes and even applying makeup. You can create content to help people build their skills and knowledge and make a profit while doing it.
CourseCraft is ideal for people who’ve never built an online course or membership site before. The platform offers expert assistance from a team of professionals to guide you through the process.
CourseCraft offers a free plan but will charge you a 9% transaction fee. On the other hand, there are two paid plans with 0% transaction fees:
- Club plan for $39 per month with all the free plan features plus unlimited videos, participants, and uploads.
- Society plan for $79 per month with all the features the Club plan offers, plus managed and paid affiliates and the creation of monthly memberships.
Best For:
- Educators that want to sell video courses
- Small-to-medium-sized businesses that develop training videos
- Creators who sell tutorials
Pros:
- The ability to create free courses
- Affordable plans
- Easy and flexible editor
- Connects with PayPal or stripe
Cons:
- Charges 9% transaction fee on the free plan
- Can run slowly at times
- Membership feature is only available with Society Plan
11. Mighty Networks
With Mighty Networks, you can combine the features of your website with your memberships or the courses you’re selling. With this platform, you can build communities and a thriving membership that will generate a substantial profit for your online business.
Using this membership site builder, you can create courses and sell subscriptions, bundles, and groups under your brand. What’s more, you can build your site and monitor your progress on the go because it offers a mobile app.
Mighty Networks offers a 14-day free plan on the Community and Business plan. This free trial allows you to test the features before opting for a paid plan. After that, there are three paid plans for you to choose from:
- The Community plan costs $28 per month, offering a website, plus paid memberships and community options.
- The Business plan costs $98 per month. It offers everything from the Community plan, plus online courses and Analytics and Member Data.
- Mighty Pro has prices available on request. In addition, you get a custom app with listings in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Best For
- Beginner course creators with no coding experience
- Building your online community such as forums
- People who are looking for multiple ways to earn revenue
Pros
- Offers desktop and mobile app operation
- User-friendly site
- Offers a free 14-day trial
- No credit information is required to sign up
- Offers annual and monthly plans
Cons
- Limited options for third-party payments
- Can’t customize groups and chats
12. MemberPress
MemberPress is an all-in-one tool integration for WordPress so you can create a membership site on the WordPress platform.
With MemberPress, you can sell online courses, accept credit card payments, sell digital downloads and create gated content.
You also don’t need coding experience because MemberPress features easy digital tools so you can create comprehensive membership sites on WordPress.
MemberPress has some limited offers when you sign up for one of its plans. These may give you a discount on your purchase. There are three monthly plans for you to choose from:
- The Basic plan costs $279 for unlimited members and course creations.
- The Plus plan costs $449 with advanced marketing integrations and podcast memberships.
- The Pro plan costs $599, and you can sell corporate accounts and gifted memberships.
There are no transaction fees or monthly fees for this site. All plans offer annual pricing, and MemberPress also provides a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Best For:
- WordPress users
- Creating and selling online courses
- Developing an intuitive membership site
- Entrepreneurs
Pros:
- Offers over 2,000 integrations through Zapier
- Includes subscription billing
- User-friendly platform
- Offers developer tools
- Powers thousands of WordPress-based membership sites
Cons:
- Expensive platform
- Integrations are not part of the plug-in itself
13. Ruzuku
Ruzuku is an online platform where you can create a site to host videos, create and sell courses, and market your courses.
It allows you to develop an online business to sell your knowledge. Furthermore, it provides all the necessary site-building tools you need to create a thoroughly engaging online learning empire.
Some creators describe Ruzuku as a beginner’s platform because you can create a fully functional membership site using only drag-and-drop tools.
Ruzuku allows you to sign up for a 14-day free trial without credit card details. The site doesn’t charge transaction fees, and you can choose annual or monthly plans. There are three plans to choose from:
- The Bootstrapper plan costs $99 per month and offers basic commerce with coupons.
- The Up-and-Comer plan costs $149 a month and offers subscriptions and payment plans.
- The University plan costs $199 per month and offers a dedicated account manager.
All Ruzuku plans include unlimited students, courses, audio uploads, video uploads, and dedicated servers and backups.
Best For:
- Beginner course creators on a budget
- Start-up online learning centers that need professional tools to build a site
- Individual creators that want to sell tutorials online
Pros
- Affordable plans
- No transaction fees
- Offers dedicated servers
- Integrated e-commerce with PayPal or stripe
- Offers a free trial
Cons
- It only supports two payment processors
- Limited customization options
14. Wix
Wix is essentially a website builder and hosting system that lets you build a membership site. With Wix, you can create gated sections that only members can access. You can create a site that allows you to upload and sell courses, digital products, online services, and even physical products. To add memberships to your site, simply click on the add button on your editor and click on the Members tab to add it.
To create a membership site, you must pick either the Wix Business or Wix eCommerce plans. There are three for you to choose from:
- The Basic plan costs $17 per month and allows you to include an unlimited amount of products and an abandoned cart feature.
- The Business Unlimited costs $25 per month and allows you to upload 250 products and 10 hours of video hours.
- The Business VIP plan costs $35 per month and allows you to create subscription services and loyalty programs.
Wix doesn’t charge transaction fees. What’s more, you can have access to free tools to build a membership site, but you’ll need a paid plan if you want to include payment processing or online bookings.
Best For:
- Freelancers who want to create and sell their content online
- Course creators that need essential features to sell content
- People who want to sell digital and physical products online
Pros
- Easy platform for beginners to use
- It doesn’t charge transaction fees
- Affordable plans for start-ups
- Allows users to register with Gmail or Facebook
- Allows you to expand your site with Wix Velo
Cons
- It doesn’t support multilingual membership sites
- It can be challenging to modify subscriptions
15. Memberful
If you’re running a non-membership site, you can integrate Memberful to sell memberships for courses, online products, or coaching services.
However, you can only use the full features of Memberful as a plug-in on a WordPress website to create a secure, gated section to sell and restrict access to members-only content.
With Memberful, you can sell your content through e-mail letters and even forums. In addition, you have the option of including a Memberful code on your website so visitors can subscribe and pay without leaving the page.
Memberful offers a free plan but will charge you a 10% transaction fee. This free plan allows you to sell personal podcasts but is limited to features you might need for your membership site. To get more, you can choose between two paid plans:
- Pro plan costs $25 per month with an extra 4.9% transaction fee. With this plan, you can offer coupon codes and enable a free member tier.
- Premium plan costs $100, plus a 4.9% transaction fee. In addition, this plan allows you to create group subscriptions and include your brand logo.
Best For:
- Website owners who want to include memberships onto their sites
- Educators who intend to create online learning material
- Entrepreneurs who want to sell physical and online products
Pros:
- Offers SSL security on all plans
- No credit card is required to sign up
- Provides plenty of resource material
- Forums to share your experiences with the platform
- Excellent customer support
- You can book a demo with Memberful
Cons
- Transaction fees
- Coupons feature could be better
Bottom Line
If you’re struggling to choose the best membership site platform for your online business, read through our guide above. Then, following this comprehensive review, select a platform you can afford and offers all the online tools you need to create a thriving membership empire.
Offering a membership site on your website is one of the best ways to enhance the user experience. With the right membership site platform, you can create and sell exclusive content and build a solid community to increase engagement.
All these features have the potential to increase your lines of revenue on your website. So which one will you choose?
