Best Memberful Alternatives, Competitors & Similar Software (2023)
Memberful allows selling digital and physical goods. A membership site, product sales, and money collection all come together.
Memberful is a membership platform that is known for its compatibility with WordPress. Many people who create or share knowledge for a living use Memberful to distribute their work and get paid for it. Memberful can be a great way to make some money from your content.
You can upload and sell your digital products, content, and courses on Memberful. And can offer various subscription and payment options to get your interested customers to support you.
Despite its many benefits, Memberful also has some drawbacks. It provides limited functionality, customization options, and restrictive user control.
Let's look at Memberful's shortcomings to see if it's right for you.
Reasons to look for Memberful Alternatives
Here are some shortcomings to help you make an informed choice about Memberful.
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Memberful only accepts payments through stripe. This is a downside to Memberful as people get limited options to pay for your digital products, courses, etc.
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Memberful is just another tool you'll be integrating into your existing website. It is not an all-in-one solution that can save you from the hassle of using many plugins and keeping track of it.
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Memberful's analytical features are quite limited, so you won't be able to track and analyze complex activities. This can be a problem if you're trying to improve your community or test the success of certain content, product, course, etc.
Here are the Top Memberful Alternatives
Graphy Community Platform
WildApricot
Gumroad
SendOwl
Patreon
SquareSpace
Podia
Thinkific
Kajabi
Ruzuku
LearnDash
LearnWorlds
MemberPress
Kartra
Teachable
Graphy Community Platform
Graphy Community Platform is an ultimate community platform that helps you build a robust community where you can sell your courses and host live events, webinars, and live streams. It offers the best community features through which you can moderate, manage, and monetize your community all in one place - with your brand appearance, under your custom domain. Graphy Community Platform can also generate a whitelabelled mobile app and list it on the Play Store/App Store.
Features
Pros
- Available across in multiple formats & avatars; be it a web app under your domain, a native whitelabeled app on Android and iOS, integrations within your existing app or API-based integrations.
- Auto Scaling across platforms - Scenes uses powerful auto-scaling technology to keep your community blazing fast no matter how many visitors you have across all devices. They scale as you scale.
- The only platform that enables custom CSS for top to bottom granular-level user interface customization. You can make your community look close to your app/website's UI.
- A built-in coin system lets you incentivize your community members to engage more.
- Live audio-video features for your events, webinars and live classes where all your members can get notified and RSVP.
Cons
- You will lose some members during the platform migration process.
WildApricot
With WildApricot, associations and non-profit organizations can automate and simplify membership management tasks. WildApricot allows you to add, edit, manage members, and collect dues and payments.
WildApricot Features
- Member application process – WildApricot offers membership management software that can automate the application process to give your new members a great first impression.
- Events – You can create a detailed event listing with descriptions and images and get an online event registration form. You can list events in a calendar on your WildApricot site or existing website.
- Email marketing - With WildApricot, you can send prospective members announcements or offers using modern email templates that match your brand.
WildApricot Pricing
- Starts at $60/mo.
- 30-Day free trial is available.
Pros
- You can easily customize your member database with WildApricot. You can use it to keep track of all sorts of information, and it's easy to use.
- WildApricot provides up-to-date member directories. You can also store membership information in the cloud, making it accessible to your team.
- WildApricot's drag-and-drop website builder creates a website easily, sells digital products and services, and quickly gets your business online.
Cons
- WildApricot does not give you the freedom to create a website that matches your brand strategy.
- WildApricot does not provide any specific functionality for course building, so you may have difficulty formatting your courses and displaying student progress. In addition, WildApricot does not host videos or digital files.
- You can only add a certain number of members, emails, and invites unless you spend some extra money.
Gumroad
Gumroad is a digital marketplace for independent artists and creators selling digital services like books, memberships, and courses.
Gumroad Features
- Gumroad offers a robust analytics dashboard that provides you with an array of data about your sales, including - How much you've sold over the last week, month, or year.
- Your customers can enjoy full content access as long as they are subscribed. You can also create discount codes for your products.
- Gumroad offers email marketing tools that will help you send automated messages. Workflows help save time and energy, automating email campaigns and sequences after your customers purchase a product.
Gumroad Pricing
- Starts at $10/mo.
- Free version available.
Pros
- It's possible to accept any payment format, including different foreign currencies, create software licences, and sell similar products in various forms.
- It has a user-friendly interface that is simple to set up and can quickly go live with a product.
- With Gumroad, you can set up a simple storefront with a profile image of your brand - and upload some text to describe the products you'd like to sell.
Cons
- There are limited options for customization when it comes to email design, and all you can do is format the text and add a call-to-action button; that's it.
- There are no trial capabilities, A/B split testing, or other forms of payment processing.
- When you sell products on Gumroad, you'll be charged a fee for every transaction on the platform.
SendOwl
SendOwl allows creators to sell their digital products and manage the entire order and payment process, from creation to delivery. In addition, it gives businesses control over their e-commerce operations by offering features like customizable sales workflow, flexible shipping options, automated invoicing, invoice management and analytics integration.
SendOwl Features
- SendOwl provides a shopping cart processing system so that your customers can purchase and add more products to their virtual shopping carts at their own pace.
- You'll be able to reward your valued loyal customers with thoughtful perks, like giving access to a private chat room, forum, or community.
- Affiliate marketing - Ask your brand advocates to help grow your customers base by making recommendations and referrals to their friends. In return, they’ll receive rewards for being instrumental in the growth of your business.
Sendowl Pricing
- Starts at $9/mo.
- Free trial available.
Pros
- The SendOwl delivery system offers fast and safe delivery, so you don't need to worry about getting your products to your customers on time.
- You can have your extensive affiliate program to increase the sales of your recent course or any other product.
- The checkouts and email templates can be customized to match your brand.
Cons
- It takes a great deal of time to understand SendOwl's complex features and go through a learning curve.
- There is no discussion forum where your members can ask any questions on Sendowl.
- The absence of community groups on SendOwl makes your website uninteresting and reduces member engagement.
Patreon
Patreon is a membership platform that makes it easy for artists and creators to get paid. When you become a Patron, you agree to pay your monthly membership fee. In return, you'll get access to exclusive content and experiences, as well as special discounts and opportunities created just for Patrons.
Patreon Features
- You can create membership tiers and integrate Patreon with Discord and Zapier. The customization tools for your own Patreon page are good and user-friendly.
- It is easy to extract money from it via PayPal, it also allows for simple content sharing for the subscribers and the subscription tiers are easy and nice to set up.
- Patreon is to use between a consumer and seller. I can buy access to media from content creators and sell my art to a large audience.
Pros
- Offers continuous crowdfunding for creators.
- The platform facilitates reward giving.
- Fewer content restrictions than some other crowd-funders. Multiple subscription plans available.
Cons
- No built-in promotional tools.
- Some creators report issues when attempting to collect funds.
- A high volume of public complaints.
SquareSpace
Squarespace is a platform that offers you multiple tools to create and manage your website. From creating and editing content to adding products (such as ebooks, online courses), managing payments, and more, you'll be able to do it all in one place.
Squarespace Features
- Engagement Analytics - Track engagement with an activity log, form & button conversions, popular content and site search keywords.
- Social Media Links - Showcase your social media links, giving your visitors quick and easy options for following you on all major networks. Breakaway’s design builder provides a variety of styles that let you keep up a unified look across every social network.
- Squarespace’s custom WYSIWYG engine supports custom designs - so whether or not you are a professional web developer or designer, you will be able to customize your site to match your vision and make it work for your business.
Squarespace Pricing
- Starts at $19/mo.
- Free trial available.
Pros
- They have great templates, design and color palette, type family are a useful feature.
- There is no requirement of technical know-how or design skills to create a solid website. The high-quality templates, with predetermined styling, ensure that even a simple website looks clean and elegant.
- You can edit websites using your web browser without any special software. This also allows you to train my clients easily since it's drag and drop. Usability is a big plus especially with smaller clients.
Cons
- There is no autosave option after you make any changes and always asks to save it manually. No site history feature either.
- Their template score low ratings by Google’s page speed tool, which could lead to a poor user experience on smartphones and possibly harm your search engine rankings.
- It is not for larger businesses as they require customizations and functionality.
Podia
Podia is a platform that lets you build a free, no-code website and sell your online courses. With Podia, you can create a business from anywhere in the world with zero fees or start-up costs.
Podia Features
- Connect your audience and your content – You can host an online community in the same place that your audience uses your digital products.
- Community – In Podia, you can create a community that works like a forum or Slack. The design is clean, and the workflow is simple.
- Course Features – Using Podia, you can quickly create lessons and quizzes.
Podia Pricing
- Paid Plans start at $39/month.
- It has a free version.
Pros
- You can offer your audience webinars using YouTube Live and Zoom with Podia.
- If you want your website to look professional and run smoothly, you do not need to be tech-savvy or have coding knowledge.
- You can connect your payments, scheduling, and sales pages all in one place in minutes with Podia.
Cons
- Podia does not have a mobile app if you want to build courses that will be accessible on mobile for your members.
- Podia doesn't offer in-depth lesson reports if you're interested in knowing how impressive your course is. Only some basic information about student progress is provided.
- To assess your students more effectively, Podia lacks open-ended questions. The use of multiple choice questions is not suitable for all courses.
Thinkific
Thinkific is a digital course creation platform where educators can curate online courses for their students. In addition, they offer competitive LMS features that let their customers run online courses effectively.
Thinkific Features
- Assessments & Certificates - Offers comprehensive quizzes, engagement surveys, assignments, exams and certificates.
- Progress Tracking - In-depth reporting to track student progress.
- Live Lessons - Deliver lessons via live audio/video and let your students engage with you in realtime (via Zoom integration).
Thinkific Pricing
- Paid plan starts at $39/month to $399/month.
- The free plan includes access to all the core features of the platform.
Pros
- Easy-to-use UI that makes running courses on Thinkific all the more seamless.
- A very prompt support system responds to customer queries and problems and comes with an active Facebook group filled with Thinkific customers.
- You can design the access portal, the courses, and the payment methods all in one interface without needing third-party integrations.
Cons
- Not built for community engagement - in 2023, an LMS is not enough to successfully run courses. Thinkific lacks critical community features like gamification and incentive systems.
- Cannot manage multiple cohorts under the same roof - this may constrain you as your courses start scaling and diversifying.
- The pricing is slightly more expensive than alternatives and confusing for some.
Kajabi
Kajabi is a platform that enables educators to run their online courses and manage their students in one place. Moreover, Kajabi also offers a mobile app to allow your users to access courses on the go (however, it is not a native white-label app)
Kajabi Features
- No bandwidth or storage restrictions - Upload all of your videos, photos, and other files without worrying about space or bandwidth limitations.
- Fully-fledged LMS capabilities let you run your courses and manage your students seamlessly.
- Integrated checkout - Accept payments from anywhere in the world using Stripe or PayPal and give instant access to your content behind a paywall.
Kajabi Pricing
- Starting Price is $119/month.
- Kajabi offers a 14-Day free trial.
Pros
- Kajabi has rich-text and media features that let you upload all kinds of content into your online content library.
- You can track lesson progress, view grades, and get detailed analytics on how well students digest your content.
- Kajabi offers your prospective students free trials to taste your content before rolling them over to become paid customers.
Cons
- Kajabi is one of the most expensive solutions out there when it comes to LMS + community platforms.
- It lacks good customer support and offers minimal options to customize your course community.
- You have no native branded mobile app; your students will have to download the Kajabi app to access your content.
Ruzuku
Ruzuku is an online portal where students from across the globe can learn by taking courses. The website enables education institutions to upload courses, track student performance and more efficiently manage monetary transactions which lead to a highly effective student-professor interaction as well as better ranking for prestigious institutions.
Ruzuku Features
- It helps you set up and configure different types of course content- including images, videos, quizzes, lists, etc- without coding anything at all.
- Course Analytics – As an online tutor, you should be able to track your students as they progress through the courses.
- A Flexible Subscription System – You could choose to have your subscription bill coming in every month or on an annual basis.
Pros
- Students can mark each activity as “complete”, and track their own progress.
- It provides a straightforward system of setting up your online courses and configuring the accompanying options. You could, for instance, select a relevant payment framework for your students, and then determine an ideal price for each course.
- You can rely on Ruzuku to handle not only the enrolment process but also the corresponding payments. All the students will be charged accordingly based on their selections and your precise course pricing schedule.
Cons
- You cannot offer a free trial of your course.
- There is no place to promote active, continuous and open discussion. It does not have a central forum.
- Can suffer from feature bloat(result of packing too many features and functionalities into a product).
LearnDash
LearnDash is a platform for creating course websites using WordPress. In addition, LearnDash offers great LMS features for course instructors, educators, and knowledge creators.
LearnDash Features
- The drag & drop course builder helps course creators create courses easily and quickly.
- It offers gamification tools like badges and certificates - Award certificates based on quiz results and course completions.
- It has a built-in notification feature that prevents your students from missing any necessary updates.
LearnDash Pricing
- Paid plan starts at $199/year.
- No free trials available.
Pros
- The video preview feature gives students a sneak peek into video lessons and makes the course more engaging.
- It offers a flexible quiz builder that makes creating QnAs easy.
- Provides gamification tools that help in engaging your members in your courses.
Cons
- Its URL structure is highly complicated, making SEO difficult. There is no way to shorten it.
- It takes some time to get used to all the new features. The learning curve is steep.
- It runs only on WordPress, which means you'll need to know all WordPress functionalities.
LearnWorlds
LearnWorlds is a learning management system that lets course creators create online courses. Using LearnWorlds, you can create student communities and sell online courses.
LearnWorlds Features
- Offers gamification tools such as badges so that you can acknowledge efforts & promote good behaviour.
- In-built shop for highlighting the details of your courses and selling them all in one place.
- A broad range of assessment tools to help the educator & the students measure the learning progress.
LearnWorlds Pricing
- Paid plan starts at $24/month (billed annually).
- LearnWorlds offers a free 30-day trial.
Pros
- You can create student communities in LearnWorlds so that your members can share their experiences, ideas, and learnings.
- Students can interact with your course content through LearnWorlds' course builder and enjoy a blissful learning experience.
- LearnWorld's live online classes encourage your students to have interactive sessions and discussions among each other.
Cons
- LearnWorld's interface is difficult to understand, and there are no tutorials that can help you get started.
- Regarding email management and funnel-building tools, LearnWorlds does not offer as many options.
- In LearnWorld, users complain that many features do not work when courses are published, making the learning experience less seamless.
- With LearnWorlds, you need too many integrations and more management, distracting you from your business activities.
MemberPress
MemberPress is the easiest and most powerful WordPress membership plugin available today. It lets you quickly and easily set up a membership website, sell access to premium content or files, charge recurring fees, and so much more. And it's all included right in your WordPress dashboard!
MemberPress Features
- Power of WordPress - MemberPress’ paywall feature is a built-in WordPress capability that gives you extraordinary power over what content or products you wish to make available behind your paywall.
- MemberPress is a wordpress forum plugin that allows you to easily build password protected forums with the same quality software and support as WordPress.
- MemberPress is great at giving you control over what content you’re users can see. You can decide and customize who can access your site based on content restrictions set within MemberPress and fine-tune your WordPress site in so many different ways.
Pros
- The access restrictions is a great feature, wherein you can select any content that you want to block.
- It is flexible in deep integration with WordPress. It makes it very easy to brand and pull into their API to meet your needs.
- Its 2-in-1 feature of Course and Membership plugin for WordPress is convenient for setting up course sites.
Cons
- Expensive, no Lifetime Option.
- Interface is not the friendliest.
- Integrations should be built inside the plugin.
Kartra
Kartra is a simple and easy-to-use cloud-based expense management software. It allows you to keep an eye on your employees' expenses even if they are out of the office or traveling. Karta gives you real time insight into how much your employees spend, where they spend, what categories of expenses they are making and how their spending compares with other employees in the company.
Kartra Features
- The Kartra API allows you to integrate your own custom back-end code with your Kartra account.
- Currently, Kartra Calendars can be synced with Google Calendars.
- Taking payments on your behalf with Kartra Checkouts is made easier with transaction processing providers. PayPal, Authorize.net, Stripe and Braintree are all integrations they offer.
Pros
- You can manage your leads, do email marketing, capture leads, automate and you only pay for one platform and everything is concentrated there.
- Extremely easy to setup your entirely business and starting list and nurture your leads. Great graphics and video trainings.
- dashboard is set up for ease of use and the analytics provide valuable feedback so one can adjust their marketing strategy accordingly based on facts.
Cons
- There are times when data import takes longer than expected, and the configuration screen isn't as effective as you might think. However, after a while you get used to it and it works very well.
- If there is a problem with membership or drip content, the customer has to restart from scratch and there is no solution from customer support
- This appears to be the only downfall, since Kartra and Webinarjam are brothers, but the integration is poor.
Teachable
Teachable is a popular online course platform that allows anyone to create, host and sell their pre-recorded online courses. So if you have your videos recorded & ready, you can create an online course within half an hour without being tech-savvy.
Teachable Features
- Drag and drop builder - Building courses on Teachable can get slightly confusing if you try to do it all yourself. But thankfully, if you follow their tutorials, it becomes easy.
- Quizzes - You can add multiple choice questions alongside (or after) your lectures - this helps your students assess their learning progress.
- Promotional offers - You can create coupon codes. This is a good way to run discounts and increase sales on your courses.
Teachable Pricing
- Paid plan starts at $39/month.
- Teachable has free trial.
Pros
- Teachable is affordable even on the paid plans, making it accessible to everyone.
- Teachable is easy to start with - it best suits beginners to advanced-level users.
- You can sell a variety of add-ons alongside courses like ebooks and services and even set up workshops and conferences.
Cons
- Pay-out options are a problem for customers from outside of the USA.
- Teachable doesn't include email marketing, community management, or landing page software.
- Teachable does not offer gamification or live learning which can make your courses boring and not up to the mark, as per 2023 standards (where cohort-based courses are the norm).
Disclaimer: To curate the pros, cons and reviews - we mine the internet for customer references regarding the said software. Some of our sources include Reddit, Product Hunt, Twitter & Quora (and sites like G2 & Capterra).
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