vs

A MemberPress alternative that runs the site for you.

MemberPress is a WordPress plugin you install on a site you host and maintain. PaywallProject builds, hosts, and runs your WordPress news site, with the paywall built in and no revenue share.

Feature
Starting price with a paywall
$299/moCommunity plan
$349.50/yrGrowth, first year; then $699/yr
What your price is based on
The plan you pick
A yearly license; no transaction fee on Growth
Revenue share on subscriptions
None
NoneOn Growth; Launch adds 4.9%
Built on WordPress
Yes
YesA plugin for your WordPress site
Who runs the website day to day
We doHosting, updates, security, paywall
You doYou pick the host; maintenance is extra
Public notices, obituaries, and e‑edition
IncludedNoticePress, ObitPress, FlipPress
Not listed
Support from real people
YesEmail; Slack from $599/mo
YesPriority support tickets on Growth

Choose MemberPress if

  • You already run your own WordPress site and want a membership plugin you host and control yourself.
  • You sell courses, coaching, or an online community alongside your memberships.
  • You would rather pay a yearly license than a monthly plan. Growth is $349.50 for the first year, then $699 a year, with no transaction fee, and takes Stripe, PayPal, Square, and offline payments.

Choose PaywallProject if

  • You want a paywall, newsletter, and hosting from $299 a month, with no revenue share.
  • You would rather hand off the tech entirely and have us run the site.
  • You want public notices, obituaries, or an e-edition built in.

Questions publishers ask

Which costs less, MemberPress or PaywallProject?

MemberPress costs less up front. Its Growth plan is $349.50 for the first year, then $699 a year, with no transaction fee, and it takes Stripe, PayPal, Square, and offline payments. Its Launch plan is cheaper, at $199.50 for the first year and then $399 a year, but it takes Stripe only and adds a 4.9% fee on each charge. You also pay for hosting, and for upkeep if you don’t do it yourself. MemberPress sells maintenance plans from $49 a month. PaywallProject’s Community plan is $299 a month with no revenue share, and it includes hosting and a team that runs your site. Payment processing fees, such as Stripe’s, apply on both.

Does MemberPress work for a news site?

Yes, it can. MemberPress locks posts, pages, categories, and tags, and its PayWall setting lets visitors read a set number of protected pages free before they’re asked to sign up. It’s built as an all-in-one plugin for memberships, courses, coaching, and communities. PaywallProject is built for local news. AdsGlue, FlipPress, NoticePress, and ObitPress are included from Community up. LocalCalendar, ReadAloud, and FastPass come with Daily and Regional.

Who owns my subscriber data?

You do, on both. MemberPress stores its data in your own WordPress database, and you can export your members and subscriptions as CSV files. With PaywallProject, payments go straight to your own Stripe account, your subscribers live in your WordPress site, and you can export them at any time.

Can I move from MemberPress to PaywallProject?

Yes. Our team handles the move for you. We bring your members over and create their subscriptions in Stripe going forward, so renewals keep running. At the same time, we cancel the old subscriptions that MemberPress runs, so nobody is charged twice. Members who pay through PayPal or another gateway instead of Stripe will add a card when we move them. MemberPress runs on WordPress, so your stories stay in WordPress too.

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Prices are taken from MemberPress’s public pricing page and may change. Its first-year prices are introductory, and renewals are at full price. Payment processing fees (such as Stripe’s) apply on both platforms. “Not listed” means the feature isn’t shown on that company’s pricing page.Last updated October 2026Compare all platforms