Simple Membership Plugin
Simple Membership Plugin: A capable free WordPress plugin for basic free and paid memberships. Ranked #45 of 83 in Membership Site Platforms by our editors (4.9/10); pricing: Free plan; best for free WordPress sites needing basic memberships.
At a glance
- Editor score4.9 / 10
- PricingFree plan
- Best forFree WordPress sites needing basic memberships
- Free planYes
- Paid fromFree
- Facts checked20 Sep 2026
Where it wins
- Unlimited membership levels and page or post protection
- Supports one-time and recurring payments
- Includes PayPal, Stripe, and Braintree integrations
Where it doesn't
- Full-page and partial-content protection require addons
- Drip features require optional addons
- Available only for self-hosted WordPress sites
Our verdict on Simple Membership Plugin
Simple Membership Plugin is a free, self-hosted WordPress plugin for creating membership sites with free or paid access levels. It suits site owners who want to protect pages and posts, manage member accounts, and add membership workflows within an existing WordPress installation. The core feature set includes unlimited membership levels, free registration, login and profile forms, password-reset shortcodes, payment buttons, and automated signup, payment, expiry, and upgrade processes.
The pricing structure is straightforward: the core plugin is free, while optional premium addons are sold separately. Site owners configure their own membership prices, and the plugin supports both one-time and recurring payments through PayPal, Stripe, and Braintree. Its wider integration set includes WooCommerce, bbPress, MailChimp, ConvertKit, MailerLite, AWeber, and Zapier, giving WordPress sites several options for commerce, community, email, and automation workflows.
For more technical sites, the developer API supports creating, updating, querying, and logging in members. That makes the plugin suitable when membership data needs to connect with custom WordPress functionality. The main boundary is that deeper protection features are not part of the core package: full-page and partial-content protection use optional addons, and drip functionality also requires an addon. Simple Membership Plugin is a sensible choice for WordPress owners who need basic membership access and payment handling without a core software charge. Sites needing broader platform coverage or more advanced protection should consider a different fit.
Your product? Our editors can test Simple Membership Plugin in depth and publish a review, labelled as paid · from $149/mo →
Simple Membership Plugin pricing
Simple Membership Plugin fact sheet
| Free plan | Yes |
|---|---|
| Paid from | Free |
| Custom domain | Not verified |
| Content gating | Page |
| Subscription billing | Both |
| Drip content | Not verified |
| Member limit | Not verified |
| Transaction fee | Not verified |
| Deployment | Self-hosted |
| Compliance & security | 2FA |
| Support | Email, Community, Docs |
| Built for | Solo, Small business, Mid-market (editorial estimate) |
| Integrations | 10 integrations: PayPal, Stripe, Braintree, WooCommerce, bbPress, MailChimp … See all → |
| Pricing | Free plan |
| Website | simple-membership-plugin.com |
| Facts checked | 20 Sep 2026 |
Simple Membership Plugin integrations
Simple Membership Plugin lists 10 integrations on its own site.
- PayPal
- Stripe
- Braintree
- WooCommerce
- bbPress
- MailChimp
- ConvertKit
- MailerLite
- AWeber
- Zapier
See all Simple Membership Plugin integrations →
Alternatives to Simple Membership Plugin
- PatreonAn affordable way to sell memberships, content, and community access, with a 10% platform fee.9.4
- GhostA focused membership platform for paid publications, newsletters, and protected posts.9.2
- Appy Pie Membership Website BuilderA beginner-friendly way to launch a web membership site with AI and paid access.9.0
See all Simple Membership Plugin alternatives →
Used Simple Membership Plugin? Be the first to review it
The editor score above is our own research. What this page doesn't have yet is a reader's view — what you used Simple Membership Plugin for, what worked and what didn't. No stars are seeded and no review is paid for; an editor reads every one before it appears.
Write a reviewTwo minutes · verified accounts only · read by an editor before it appears
Featured on iTechGuides
Simple Membership Plugin is listed in our Membership Site Platforms directory. Add the badge to your site — it links back to this page.
<a href="https://www.itechguides.com/products/simple-membership-plugin/"><img src="https://www.itechguides.com/best/badge/simple-membership-plugin.svg" alt="Featured on iTechGuides" width="230" height="46"></a>
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.
Last updated · How we research and update