Membership and Community Platforms
Recurring paid access to a community, a discussion feed, and often a course library bundled together and billed monthly instead of sold as a one-off. Fee structures range from a flat subscription with no cut of your revenue to a percentage of every member payment, which matters more as a community grows past a few hundred paying members.
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Chat and voice platform used by course creators for gated communities, live Q&A, and paid membership tiers.
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A stripped-down community and course platform built by Sam Ovens, founder of Consulting.com, that leans on gamification, points, levels, and leaderboards, to keep members active. It runs two plans, Hobby at $9 a month with a 10% transaction fee and Pro at $99 a month with a 2.9% fee, both with identical features otherwise.
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Newsletter platform for paid subscriptions, private discussion threads, and member-only podcasts for writers and educators.
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The membership platform most independent creators default to for recurring fan support, structured around monthly tiers rather than courses. New creators pay a standard 10% platform fee as of August 2025, on top of roughly 2.9% plus 30 cents in card processing, while creators who joined earlier may still sit on older 5% to 12% legacy plans.
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A community and course platform founded in 2020 by Sid Yadav, Rudy Santino, and Andrew Guttormsen, three former Teachable employees, built to combine discussion spaces, live events, courses, and paid memberships in one branded space. Pricing runs as a flat monthly subscription rather than a percentage of member payments.
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All-in-one platform for courses, memberships, and coaching with built-in email marketing and no third-party integrations.
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Course platform with integrated community builder and membership tiers starting at $74/month with zero transaction fees
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Creator platform for selling memberships, courses, and digital products with 10% transaction fee
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Course platform with native community builder, membership tiers starting at $39/month, and built-in payment processing.
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A community platform for running courses, events, and paid memberships together, with a transaction fee built into every plan, 2% on Launch and 1% on Scale, rather than the option to remove it entirely on a top tier. Its Launch plan starts around $79 a month on annual billing, after a 2026 pricing overhaul removed the older, lower-priced entry tier.
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Marketplace and infrastructure for selling digital communities, courses, and social media memberships with built-in payments.
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Course platform with integrated community features, interactive video, and built-in membership and billing
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Comprehensive association management platform combining CRM, events, membership administration, community, and accounting
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A membership tool built to sit on top of an existing website, WordPress, a static site, or a custom build, rather than replacing it with a hosted platform. Founded in 2013 by former NFL player Drew Strojny, Memberful was acquired by Patreon in 2018 and still runs as an independent product and brand under that ownership.
- 15
Open-source forum platform with built-in membership subscriptions and Stripe-powered recurring billing
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Enterprise community engagement platform for customer relationships and brand loyalty programs
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Single storefront for courses, downloads, and memberships with built-in email and no transaction fees on paid plans.
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Open-source publishing platform with built-in paid memberships, available as hosted service or self-hosted software.
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Membership site builder integrating with Webflow, Squarespace, WordPress, and Wix for gated content and subscriptions.
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Membership solution for Webflow and no-code platforms offering full design control and flexible monetization.
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Customizable community platform with drag-and-drop design, moderation tools, and white-label options
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Enterprise community platform for customer engagement with discussion forums and content organization
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Membership management software for associations and nonprofits, handling dues billing, events, and member portal areas.
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All-in-one membership and SaaS platform combining authentication, billing, CRM, email marketing, and support
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Customizable community platform for associations and organizations with member management and engagement tools
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A video-first membership and streaming platform built for launching a branded app on top of subscription or pay-per-view video, aimed at fitness instructors, educators, and creators with a substantial video library. Plans start around $49 a month for a small Starter tier and scale to a $499-a-month App Essentials plan for a fully branded mobile and TV app.
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Social engagement platform providing plug-and-play community features like chat, forums, and livestreaming
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WordPress platform combining community, LMS, and memberships with white-label mobile apps
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Community platform with mobile apps offering gated content, subscriptions, and membership monetization
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Community-first learning platform bundling discussions, courses, webinars, and subscription memberships
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All-in-one platform combining community, courses, and subscriptions with zero transaction fees
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Community platform for creators bundling discussions, courses, events, payments, and AI-powered member pairing on custom domains.
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Association management software for professional organizations combining membership records, event management, and communications
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WordPress membership plugin with a forever-free tier offering content restriction and recurring subscription management
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Branded community platform combining forums, memberships, courses, events, and digital products with zero transaction fees
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WordPress plugin for adding paid membership levels, content dropping, and course access rules to existing sites.
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WordPress LMS plugin supporting recurring subscription payments from daily to yearly with member content restrictions
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No-code mobile app builder with recurring subscription support for iOS and Android community apps
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WordPress community plugin with built-in LMS, unlimited members, and integrated course management
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Membership platform for nonprofits and associations combining community, learning, and engagement features
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Course platform emphasizing peer connection through threaded discussions with no transaction fees on revenue
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WordPress membership plugin with content restriction and integration with SureCart for recurring subscriptions.
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Creator monetization platform for paid one-to-one calls, group sessions, and workshops with 10% transaction fee.
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WordPress-native community platform with real-time interaction, support ticketing, and live chat
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Streamlined membership management platform focused on core features without complex tiering or high transaction fees.
- 46
Subscription collaboration network enabling cross-brand bundles and revenue sharing between subscription businesses.
Frequently asked questions
How do the fee structures differ between these platforms?
Some platforms charge a flat monthly subscription fee, while others take a percentage of your revenue. For example, Patreon charges a 10% platform fee and Gumroad takes a 10% transaction fee. Mighty Networks always includes a transaction fee of 1% or 2% depending on your plan.
Can I find a platform that includes email marketing and other tools?
Yes, Kajabi is an all-in-one option that includes built-in email marketing for your courses and memberships. Many other options on this list focus more specifically on community or course delivery.
Are there platforms designed specifically for gamification and member engagement?
Skool is built around gamification features like points, levels, and leaderboards to keep members active. This differs from platforms like Substack that focus more on newsletters and private discussion threads.
Which options are best if I want to host a large-scale brand community?
Khoros Communities is an enterprise-level platform designed specifically for customer relationships and brand loyalty programs. Other options like Circle or Discord are often used for more creator-led or niche discussion spaces.