WishList Member

WishList Member is a WordPress membership plugin: it protects content on your site and controls which members can see it, and through its CourseCure add-on it builds and sells online courses as well. The pricing page calls it the easiest, most trusted WordPress membership plugin, and the homepage says it has been "Downloaded and Activated on 120,310 membership sites, courses and online communities since 2008". It suits creators, coaches and businesses who want a membership site, a paid course or a member community on their own WordPress install, with recurring billing and no platform fee.

The homepage pitch is that every site gets unlimited membership levels and members, with no upsells or advertising. Most advanced features start switched off, so a new site begins simple and you turn on more as you need it.

Protecting and releasing content

Content protection is the core. You create a page or post, click "Protect" in the editor and pick which membership levels can see it. The plugin supports custom post types, and it can protect sections inside a page with private tags, so members and visitors see different parts of the same post. Files and folders can be protected too (on the Pro plan), and categories and custom taxonomies have their own protection settings according to the tutorials page.

Release is flexible. The features page says you can drip content to new members and schedule posts to go live on an exact date. The FAQ explains the two tools behind it, Sequential Upgrade and the Content Scheduler. Archiving works the other way: content can be limited to people who were members before an archive date, which rewards members who stay subscribed. Pay per post lets you sell single pieces of content, and "sneak peak" snippets show non-members a taste of gated content with an invitation to sign up.

A logic-based trigger system automates actions such as creating posts or moving members between levels. Registrations can require admin approval or email confirmation before access is granted. The plugin also offers secure RSS feeds for members, onboarding forms, custom login screens, email notifications, granular permissions and a dashboard with real-time stats. The features page mentions GDPR compliance for member data.

Courses with CourseCure

CourseCure is the course builder, and the FAQ says the Courses add-on is included in WishList Member plans. You start from customizable templates, add your content and publish; the homepage promises "lightning-fast course building" with no lengthy setup wizards. The FAQ says you can "create and sell an unlimited number of courses", sell individual courses or several, and charge a one-time payment or a recurring fee. Videos can be self-hosted or embedded from YouTube and Vimeo.

Engagement features depend on the plan. The pricing FAQ says gamification with badges and points comes with Plus, Pro and Elite, and quizzes come with Pro and Elite; the Pro plan lists "Unlimited CourseCure Quizzes". The homepage adds that quiz results are easy to export, so you can spot learning gaps and improve a course.

If you prefer another LMS, WishList Member works alongside one. The pricing table lists integrations with LearnDash, LifterLMS, Thrive Apprentice, Tutor LMS, Sensei LMS, eLearnCommerce and WP Courseware, so the LMS handles lessons and WishList Member handles access and billing.

Payments and integrations

The homepage says you can connect your preferred processor in less than 5 minutes and offer free trials, recurring and one-time payments. Supported payment providers listed in the FAQ and pricing table include Stripe, PayPal Checkout, PayPal Payflow, PayPal Payments Pro, eWAY, Authorize.net, 2Checkout, 1ShoppingCart, ClickBank, CloudNet360, Cydec, Digistore24, JVZoo, PayBlue, PayKickstart, plug&paid, SamCart, SendOwl, ThriveCart, UltraCart, WooCommerce, Infusionsoft by KEAP and Recurly. The homepage puts this at "over 20 of the most popular payment providers".

Email providers include ActiveCampaign, AWeber, Constant Contact, ConvertKit, Drip, FluentCRM, GetResponse, iContact, MailChimp, MailerLite, MailPoet, Moosend, Ontraport, SendFox and Sendlane, among others. Webinars connect through GoToWebinar and Zoom. Automation runs through webhooks, Integrately, Pabbly, Thrive Automator and Zapier, and the homepage says there are "over 50 built-in integrations". Page builders include Gutenberg, Divi, Elementor and Thrive Architect; social login covers Facebook, Google, WordPress.com and X; and affiliate programs connect through Easy Affiliate and iDev Affiliate. For developers there is a full REST API and WordPress-style template tags.

Plans and prices

All prices are in USD and billed yearly. The listed prices are "special introductory pricing", and "all annual renewals are at full price".

• Basic: $149.50 a year (regular $299), for 1 site. Unlimited members, memberships, upgrade paths and content protection rules, drip and scheduled content, a member dashboard, customizable registration forms, unlimited courses with CourseCure, LMS integrations, Stripe, eWay and PayPal checkout, ConvertKit, MailChimp and 3 more email integrations, the API and standard support. It lists "No Transaction Fees" and "No Monthly Fees".
• Plus: $249.50 a year (regular $499), for up to 2 sites. Adds CourseCure gamification, webinar integrations, Integrately with "1100+ Apps", 30+ advanced integrations and priority support.
• Pro (Best Value): $349.50 a year (regular $699), for up to 5 sites. Adds team accounts, file and folder protection, unlimited CourseCure quizzes, ActiveCampaign and Drip, WooCommerce payments, Zoom webinars, Zapier with "5000+ Apps Incl. ChatGPT", 12+ more advanced integrations and premium support.

An Elite plan is offered for Infusionsoft by KEAP or Recurly integrations; its price is not on the pricing page. The FAQ says the social login add-on comes with Pro and Elite. Every plan carries a 14-day money-back guarantee: "If you’re not completely satisfied with WishList Member over the next 14 days, we’ll happily refund 100% of your money." You can change plans or cancel at any time.

Support and requirements

Support runs through a support desk, FAQs, a knowledge base and video tutorials. The site offers a WordPress Basics Course, "30+ how-to videos" and "100+ pages of support guides", plus an official Facebook group. Members can be imported from another system with a CSV template and exported at any time. The FAQ lists requirements of PHP 7.4 or higher, MySQL 5.6+ or MariaDB 10.1+, Apache 2 or Nginx, and WordPress 6.0 or higher.

Who it suits

WishList Member suits a creator who wants a membership site first, with courses inside it: a coach selling a monthly program, a publisher gating premium articles, or a trainer bundling courses into tiers. The long list of payment and email integrations makes it a good fit for someone who already uses a particular cart or CRM.

A course-first creator should check the plan before buying, because quizzes need Pro and gamification needs Plus. Like any WordPress plugin, it also leaves hosting and updates with the site owner.