MemberPress Vs Wishlist Member 2023

by Adam @ WPCrafter   |   Last Updated: September 8, 2021

MemberPress is a WordPress plugin used to secure and sell content on your website. With its extensive features and integrations, MemberPress can handle just about any membership website requirements.

Wishlist Member is one of the first WordPress membership plugins right when having a membership website became a thing. In 2020 they released a completely new version to bring it up to par with other membership plugins.

Current Pricing: $149 – $349
Current Pricing: $147 – $397

At the end of the day, both will get the job done. But the real story is about integrations and cost.

MemberPress is easier to use and a bit less complicated to set up (because it has fewer options). It has fewer integrations then Wishlist and will cost significantly more per year. Also, keep in mind that the cost of MemberPress doubles after your first year of owning it so you are looking at 3X – 5X the annual cost of Wishlist Member.

Wishlist, on the other hand, has more integrations and capabilities but I feel like it has too many options and could feel overwhelming.

But on the flip side, Wishlist is a lot more affordable, has many more integrations, and also has some more features that you don’t get with MemberPress.

For me, I would choose Wishlist because it works with the tools I use and is a much better value.

MemberPress Pros

  • Easy To Use Intuitive Setup
  • Drip Feed Content
  • Multiple Payment Processors
  • Email Autoresponder Integration
  • Affiliate System Included With Higher Priced Plan
  • Powerful Access Rules

Wishlist Member Pros

  • Unlimited Membership Levels
  • Many Shopping Cart Integrations
  • Easy To Setup Simple Memberships
  • Can Sell Access Per Post
  • Central Content Control (LOVE THIS)

MemberPress Cons

  • All Front End Elements Look Ugly And Dated
  • No WooCommerce Support :-(
  • Slow Development And Few Improvements Made Over Time
  • Questionable Marketing Tactics Fake “Limited Time Offer”

Wishlist Member Cons

  • Can Be Overwhelming With All The Options
  • Tries To Do Everything
  • Not Modular
  • Partial AffiliateWP Integration

Ease of Use

Ease Of Use

7/10

While quite easy to use and setup, the front end styling is very dated so expect a lot of effort to make it look good.

Ease of Use

Ease Of Use

8.5/10

High marks because of the new content control feature, but they can make improvements to simplify the options.

Price Value Icon

Price / Value

7.5/10

The price is in line with other solutions but offers less active installations. However the included affiliate management tool makes up for it.

Price Value Icon

Price / Value

9/10

Membership plugins are quite pricy and Wishlist is the best value I can find on a membership plugin.

Reliability

Support

10/10

My support experiences have always been prompt and helpful with an eagerness to help.

Reliability

Support

9/10

Support is available via a ticket desk and responds in a timely manner.

21 Comments

  1. Hey Adam,
    I came to this page after searching Member Press VS Restrict Content Pro. I noticed that the review details on this page for (Memberpress Cons) are the same cons given for (Restrict Content Pro).

    Thanks for all you do for the WP community.
    -Emma

  2. Curious if your view of Wishlist Member has changed given the supposed updates and LTD on Appsumo?

    1. Yes price is a factor and you can’t beat the LTD price.

  3. Howdy Adam,

    I am a huge fan of DAP for the membership plugin, but they have become a bit bloated & conflicty with plugins.

    I have tried Wishlist and Memberpress but they are lacking shortcode customization that DAP made super easy. (where you can drop shortcode in to any designed page)

    What other member plugins are out there?

    1. Hi Kit,
      Are there specific shortcodes you are looking for? We did a complete overhaul when we built version 3.0. I’m curious if there are specific shortcodes that are missing. If so, I’m sure we could likely add them.
      Tracy Childers

  4. Tracy Childers says:

    We’d love to have you do a new review. Our team completely redesigned the interface in WishList Member version 3.0. We’ve had some amazing feedback from our customers since the release in mid-April 2019. Our integration with Zapier has been well received and more features are coming soon.

    1. My apologies Tracy for not getting this post updated to reflect the new version of WishList Member. I know you had reached out over the summer, but it was quite a busy summer for me. I try to get to this in the next week or so.

      1. Hi Adam, thanks a bunch. I just spotted this comment reply right after I sent you an email follow up. I apologize for the repetition. Thanks again!

  5. which one best integrates with learndash?

      1. We worked with LearnDash to build out a solid integration from WishList Member. It will be released with our next update which is currently scheduled for next week. 🙂

        1. Thank you Adam for the review. Also, thank you Tracy for the information regarding LearnDash. This is important feature in regards to what I am looking for in a membership app for my WordPress site.

          1. Tracy A Childers says:

            You’re welcome. We’re about to release a new update with more LMS plugin integrations. We also have an integration with BuddyBoss coming up as well.

  6. any change of heart since the release of Wishlist Member 3?

  7. How about changing the registration date? I mean customizing the registration date? Is that possible with MemberPress?

    1. You must be misunderstanding something because nowhere am I saying it doesn’t support coupons. But thanks for making this comment and leaving that link.

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