A membership plugin turns a WordPress site into something that can gate content and collect recurring revenue, monthly, quarterly, or annual, depending on how you set it up. The mechanics are similar across most of them: restrict content, register members, take payment. Where they differ is in how flexible the restriction rules are, which payment gateways they support, and whether you’re paying once, annually, or per month for hosting bundled in.
Three reasons this matters beyond just “locking content”:
- Email list building, registered members are already a list of engaged users, not just names collected passively.
- Authority, a paywall signals that what’s behind it is worth paying for, which shapes how visitors perceive the free content too.
- Recurring revenue, predictable payments beat one-off sales for planning around.
The plugins, checked against what’s actually still around
Two plugins that used to anchor lists like this one are no longer what they were, one closed for a guideline violation, the other pulled its free listing entirely. Both are called out below instead of silently dropped.
1. s2Member
Still free, still actively maintained (v260508, patched for PHP 8.1+ compatibility this year), with 8,000+ active installs. It restricts WordPress posts, BuddyPress/bbPress content, and even sections inside a post, by URL, custom post type, page, shortcode, or file download. Alternative view types, RSS feeds, search results, comment feeds, nav menus, can be restricted too, and the Pro version adds content dripping.
Payment-wise, the free version handles PayPal Standard; Pro adds PayPal Pro, Stripe, and Authorize.net, plus coupon codes, gift certificates, and unlimited subscription levels.
Cost: Free, with a one-time $89 fee for the Pro single-site license.
2. WP-Members
WP-Members works from the opposite direction of most membership plugins: you mark which content is public, and everything else stays restricted by default. It’s actively maintained (v3.5.6, 50,000+ installs, security-patched as recently as five months ago) and integrates with WooCommerce, BuddyPress, bbPress, and Easy Digital Downloads. Custom registration and profile fields, menu restrictions, post-excerpt teasers, and admin approval for new registrations are all built in, with 120+ hooks for deeper customization if you’re comfortable with code.
Cost: Free with limited functionality; premium starts at $59/year or $499 lifetime.
3. Ultimate Membership Pro
Sold on CodeCanyon rather than WordPress.org, still actively updated (v13.7.5, 41,000+ sales, 4.56/5 across nearly 1,000 reviews). It handles multi-level free or paid access, restricting by post, page, custom post type, category, tag, file, URL, or partial content via shortcode. Payment gateways include Stripe, 2Checkout, Authorize.net, and Braintree, and it adds social login, membership badges, a public members directory, and printable membership cards on top of the restriction basics.
Cost: $69 regular license, $129 extended, via standard CodeCanyon licensing.
4. Ultimate Member (replacing ARMember)
ARMember, previously listed here, was closed on WordPress.org in February 2025 for a guideline violation and is no longer available. Ultimate Member is a comparable free alternative that’s actually gaining ground, 200,000+ active installs, updated as recently as this month. It covers custom registration forms, profile builders, content restriction by role or membership level, and a built-in form builder for signup pages without touching code.
Cost: Free core plugin; premium extensions available for payment gateways, courses, and advanced restriction.
5. Paid Memberships Pro
This one changed enough that it’s worth flagging directly: Paid Memberships Pro was removed from the WordPress.org repository in October 2024 (author’s own request, not a violation) and now sells exclusively through its own site. The plugin itself is still 100% GPL and open source, and a free self-hosted download is still available, but the pricing model has shifted toward bundled managed hosting rather than a standalone plugin fee, plans now start at $49/month and go up to $299/month for higher order volumes, with hosting, support, and 60+ add-ons included.
If you just want the plugin without the hosting bundle, the free self-hosted version is still there; if you want Wbcom’s team to have vetted the swap already, the alternatives above cover similar ground without the pricing shift.
Cost: Free self-hosted plugin; paid plans (hosting included) from $49/month.
6. Kadence Memberships (formerly Restrict Content Pro)
Restrict Content Pro was rebranded to Kadence Memberships after Nexcess (part of Liquid Web, which also owns Kadence) took over the product. It’s still the same lightweight, straightforward approach to content restriction, unlimited membership levels, restriction by post type or category, CSV export, and membership performance reports, now listed on WordPress.org under the Kadence name with 9,000+ active installs.
Restriction options cover any subscription level, paid-only levels, specific levels, tiered access above a given level, or WordPress user role, with payment support for PayPal, Stripe, Braintree, 2Checkout, and Authorize.net.
Cost: Check current pricing on kadencewp.com, it’s shifted since the rebrand, so don’t rely on old Restrict Content Pro pricing you may have seen elsewhere.
Picking one
Free and actively maintained (s2Member, WP-Members, Ultimate Member) covers most standard content-gating needs without a recurring plugin cost. Paid options make more sense once you need deeper payment gateway support, drip content, or a polished members-only experience out of the box, Ultimate Membership Pro and Kadence Memberships both fit that case at a one-time or modest annual cost. Paid Memberships Pro is worth a look specifically if bundled hosting appeals to you, less so if you just want a plugin.
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