Which membership plugin is the better alternative for my blog? With more and more competing premium WordPress plugins it gets harder and harder to answer that question. This article takes a look at two popular WordPress membership plugins: It compares s2Member with Paid Memberships Pro in order to help you with your decision in choosing one.
There are several other alternatives to s2Member and Paid Memberships Pro on the market which I have compared in separate articles. Go to my main WordPress Membership Plugins comparison to start your search.
Please note that this comparison only looks at the features on paper as reported by either plugin’s developers. It does not and can not tell you if or how well a certain feature will work for you. Because such a verdict would depend on too many variables, including your server setup and personal preference, I have decided to stick to the hard facts for this feature comparison between s2Member and Paid Memberships Pro.
s2Member And Paid Memberships Pro Feature Comparison
In my comparison I track 26 different features for all the membership plugins. In s2Member you can find 21 out of 26 of those features. Paid Memberships Pro on the other hand offers 22 out of the 26 features in total.
| s2Member | Paid Memberships Pro | |
| Listing Data Verified? | ||
| User Rating | [crfp id=”3942″ enabled=”2″ displaystyle=”grey” displayaverage=”1″ averageratingtext=”” displaytotalratings=”0″ displaybreakdown=”0″] (0 reviews, add your own) |
[crfp id=”3966″ enabled=”2″ displaystyle=”grey” displayaverage=”1″ averageratingtext=”” displaytotalratings=”0″ displaybreakdown=”0″] (1 reviews, add your own) |
| Membership Features | ||
| Unlimited Membership Levels |
(free) |
(free) |
| Manage Members |
(free) |
(free) |
| Content Protection |
(free) |
(free) |
| Download Protection |
(free) |
|
| Coupons and Discount Codes |
(free) |
|
| Drip Content |
(free) |
|
| Affiliate Program Integration |
(free) |
(free) |
| Pay Per Post / View |
(free) |
|
| s2Member | Paid Memberships Pro | |
| Payment Processors | ||
| Paypal |
(free) |
(free) |
| Paypal Pro / Express |
(free) |
|
| Stripe |
(free) |
|
| Clickbank | ||
| Authorize.net |
(free) |
|
| Google Wallet | ||
| MoneyBookers | ||
| 2CheckOut |
(free) |
|
| s2Member | Paid Memberships Pro | |
| Email and Other Integrations | ||
| MailChimp |
(free) |
(free) |
| Aweber |
(free) |
(free) |
| GetResponse |
(free) |
|
| Constant Contact |
(free) |
|
| Amazon S3 / AWS | ||
| WooCommerce |
(free) |
|
| s2Member | Paid Memberships Pro | |
| Misc. Features | ||
| Login Redirection |
(free) |
|
| Member Export | ||
| BuddyPress / bbPress Compatibility |
(free) |
(free) |
| Premium Support | ||
Even if many of the features compared above overlap between the two competing products there is one very important difference: s2Member as well as Paid Memberships Pro both provide a unique interface from which you will build powerful membershp sites. Since it is hard to rate the quality of such an interface objectively I recommend that you try both products yourself before deciding for one.
s2Member vs Paid Memberships Pro Price Comparison
WPscoop indexes the exact prixing plans of all compared plugins. Please refer to the table below for a quick overview of the prices of s2Member and Paid Memberships Pro.
To find the cheaper membership plugin for your individual needs please go to my main comparison article. There you can search for the features you need and then see the exact price you would need to pay for s2Member or Paid Memberships Pro (as well as other alternatives).
| Price | s2Member | Paid Memberships Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum (1 Site) | 0.00 USD | 0.00 USD |
| Maximum (1 Site) | 69.00 USD | 97.00 USD |
| Minimum (10 Sites) | 0.00 USD | 0.00 USD |
| Maximum (10 Sites) | 129.00 USD | 97.00 USD |
Explanations: The minimum price compared above is the lowest price a product is available for, e.g. the version with the least features. The maximum price listed is for a version of the product that includes all features. For plugins that charge per addon it factors in the cost of all available addons. For some products the price increases if you want to use it on more than 1 WordPress site – the listed price for 10 sites shows if that is the case.
Disclaimer: While we update this comparison regularly we can not guarantee the prices displayed above are still correct and take no responsibility if they changed.
Product Videos
You can have a look at the Youtube videos below to see s2Member and Paid Memberships Pro in action. That will give you a better idea of how the interface looks and which of the two WordPress membership plugins is easier to use.
s2Member Video
Paid Memberships Pro Video
More Information
Visit the developers website to learn more about each of the membership plugins and order or download the software.
Most WordPress plugins have an option to test their service for free, either thrhough a basic free version, a trial period or online demo. Check if such an offer exists for s2Member and Paid Memberships Pro and if so: Make use of it! By doing so you can compare both plugins directly and find out which one is the better alternative in you situation.
Visit s2Member NowVisit Paid Memberships Pro Now
Other Alternative Membership Plugins
But wait, there is more! Besides s2Member and Paid Memberships Pro I have compared several other WordPress membership plugins on WPscoop. I recommend you start your search for s2Member alternatives or Paid Memberships Pro alternatives in the main comparison article. There you can filter all different products and search for the features you need.
s2Member vs. other membership plugins
- WishList Member vs s2Member Comparison
- s2Member vs Magic Members Comparison
- s2Member vs MemberPress Comparison
- s2Member vs Memberwing Comparison
- s2Member vs WP-Member Comparison
- s2Member vs Restrict Content Pro Comparison
- s2Member vs Digital Access Pass Comparison
Paid Memberships Pro vs. other WP membership plugins
- WishList Member vs Paid Memberships Pro Comparison
- Magic Members vs Paid Memberships Pro Comparison
- MemberPress vs Paid Memberships Pro Comparison
- Memberwing vs Paid Memberships Pro Comparison
- Paid Memberships Pro vs WP-Member Comparison
- Paid Memberships Pro vs Restrict Content Pro Comparison
- Paid Memberships Pro vs Digital Access Pass Comparison
Did you spot a mistake in here? Is some feature in my comparison out of date? Please leave a comment below so I can update the article!
Which one is the better WP membership plugin: s2Member or Paid Memberships Pro? Please share your opinion or experience in the comments!
Last update on: 12.3.2015
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I think S2member is better. I found it easier dealing with it
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I just heard about Paid Memberships Pro and it sounds promising.
However, I don’t know if it is completely free of cost. By the way, does it supports multisite membership (ability to support subsite registration and plugin access etc.)?
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Paid Memberships Pro is completely free as far as I know but I do not know if they support this feature.