Ko-fi vs Paid Memberships Pro
Ko-fi
ko-fi.com
Paid Memberships Pro
paidmembershipspro.comSide by side
| Figure | Ko-fi | Paid Memberships Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $12/mo | $41.58/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 7 |
| Spec score · Membership Site Platforms | 8.2 (#38) | 9.1 (#5) |
| Content gating | post | post |
| Founded | 2017 | 2010 |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | Ko-fi lists integrations or connections for YouTube, Twitch, Discord, WordPress, Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook, Medium, and GitHub. | Official integrations include WooCommerce, BuddyPress, BuddyBoss, bbPress, Mailchimp, MailerLite, MailPoet, Slack, Google Analytics, Zapier, LearnDash, and LifterLMS. |
| Purpose | Ko-fi helps creators accept tips, offer memberships, take requests, and sell their work from one place. | Paid Memberships Pro lets WordPress site owners restrict content, accept payments, and manage subscriptions from their website. |
| Subscription billing | recurring | both |
| Support | Ko-fi directs users to its support team and Help Center for questions, guides, and resources. | The company provides support forums and says Max plans include hands-on help customizing membership sites and implementing new features. |
| Transaction fee | 5% service fee on membership payments, plus PayPal or Stripe processing fees | No platform transaction fee; payment gateway charges still apply. |
Plans
Paid Memberships Pro
- FreeFree
- Standard$49 a month
- Max$99 a month
- Max 2x$299 a month
- Standard$499 a year
- Max$999 a year
- Max 2x$2,999 a year
In their own words
Paid Memberships Pro
Paid Memberships Pro is a WordPress plugin and open-source platform for restricting content, taking payments, and managing subscriptions on a website. Site owners can protect 28 types of content and create unlimited membership levels, with free or paid access, one-time charges, or recurring billing from hourly to annual intervals. Pricing tools include trials, coupons, proration, donations, gift codes, invite codes, and variable pricing. Stripe and PayPal are included without a platform transaction fee, although gateway charges still apply. The free plan provides the self-hosted platform and 25 free add-ons; Standard, Max, and Max 2x include 54 premium add-ons. Paid plans start at $49/mo. Standard is $49 a month, Max is $99 a month, and Max 2x is $299 a month, all billed monthly. The platform includes member administration, customizable dashboards and forms, reporting, and integrations such as WooCommerce, Mailchimp, and LearnDash. It supports WordPress installations running version 5.2 or higher, while technical support covers only the three most recent minor releases. Premium purchases have a 100-day money-back guarantee covering one payment.