In an era where writers, educators, and digital creators increasingly focus on direct audience relationships to sustain their work, the tools we choose to manage those relationships matter profoundly.
Membership plugins have become essential infrastructure for anyone looking to monetize content, build communities, or gate premium material, functions critical to thriving in today’s attention economy.
Among the many options available, ARMember stands out as a robust WordPress plugin designed to simplify membership management while offering enterprise-level flexibility. In this review, I examine ARMember’s capabilities, usability, performance, support, and value proposition.
The Evolution of Membership Models
Before reviewing ARMember, it’s worth contextualizing why membership models have become a linchpin for creators.
Traditional publishing and ad-based revenue streams are increasingly unstable, leaving many to seek control over their income through subscriptions, courses, or exclusive content.
A membership plugin isn’t just a tool; it’s a bridge between your work and your audience, enabling you to:
- Monetize expertise without intermediaries.
- Cultivate community through tiered access.
- Automate recurring revenue while focusing on creation.
WordPress, powering over 40% of the web, remains a go-to platform for independence-minded creators. Plugins like ARMember aim to democratize membership management, but their effectiveness hinges on balancing power with simplicity.
Table of Contents
ARMember Overview: What It Does
ARMember launched in 2016 as a cost-effective alternative to established membership plugins like MemberPress and Restrict Content Pro. Its stated goal is to bundle critical membership features like subscription management, content restriction, payment gateway integration, drip content, and community compatibility into a single package.
ARMember offers both a free core plugin and a premium tier that unlocks advanced modules. Unlike niche solutions tailored for courses or newsletters, ARMember positions itself as a Swiss Army knife, offering:
- Content restriction and drip scheduling.
- Subscription management with 21+ payment gateways.
- User role customization and advanced security.
- Integration with email marketers, CRMs, and page builders.
Its target audience includes content creators, coaches hosting private communities, small businesses offering premium resources, and agencies building more complex membership portals. For creators wary of platform risk, ARMember promises full ownership of audience data and revenue.
Happy Customers: 50,000+
Average Rating: 4.7/5 (Review by 500+ Users)
Strengths and Weaknesses of ARMember
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Highly scalable, handles everything from 100 to 10,000+ members. | Learning Curve for Advanced Modules (e.g., WooCommerce synchronization) |
| Supports diverse monetization models (subscriptions, one-time fees, trials). | Dependency on official support may limit community knowledge‑sharing. |
| Works seamlessly with most page builders. | Ready-made form templates may need custom CSS to match advanced themes. |
| The pricing starts at $69/year (Low compared to its competitors). |
Exploring Key Features of ARMember
1. Membership Tiers and Content Restriction
ARMember allows unlimited membership levels, each with customizable access rules. You can restrict posts, pages, or media by role, date, or activity. The drip content feature is particularly valuable for bloggers, writers, or educators releasing weekly content.
However, setup requires patience. While the interface is intuitive for WordPress experts, newcomers may find the nested menus overwhelming. ARMember relies on checkboxes and shortcodes, functional but less visually engaging.
2. Payment and Subscription Management
With support of 21+ payment gateways like Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.Net, and regional gateways (Razorpay, Mollie), ARMember accommodates global audiences. Recurring subscriptions, lifetime payments, and free trials are configurable, though complex pricing models (e.g., pay-what-you-want) require custom code.
A standout feature is trial period management, letting you offer discounted access before full billing. It’s a smart tactic for reducing subscriber churn.
3. User Experience and Automation
ARMember automates key workflows:
- Email notifications for signups, renewals, or failed payments.
- Integration with Mailchimp, Zapier, or ConvertKit for list segmentation.
- Expiration actions, like downgrading roles after subscription lapses.
The plugin also includes a frontend profile editor, reducing dependency on WordPress’s backend for users.
4. Security and Compliance
GDPR compliance tools (data export/erasure requests) and reCAPTCHA support address basic privacy needs. You can also enable advanced security, like two-factor authentication, with their free add-on.
5. Design and Branding
While ARMember’s default forms and pages are utilitarian, they’re customizable via shortcodes or integration with Elementor/Divi. Those prioritizing aesthetics may need CSS tweaks or a designer’s touch.
Integration Ecosystem
In a fragmented digital toolkit, compatibility is crucial. ARMember maintains connectors for popular WordPress extensions:
- WooCommerce: Synchronize product purchases with membership assignments.
- bbPress and BuddyPress: Restrict forum or community areas to members, fostering vibrant discussion spaces.
- Elementor and Visual Composer: Design membership pages visually, embedding ARMember widgets and forms.
- WPML and Polylang: Localize membership portals for multilingual audiences.
Performance and Security
Membership plugins can bloat your site with scripts, database queries, and redundant processes. ARMember avoids this pitfall with lightweight code and efficient database structuring.
- Caching Compatibility: Works with popular caching plugins (WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache, WP Rocket) through built‑in exclusions and AJAX handling for dynamic content.
- Code Efficiency: Recent versions have refactored key modules to minimize database queries, yielding page‑load times comparable with non‑membership sites in independent tests.
ARMember’s security framework prioritizes essential protections without overcomplicating setup. Their security measures include:
- Secure Payment Flows: All transactions are processed via PCI-DSS-compliant gateways (Stripe, PayPal).
- Role-Based Access: Restrict admin access to specific user roles, minimizing internal vulnerabilities.
- Regular Updates: ARMember’s development team issues frequent patches, addressing WordPress core changes and emerging threats.
Support, Documentation, and Community
User Manual: Here you find step‑by‑step guides covering installation, feature configuration, and troubleshooting. Each section includes detailed explanations, screenshots, and procedural steps, making it easier for non-technical users to follow along.
Video Tutorials: For those who prefer a more visual learning format, ARMember offers a series of concise video tutorials that demonstrate common tasks in real-time. The videos are helpful for users who want to understand how a feature behaves before applying it to their live site.
Ticket‑Based Support: Premium license holders gain access to ARMember’s ticket-based support system, which allows users to submit detailed queries directly to the plugin’s development team. This dedicated portal is designed for technical support, licensing questions, and bug reporting.
Facebook Support Group: In addition to official documentation and ticket support, ARMember maintains an active Facebook support group where users can ask questions and share solutions. This community serves as a peer-to-peer support forum, providing faster informal assistance than formal support channels.
Pricing: Is It Worth the Investment?
Compared to its key competitors, ARMember’s paid plans are compelling for long-term cost savings. Here are the details:
| Pricing Details | What You Get |
|---|---|
| Free | 🔹 Unlimited Membership Plans 🔹 19+ in-built Addons 🔹 2 Payment Gateways 🔹 8+ Page Builder Integration |
| $69/year for 1 website | 🔹 Unlimited Membership Plans 🔹 57+ In-built Addons 🔹 5+ Payment Gateways 🔹 16+ Premium Add-ons |
| $129/year for 2 websites | 🔹 Unlimited Membership Plans 🔹 57+ In-built Addons 🔹 21+ Payment Gateways 🔹 46+ Premium Add-ons |
| $299/year for 10 websites | 🔹 Unlimited Membership Plans 🔹 57+ In-built Addons 🔹 21+ Payment Gateways 🔹 52+ Premium Add-ons |
14-Day Money Back Guarantee
If you still don’t take the risk, then ARMember also offers a 14-day money back guarantee. You can try their paid plans and test all premium features risk-free.
Who Should Choose ARMember?
1. Solo Creators and Freelancers: Single‑site license paired with MailChimp integration for simple course offerings.
2. Serialized Writers: Drip content supports episodic storytelling.
3. Coaches/Consultants: Tiered memberships simplify offering workshops, forums, and 1:1 consults.
4. Niche Publishers & Bloggers: Restrict access to archives, research, or multimedia.
5. Hybrid Creators: Combine memberships with eCommerce, like selling books alongside subscriptions.
6. Educational Initiatives: Drip content and subscription tiers to structure multi‑level learning experiences.
7. Agencies: Five‑site or unlimited license to deploy client portals with WooCommerce or forum capabilities.
Which Businesses Can Take Advantage of ARMember?
Associations and Professional Groups: Professional organizations and trade associations can use ARMember to manage annual memberships, protect member-only content such as whitepapers or policy updates, and display searchable directories of certified members.
Online Communities: With support for bbPress and BuddyPress, ARMember integrates community forums and social interaction layers into your membership structure, enabling the creation of private or semi-public communities.
Online Courses and Educational Platforms: Educators and course creators benefit from ARMember’s content drip features, which allow lessons to be released over time. Integration with page builders allows for customized course layouts.
Private Video Content: For creators producing premium video tutorials, training series, or webinars, ARMember provides secure content gating. It supports embedded content from platforms like Vimeo or self-hosted solutions, ensuring only active members have access.
Podcasting Platforms: Podcasters can monetize exclusive content by offering member-only episodes, show archives, or behind-the-scenes material. ARMember enables password-protected download areas and supports integration with mailing tools for delivering bonus content to subscribers.
Member Directories: Organizations that require public or private member directories can use ARMember to create searchable member profiles. Fields can be customized, and access to directory listings can be controlled based on user role or membership type.
Publishing & News Sites: Digital publishers can implement paywalls and metered access strategies to monetize content. ARMember allows for gating full articles, creating subscriber-only archives, and offering premium newsletters or in-depth reports to paying members.
Paid Newsletters: Writers and content creators delivering subscription-based newsletters can use ARMember to restrict access to archives, set up subscriber-only landing pages, and automate delivery via integrated email platforms like MailChimp or ConvertKit.
Final Verdict
In an always online world, where audience loyalty is the ultimate currency, tools like this aren’t just about managing members, they’re about sustaining the creative independence that fuels meaningful work.
As the publishing world continues to evolve, solutions like ARMember remind us that the power to build, monetize, and grow an audience has never been more accessible or more vital.
ARMember isn’t perfect, but its strengths align with the needs of creators prioritizing autonomy and scalability. Its affordability and modular design encourage experimentation & help them to convert readership into sustainable revenue.
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