Every membership plugin demo shows the paywall. None shows month 14, when cards expire, dunning emails matter, and the site’s revenue depends on how well the plugin handles churn mechanics. We compared four leading options on both dimensions — restriction features and the recurring-billing machinery that actually pays for the site.
The comparison
| Plugin | Restriction model | Recurring billing | Dunning / churn | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MemberPress | Rules per content + tags | Stripe/PayPal native | Automated dunning, good | Full membership businesses |
| Restrict User Access | Access levels per role | None — pairs with WooCommerce | Depends on Woo stack | Free restriction, bring own billing |
| Paid Memberships Pro | Levels + discount codes | Stripe/PayPal/Authorize | Dunning in core, solid | B2B tiers and site licensing |
| LearnDash + restrict | Course-based | Needs WooCommerce or PMPro | Depends on stack | Course-first businesses |
Where the differences actually show
- Dunning is the moat. Card declines kill 20–30% of subscription revenue in year one for naive setups. MemberPress and PMPro both ship automated retry-and-email sequences; the free-restriction-plus-WooCommerce route leaves dunning to add-ons. Our B2B take on this machinery lives in the pricing-plugin comparison.
- Content restriction is the commodity. All four restrict posts fine. Differences appear in drip schedules, member directories, and group/corporate accounts — PMPro and MemberPress lead there.
- Coupons and upgrade prorations. Testing upgrade paths (monthly → annual) surfaced proration bugs in two plugins; PMPro handled mid-cycle upgrades correctly, MemberPress needed a settings change.
Our recommendations
- Membership is the business: MemberPress or PMPro — the dunning machinery justifies the subscription cost.
- You mostly need content gating: free Restrict User Access + your existing billing stack.
- You are selling courses: LearnDash for the LMS layer, with PMPro for billing — the combination is a known-good pattern.
If recurring revenue is on your roadmap, factor membership plugins into your platform lock-in thinking early — swapping later means migrating member accounts. The free audit flags plugin conflicts that commonly break checkout flows.
MemberPress for all-in-one businesses, Paid Memberships Pro for B2B tiers and site licensing. Both ship the dunning and proration machinery that free restriction plugins lack. Yes — Restrict User Access (free) gates content by role. You bring your own billing; if recurring payments matter, the paid plugins pay for themselves in recovered revenue. Automated retrying of failed card charges plus emails prompting members to update payment info. Good dunning recovers a large share of would-be churn; it is the difference between plugins. LearnDash (LMS) with Paid Memberships Pro (billing) is a proven combination. LearnDash alone does not handle recurring payments.What is the best WordPress membership plugin?
Can I restrict content for free?
What is dunning in memberships?
Which plugin is best for courses plus membership?
