What is MemberSpace?
MemberSpace is an online platform that allows you to turn any part of your website into a member’s only space.
This essentially means that you can protect any pages of your site and only allow paying members to access your content!
The big difference between MemberSpace and other similar tools is that the platform isn’t a plugin or app of any specific CMS and can be used on any website including:
WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, Weebly, Hubspot CMS, Carrd, Duda, Notion, Custom HTML,...
Let’s dive into the details and see how it compares to other platforms online course creators can use to create an program or membership:
Feature: What Can You Do With MemberSpace?
The concept of MemberSpace compared to other platforms like MemberPress or LearnDash is interesting!
Most of these are WordPress plugins that allow you to protect pages and natively control your membership inside your CMS (WordPress).
The big difference here with MemberSpace is that you are going to control all of this externally through their very intuitive platform:
This is also what makes it easy to use for ANY CMS you can think of!
Member Pages
So at its very core, the main feature of MemberSpace is simple: any page you set as “Member Pages” will force users to login and be a member (free or paid).
You can of course customize the popup and what actions can be taken by the user like creating an account, paying for a membership or being redirected to a sales page.
So your plan is straightforward: build your member area pages or courses with your favorite website page builder , then use MemberSpace to turn these into a membership site!
The platform offers different levels of security in case some tech-savvy users try to go around the protected pages.
The highest level of security being you uploading your content (video, audio, PDF,etc.) directly to MemberSpace and using a server-level protection.
This will also allow you to see which member has interacted with your content and when!
Member Plans & Checkout
Because it handles content access, you have to create your membership plans in MemberSpace and use their checkout.
This is important to note and will have consequences on what you can and cannot do.
For example, you cannot create funnels with one-click upsell, downsells or order bumps using MemberSpace.
That being said, I’ve found the pricing options you have for your products inside the platform to be some of the most flexible I’ve ever seen!
Beyond the standard free, one-off and subscription options you can create flexible payment plans, choose an expiration date and even choose the billing date (with first payment automatically prorated).
Plans can also be upgraded/downgraded seamlessly within a member’s account.
The only payment gateway available is Stripe, which is again something to note if you or your customer are in restricted countries.
The checkout will be a popup on your website.
Not a whole lot you can edit here apart from the general colors/branding and adding custom fields to your registration form.
When it comes to an affiliate program, MemberSpace doesn’t have any native functionality for it but does have an integration with Rewardful which could help you achieve this.
Another limitation of the platform is that it’s not really suited to sell downloadables or physical products.
Not a whole lot you can edit here apart from the general colors/branding and adding custom fields to your registration form.
When it comes to an affiliate program, MemberSpace doesn’t have any native functionality for it but does have an integration with Rewardful which could help you achieve this.
Another limitation of the platform is that it’s not really suited to sell downloadables or physical products.
Other
We’ve pretty much reviewed all of the features MemberSpace offers, which is a very simple but effective set!
But if you want to take things to the next level, the platform has a few interesting native integrations:
The SSO with Circle is definitely high on the list for me which would allow you to seamlessly give access to your private community for members.
The Zapier integration should also come in handy for you as a course creator to connect your email marketing system and set up automations for new members.
Another cool set of features MemberSpace offers are related to revenue recovery.
You can set up a cart abandonment email sequence or the option for members trying to cancel to extend their trial for a little longer!
User Experience: Is MemberSpace Easy To Use?
Because it’s an external tool that you simply layer on top of your CMS, MemberSpace is a very intuitive and easy platform to use.
The fact that it has a very neat set of features also makes it accessible to non-tech savvy users.
The learning curve is probably some of the quickest of any tool we’ve reviewed…
This is of course one of the main selling points of MemberSpace!
For course creators that, for a reason or another, use an out-of-the-ordinary system or CMS and need a non-techy way to turn it into a membership site.
All you have to do is inject a simple bit of code in your header and that’s enough to unlock all of the features the platform has to offer.
The helpful and short setup videos you get along the way make this extra easy/
No need to worry about compatibility issues, updates or conflicting plugins…
Which is sometimes a big headache with WordPress LMS and making everything work together.
On top of that, MemberSpace offers a free migration if you’re switching away from another system!
Pricing: How Much Is MemberSpace?
MemberSpace pricing structure is very straightforward, but may also be one of the biggest drawbacks for most people.
Because of the fact that it’s an external platform and not an LMS plugin, you’ll have to pay a monthly subscription and a transaction fee...
The 4% transaction fee is probably the most frustrating part.
Especially since you have to use MemberSpace checkout in order for its feature to work and therefore cannot avoid the fee…
It’s also a turn off for course creators making larger volumes of sales, even if you can get the percentage down with the other plans.
You’ll also pay this on top of the payment gateway fee (Stripe) which is another ~2%.
This can add up and be a deal breaker for some, especially since most competitors price their plugins with a lifetime offer and no transaction fee.
This is the main reason why MemberSpace is probably not a great option for WordPress users, since there are simply better options out there.
How is the Support & Community for MemberSpace?
As we’ve described in this review, MemberSpace is one of the easiest platforms to use.
So support might not be as big of a deal as some other, more complex tools out there.
Regardless, it’s fairly easy and quick to submit a ticket and get a response for any problems you have with a the live chat widget you’ll have access to:
The knowledge base is also well documented and how-to tutorials are woven into the platform as you learn it!
On the community side of things, you can join their private group (hosted on Circle.io) and the other 600+ members on there:
The MemberSpace admin team is fairly active on there and share helpful tips and content for course creators!
Our Overall Rate: 8
Features
User Experience
Affordability
Community & Support Rating:
Pros:
Cons:
Conclusion:
MemberSpace helps with a set of specific things, and does an amazing job at it!
The simplicity of its features and the great user experience brought by the fact that everything is handled externally from your website, make it a great platform to consider.
The few drawbacks mentioned like the transaction fee or lack of flexibility about the checkout can be excused.
It’s probably not the best option for WordPress users as there are so many other better options out there.
But it’s definitely one of the best choices for any course creators building their programs on a custom site or other CMS that don't specialize in being membership sites.
You can try MemberSpace for yourself with the 14 days trial and see if it would be a good fit!
