Are there really no good WP Membership Tools?

Building in public seems to be the trend for a few years. I neglected this far too long, but it´s never too late to start a good habit.

I am currently building an SEO solution that offers a ready-made do-follow backlink partner directory to solve SEO for hand-picked Startups on https://vispr.net

As I am no coder, I build it with a no-code solution and use a WordPress frontend to sign up new users and give them a branded place to manage their subscription while they can download the embed code for their website.

Looking for an easy way to restrict access to the WP download, I just realized that there is no good membership plugin for WordPress that works nicely with Stripe Checkout. I even wasted two weeks on this so far! Bummer!

I tested Billflow, MemberPress, MemberSpace, Memberful, Billsby, Chargebee, MemberMouse, Ultimate Member, Restrict Content Pro, WP-Members, Restrict User Access, Paid Memberships Pro, and some more...

Of course, I read all the blog posts from so-called experts and recommendations from tool review directories, but it looks like these guys recommend stuff that they have not really tested by themselves...

Because, when you install this stuff, it all comes down to 2 facts:

1. It either looks like BS. or
2. It simply does not work (meaning does not change the user role after the payment or simply cannot be connected properly or is too darn complicated to be of any use for the intended workflow.)

Mostly it´s all of that.

Speaking about a great user profile plugin for WordPress I would totally recommend Ultimate Member. It has hands down THE BEST and most beautiful user profile for WordPress! And it´s even free(mium). But it does not have a native Stripe integration. Instead UM relies on the bloated and unnecessary WooCommerce and even an additional and expensive paid plugin for the subscription management.

I don´t do complicated and unnecessary, sorry...

So I was looking for an external Stripe self-service dashboard, that has the benefit of not relying on WP and would be easy to migrate to any other CMS or custom development. There are also a few alternatives, but I finally settled for Billflow, because it has the most advanced options and most beautiful dashboard integration for Stripe Checkout. Unluckily, it does not work with Ultimate Members! F@#k...

Can I still recommend any Stripe Checkout dashboard tools at all? Yes:

So if you are not relying on WordPress and you are looking for a Stripe Checkout integration for your new SaaS tool, I can totally recommend using Billflow over Billsby (even though highly recommended and great support!), Memberspace, Chargebee, or Memberful.

So what now?

Looking at the Stripe Partner directory, I discovered WP Full Stripe, which is a WP native plugin and has a Members plugin extension to restrict content. As this is a native addon, it will surely work better than combining two different tools.

If you want you can follow all my updates on my blog: https://vispr.net/blog