In the current digital economy, the subscription model is one of the most effective and reliable methods to earn money online at a stable rate.
You can sell online courses, membership communities, courses, or other premium content with a subscription website.
If you want to create a subscription site, you need the best subscription website-building platform at your disposal. A perfect platform will help you manage payments, protect your content, engage your audience, and scale as you grow.
In this guide, we’ll explore 15 of the best platforms to create a subscription site that’s not only functional but dynamic and affordable.
Let’s begin.
What is a Subscription Website?
A subscription website is a platform where users pay a recurring fee to access exclusive content, products, or services. Instead of one-time purchases, you build a steady stream of income by offering ongoing value.
You can offer different things like premium courses, newsletters, membership communities, or digital resources in your subscription website.
If you’ve ever signed up for Netflix or a premium newsletter, you’ve already seen how powerful this model can be. It’s all about creating something so valuable that people want to stick around and pay for it, month after month.
15 Best Platforms to Create a Subscription Site
Here are the 15 best platforms to create a profitable subscription site:
EzyCourse
Podia
Teachable
Kajabi
Thinkific
MemberPress
Substack
Patreon
Gumroad
Mighty Networks
Ghost
LearnDash
Memberful
ClickFunnels
Payhip
Let's get into the details of each platform.
1. EzyCourse
EzyCourse is an intuitive, all-in-one platform designed to help content creators, coaches, and educators build and scale subscription-based businesses.
EasyCourse is equipped with all the features you need to deliver an excellent experience for you and your audience in selling online courses, memberships, or digital products.
EzyCourse is a simple and easy-to-use platform. It lets you concentrate on content creation without worrying about technical stuff.
It offers a simple website builder and course-building tools, integrated payment gateways, membership management, marketing automation, and everything else all wrapped up inside one single platform.
EzyCourse is a great choice for anyone looking to create a subscription site that is both user-friendly and scalable.
Key Features
Course & Website Builder: You can build sleek, professional-looking courses and websites using simple course-building tools.
Subscription & Membership Tools: EzyCourse lets you create membership bundles and offer greater value to your customers with membership subscriptions. You can earn recurring payments and manage a complete membership site with EzyCourse. You can also sell any product from your site,
Integrated Community: With the EzyCourse Community feature, you can easily get in touch with your audience using forums, comments, and group chat. Managing a community is also fun with ExyCourse, with interactive features.
Payment Integration: EzyCourse provides several payment integration options where you can swipe credit cards using Stripe, PayPal, RazorPay, and other leading gateways to ensure that you are able to collect money securely.
Marketing & Automation: You can automate emails, create upsells, and smart workflows to increase engagement and revenue.
Mobile App Support: Mobile support with EzyCourse means your members can connect on the fly.
Digital Downloads Support: EzyCourse allows you to deliver and sell digital downloads like eBooks, templates, audio files, PDFs, videos, and zip files.
Live Sessions & Webinars: You can conduct live classes, Webinars, and Q&A sessions to interact with users in real time.
Pros
Beginner-friendly interface
Affordable pricing with good value
All-in-one platform with built-in tools
Active support and regular feature updates
White labeling is available for branding
Mobile app access for users on the go
Built-in community features for engagement
Real-time analytics to track growth
Easy integration with payment gateways
Flexible course and subscription management
Automated tools to track time and increase sales
Cons
No free plan available
Limited e-commerce features
Pricing
EzyCourse offers four pricing plans for you to create a subscription website.
1. Basic: $45/month (billed annually)
2. Pro: $139/month (billed annually)
3. Unlimited: $199/month (billed annually)
4. Elite: $299/month (billed annually)
2. Podia
Podia is a user-friendly platform that allows you to quickly building a subscription site for selling online courses, digital downloads, or memberships. You can retain more of your earnings using Podia.
Podia handles payments, course setup, and even email marketing. So you have more time to connect with your audience. Podia offers the essential tools you need to operate your business.
Key Features
Course Creation Tools: You can create online courses quickly and easily with videos, quizzes, assignments, and more.
Subscription Plans: Podia allows you to create several subscription plans with different pricing, content, and access levels for receiving recurring revenues.
Email Campaigns: You’re able to create and send email campaigns to your list.
Digital Product Sales: Beyond your membership and courses, you can also sell digital downloads like eBooks, PDFs, templates, etc.
Integrated Affiliate Marketing: Podia offers you the facility to create affiliate programs that allow other individuals to sell your products and earn revenue from successful referrals.
Pros
User-friendly interface
No transaction fees on sales with the Shaker plan
Flexible course creation tools
Excellent customer support through live chat
Built-in email marketing and automation tools
Ability to sell memberships, courses, and digital products
Customizable branding for a professional look
No coding skills required to set up
Easy-to-use affiliate marketing system
Cons
Limited design customization compared to other platforms
The platform may feel basic for larger businesses with complex needs
Limited community-building features compared to some competitors
No mobile app for members (though it's mobile responsive)
Pricing
Podia offers two pricing plans. You’ll get access to Podia's email platform for free with both of these options.
1. Mover: $33/month (billed annually)
2. Shaker: $75/month (billed annually)
3. Teachable
Teachable is a powerful platform designed to help creators, educators, and entrepreneurs create a subscription site. This platform is great for selling online courses and memberships and is very course-oriented.
Teachable handles the payments and all of the technical setup so you can focus on creating, marketing, and selling your content.
Key Features
Course Builder: Teachable makes it pretty easy to build courses with its user-friendly course builder. You can add videos, quizzes, assignments, and multimedia.
Membership and Subscription: You can create membership & subscription plans, decide to whom you’d like to restrict access to your premium content, and enable or disable people to transfer between plans.
Flexible Pricing: Teachable allows you to offer one-time course purchases, subscriptions, or payment plans.
Payment Processing: Teachable manages your payments using integrated payment processors, Stripe and PayPal.
Affiliate Marketing: You can create an affiliate program through Teachable to assist in advertising your courses and earning a commission.
Custom Domains: You can connect your own custom domain name so your site looks a little more branded and professional.
Pros
Easy-to-use course creation tools
Wide range of pricing and payment options
No transaction fees on higher plans
Robust support with tutorials and customer service
Mobile-friendly for students
Cons
Higher transaction fees on the lowest plan
Lacks community-building features (e.g., forums, discussions)
Limited flexibility in design for landing pages
Limited integrations with some third-party apps
Pricing
Teachable offers four pricing plans.
1. Basic Plan: $59/month (billed annually)
2. Pro: $159/month (billed annually)
3. Pro+: $249/month (billed annually)
4. Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing
4. Kajabi
Kajabi is an all-in-one platform that allows you to create a subscription website with ease, focusing on online course creation, membership sites, and digital product sales.
Kajabi is for content creators who want a more cohesive space for marketing, sales, and content delivery and functionality. Kajabi helps you scale your business without third-party integrations.
Kajabi gives you everything from a website to payment processing and email marketing. In addition, it is perfect for growing your subscription-based business with high-quality content and services.
Key Features
Subscription Creation: Kajabi allows you to set up subscription-based offers, including the ability to add trial periods and setup fees.
Course & Content Creation: Online courses, blogs, mini-courses, and other content can be created and managed in your membership site.
Email Sequences, Funnels & Pipelines: You can set up automated email sequences, funnels & pipelines for lead nurturing and conversion.
Sales Pages & Landing Pages: Kajabi enables you to design custom sales pages and landing pages without needing to know how to code.
Payments: You can process payments/checkouts through Kajabi, and your subscriptions stay secure.
Mobile App: Kajabi offers a mobile app that can be branded for your members to access content on the go.
Membership Management: Kajabi offers tools to manage your membership levels, create exclusive content tailored for your members, and track your membership performance.
Pros
All-in-one platform for content, marketing, and payments
Powerful marketing automation tools
Customizable sales and landing pages
Mobile app for a branded user experience
Robust support with 24/7 customer service
Advanced reporting and analytics
Highly flexible course and membership options
No transaction fees
Cons
More expensive than some competitors
Limited customization on lower-tier plans
Lacks some community-building features like forums
Pricing
Usually, Kajabi offers four pricing plans. But at the time of writing this blog, they’re offering only one special premium plan for creators.
1. The Creator Plan: $99 (for 3 months)
The usual pricing plans that you’ll get after the three months are:
1. Kickstart: $71/month (billed annually)
2. Basic: $119/month (billed annually)
3. Growth: $159/month (billed annually)
4. Pro: $319/month (billed annually)
5. Thinkific
Thinkific is a versatile platform that allows you to build a subscription site by offering online courses, memberships, and digital products.
Thinkific is especially valuable to course creators and instructors who seek to create compelling educational experiences and/or monetize their knowledge. It is customizable in everything from content to marketing.
Thinkific stands out due to its user-friendly and flexible features. This makes it ideal for both new and expert creators who require solid functionalities to grow their company.
Key Features
Course Builder: You can use video, assignments, quizzes, and other multimedia content with the intuitive course builder that Thinkific provides.
Membership & Subscriptions: Thinkific gives you the ability to build membership experiences and subscription-based offerings to earn recurring income from your audience. You can offer the flexibility of accessing the content and paying either on a monthly or yearly basis.
Personalized Landing Page: Thinkific lets you build your branded pages without having to code.
Payment Processing Built-In: It connects with Stripe and PayPal for easy payment processing and doesn’t charge any transaction fees from the higher plans.
Email Marketing & Automation: Thinkific has some simple email marketing capabilities and automation to help convert leads and engage users.
Live Zoom Integration: Thinkific integrates with Zoom to help you host live sessions and webinars directly on the platform.
Pros
Easy-to-use interface for creating and selling courses
Flexible membership and subscription options
No transaction fees on higher-tier plans
Customizable landing pages for better branding
Robust reporting and analytics tools
Zoom integration for live classes and webinars
Excellent customer support with a comprehensive knowledge base
Cons
Limited email marketing and automation features on lower plans
The design customization options can feel restrictive
Basic community-building tools (e.g., lacks forums or group chats)
Higher-tier plans can be expensive
Limited third-party integrations compared to some competitors
Pricing
Thinkific offers four pricing plans.
1. Basic: $36/month (billing annually)
2. Start: $74/month (billing annually)
3. Grow: $149/month (billing annually)
4. Thinkific+: Custom pricing
6. MemberPress
MemberPress is a powerful WordPress membership plugin that enables you to create a subscription site and manage memberships, courses, and digital content.
This platform will work well for you if you have an active WordPress site and need a simpler solution to transform it into a subscription-based business or a membership site.
MemberPress provides robust features to manage recurring billing, access control, and member engagement. MemberPress is very well integrated into WordPress, so you can customize your site a lot, but simultaneously it also keeps it easy and simple to use.
Key Features
Membership & Subscription Tools: MemberPress allows you to create and manage subscription-based plans with various pricing structures, including one-time payments and automatic recurring subscriptions.
Content Protection & Access Control: You can restrict access to specific pages, posts, and content based on the user’s membership level.
Payment Integration: MemberPress integrates with payment gateways like Stripe, PayPal, and Authorize.net for easy payment processing.
Automated Billing & Subscription Management: MemberPress automates the billing process, managing renewals, cancellations, and payments with ease.
Course & Content Dripping: You can release content gradually over time (drip-feed) to keep members engaged and increase retention.
Affiliate Program Integration: MemberPress has built-in support for affiliate programs to help you increase your reach and grow sales.
Detailed Reporting & Analytics: MemberPress provides robust reporting to track revenue, membership stats, and payment history.
Pros
Full integration with WordPress for easy customization
Excellent membership and subscription management tools
No transaction fees (unless using third-party gateways)
Built-in affiliate program to boost marketing
Advanced content protection and access control
Detailed reporting and analytics
Customizable design options through WordPress themes
Cons
Requires WordPress to use the platform
It can be complex for beginners without WordPress experience
Higher learning curve due to the need to customize within WordPress
No native mobile app for members
Pricing
MemberPress offers three pricing plans.
1. Basic: $179.50/year
2. Plus: $269.55/year
3. Pro: $319.60/year
7. Substack
Substack is a simple and effective platform designed for writers and content creators to create subscription sites around their newsletters.
Despite being the perfect platform for disseminating newsletters, Substack also provides an easy way to make content profitable through charges for access.
It is especially popular with journalists, content creators, and self-publishing writers who want to cultivate a loyal fan base and make a sustainable income out of their work.
Substack is all about being easy to use and straightforward. This means creators can start charging for their work by setting up a subscription model on Substack with minimal effort; in the meantime, they can focus on what they do best: Writing.
Key Features
Subscriptions & Payments: There are monthly and annual subscriptions as well as a Founding Member plan on Substack. It integrates with payment processors like Stripe, which makes it easy for you to get paid by your subscribers.
Newsletter Building & Publishing: You can write newsletters easily within the platform and send them out.
Email List Organization: You may create and organize email lists, segmenting subscribers and sending emails/newsletters to certain audiences.
Archive Contents: Older posts are accessible to subscribers; your newsletters are stored as archives automatically.
Analytics & Insights: Know your audience with insights on open rates, subscriber growth, audience engagement, and more.
Community Building Tools: You can provide special content to paid subscribers and communicate with your community via comments on posts.
Pros
Simple, easy-to-use interface
Focused on monetizing newsletters with paid subscriptions
No setup fees or platform charges (Substack takes a small percentage of earnings)
Built-in email list management and newsletter delivery
Great for writers, bloggers, and journalists
Integrated analytics to track performance
Offers a community-building feature through comments and interactions
Cons
Limited customization options compared to other platforms
Primarily focused on written content; not ideal for video or course creators
Less flexibility for membership-based models compared to dedicated membership platforms
No built-in course creation or multimedia tools
The platform’s revenue share is higher than some alternatives
Pricing
10% fee on paid subscription revenue (monthly).
8. Patreon
Patreon is a widely popular platform that allows creators to create subscription websites and monetize their content through memberships.
It's perfect for artists, musicians, podcasters, and other types of creators who want to start delivering premium content exclusively to their biggest fans.
Basically, Patreon focuses on a community around creators in exchange for value through support in the form of offering perks, behind-the-scenes access, etc.
So, Patreon offers a simple solution to gather your community, set up tiers of membership, and finally get paid regularly for your work.
Key Features
Subscription Tiers: You can have different tiers of membership subscriptions at varying prices and benefits for each category of support.
Private Content: With Patreon, you can provide content- video, blog, audio, etc., that only your paying subscribers can see.
Live Streaming Capability: You are able to run live streams for your patrons.
Community: Your fans/followers can comment on, message, and engage you in dialogue regarding your posts.
Built-in Payment Processing: Payments are handled by Patreon so you can receive payment via PayPal and Stripe.
Analytics & Insights: Patreon offers analytics and insights regarding your revenue, subscriber count, and interaction to help you track your growth and success.
Pros
Easy to use and set up for creators
Multiple membership tiers for flexibility
Strong community-building features with direct interaction
No fees/costs to register
Integrated live streaming capabilities
Option to offer exclusive content and physical rewards
Wide-reaching platform with a large, engaged audience
Payment processing is handled automatically
Cons
The platform takes a percentage of your earnings
Limited customization options for branding and design
The fee structure can become expensive as you scale
Limited control over the platform compared to a self-hosted site
Some creators may feel restricted by the tier-based system
Less focus on course creation or educational content compared to other platforms
Pricing
It's free to start with Patreon. After that, Patreon offers two pricing structures with unique features.
1. Pro: 8% of all your earnings
2. Premium: 12% of all your earnings
9. Gumroad
Gumroad is a simple and efficient platform that allows creators to create a subscription site and sell digital e-commerce products, memberships, and subscriptions directly to their audience. It has subscription tools to help you monetize your content.
This is a simple place to sell products and have a subscriber list without all the hassle. Gumroad is great for those who wish to do less coding and more creating and selling, since it is user-friendly and requires little to no setup.
Key Features
Sales of digital goods: You can sell eBooks, tutorials, courses, audio, art, software, physical products, and more- it’s super easy with handy payment processing.
Subscription Model: Gumroad allows you to set up recurring subscription services, where users can pay on a monthly or quarterly basis to access your content.
Checkout Customization: You can customize the checkout process, like applying discount codes, creating flexible tiers, allowing pay-what-you-want checkouts, or offering subscriptions.
Easy Payment: Gumroad pays directly into your bank account, PayPal, and other options.
Subscriptions & Content: You can provide premium content to your subscribers and allow access to files and updates right there.
Analytics & Reporting: Gumroad offers basic analytics to track sales, subscriptions, and audience engagement.
Marketing Capabilities: Gumroad’s marketing capabilities include affiliate marketing, email lists, and promotion of your work.
Pros
Simple and easy-to-use platform
No monthly fees and hidden charges; you only pay a small transaction fee per sale
Supports digital products, subscriptions, and memberships
Customizable checkout process for a personalized experience
Quick and easy integration with payment gateways
Supports affiliate marketing and discount codes
Minimal setup required for creators to start selling
Great for creators with a small or medium-sized audience
Cons
Limited design and branding customization options
Transaction fees can add up, especially for lower-priced products
Lacks advanced features for larger businesses (e.g., no course creation tools)
Less robust community-building features compared to some other platforms
May not scale well for more complex membership sites or courses
Pricing
Gumroad offers two different pricing structures for business owners.
1. Standard Sales (through Direct Links or Profile)
Transaction Fee: 10% of the sale amount
Processing Fee: $0.50 per transaction
2. Discover Marketplace Sales
Transaction Fee: 30% of the sale amount
10. Mighty Networks
Mighty Networks is a powerful platform that allows you to create a membership site focused on building communities. It is intended to allow creators, educators, and entrepreneurs to provide content, courses, and memberships and engage with audiences.
Mighty Networks is your own branded community space that allows your members/subscribers to interact with your content and one another and discuss topics within that space.
An ideal platform for those with a focus on community, Mighty Networks combines learning, networking, and sharing content all in one application. This leaves it as a distinguishing alternative for social-centric subscription-based sites.
Key Features
Community Building Tools: Mighty Networks offers options for creating groups and discussion forums to help build community and foster conversation between members.
Course Creation: You can create courses that include videos, assignments, and quizzes that can also be password-protected for members only.
Sell & Bundle: You can sell memberships, events, courses, and private groups on Mighty Networks and bundle them together. You can offer monthly or yearly subscriptions, one-time payments, or bundles, including free trials, promotions, discounts, and coupons.
Mobile Application: Mighty Networks has a mobile app for iOS and Android so that your members can access your content and community on the go.
Custom Branding: Your Mighty Networks site is designed to reflect your business and can be completely branded with your logo, colors, and domain.
Content Dripping: You have the ability to drip content to keep the audience engaged and build anticipation.
Analytics & Reporting: Mighty Networks includes reporting capabilities, allowing you to monitor member activity and course completion as well as growth.
Pros
Excellent community-building features
Supports both courses and memberships
Mobile app for easy access by members
Custom branding to match your brand identity
Flexible pricing and subscription options
Ability to host live events and webinars
Content dripping for better engagement
Strong integration of social interaction within courses
Cons
It can be expensive, especially for larger communities
Limited course creation tools compared to more dedicated course platforms
Fewer customization options for landing pages and sales pages
Limited design flexibility compared to other platforms
Lacks advanced marketing automation features
Pricing
Mighty Networks comes with four different pricing plans.
1. The Community Plan: $49/month (billed annually)
2. The Courses Plan: $119/month (billed annually)
3. The Business Plan: $219/month (billed annually)
4. The Path-to-Pro Plan: $430/month (billed annually)
11. Ghost
Ghost is a modern, open-source platform designed for independent publishers, writers, and creators to create membership sites and build sustainable membership-based businesses.
Ghost is particularly perfect for independent content creators such as bloggers or newsletter makers, as it allows unrestricted control of the content, design, and monetization.
This platform strives for speed, seamless integration, and effortless personalization, and its robust tools assist in handling publication-related tasks, memberships, and paid subscriptions.
Unlike some other platforms, Ghost is self-hosted, which gives creators greater flexibility and ownership over their audience and brand.
Key Features
Membership & Subscription: Ghost's “Members” feature enables you to create paid subscriptions offering free and premium content options. You can easily integrate with Stripe for payment processing and manage subscriptions.
Publishing Platform: Ghost is built with powerful content creation tools for your blogging, newsletters, and editorial-style posts.
Custom Design & Themes: You can fully customize your site with themes, code injection, and advanced styling options.
Email Newsletters: Ghost includes native email tools to send newsletters directly to your members without third-party services.
Control Access to Content: You can effortlessly control who accesses your content- public, members-only, or paid-subscriber-only content.
Performance & SEO Optimization: Ghost is fast and is designed to be SEO friendly so that your content can rank better.
Self-Hosted: Developers have the flexibility to host themselves and customize the platform to any specific needs.
Analytics Dashboard: Ghost includes built-in engagement and membership tracking tools to monitor your growth and performance.
Pros
Clean, modern interface for both creators and readers
Full control over your audience, content, and data
Excellent for writers, bloggers, and newsletter creators
Native support for memberships and email newsletters
SEO-friendly and high-performance out of the box
An open-source option is available for self-hosting and full customization
No transaction fees on Ghost(Pro) plans
Cons
Requires technical skills for self-hosting
Limited built-in community features (no forums or group chats)
Fewer third-party integrations than some competitors
Not ideal for complex course creation or video-heavy content
Fewer templates
Pricing
Ghost offers four pricing plans. Each pricing plan has a member limit and the price increases with the number of members you have.
1. Starter: $9/month (billed yearly)
2. Creator: $25/month (billed yearly)
3. Team: $50/month (billed yearly)
4. Business: $199/month (billed yearly)
12. LearnDash
LearnDash is a powerful WordPress LMS (Learning Management System) plugin that helps you create a membership website focused on delivering online courses and training programs.
It’s widely used by educators, schools, entrepreneurs, and businesses who want complete control over their course content and how it’s presented.
Since it runs on WordPress, LearnDash offers high flexibility and customization options, making it ideal for users comfortable with WordPress.
With features like drip content, quizzes, certificates, and advanced reporting, LearnDash turns your WordPress site into a full-fledged e-learning platform with subscription capabilities.
Key Features
Advanced Course Builder: LearnDash provides a drag-and-drop builder to create your structured lessons, topics, quizzes, and assignments.
Subscription & Membership Options: You can offer one-time purchases or recurring subscriptions through native and third-party tools.
Content Dripping: LearnDash allows you to release course content over time to keep your learners engaged and coming back.
Quizzes & Certifications: You can add quizzes, award certificates, and even track performance with gradebooks.
Integration with Payment Gateways: LearnDash integrates with Stripe, PayPal, WooCommerce, and other tools to handle your subscription payments securely.
Email Notifications: Send automated emails based on user actions like course completion or quiz submissions.
Extensive Integrations: LearnDash Works with membership plugins, CRMs, and email tools to extend your functionality.
Pros
Powerful course-building tools with advanced features
Flexible subscription and access control options
Full ownership and customization on WordPress
Ideal for educators and training organizations
Supports quizzes, certificates, and grade tracking
Works well with other WordPress plugins
Scalable for small creators and large institutions
Cons
Requires a WordPress site and hosting
Design depends on your WordPress theme
Needs third-party plugins for some advanced features
Limited support unless on higher-tier plans
Pricing
LearnDash offers three pricing plans under the LearnDash Cloud package.
1. Starter: From $25/month (paid annually)
2. Growth: From $41/month (paid annually)
3. Pro: From $83/month (paid annually)
Other than these three pricing plans, you can purchase the LearnDash LMS WordPress Plugin for $199/year (for 1 site) to easily create and sell e-learning courses.
13. Memberful
Memberful is a lightweight but powerful membership platform designed to help creators and businesses create a profitable subscription site and sell memberships directly to their audience.
It's especially popular among writers, podcasters, and independent publishers who want to monetize their content while keeping full control over their brand, website, and community.
Memberful integrates seamlessly with WordPress and other website builders. It lets you manage subscriptions, protect content, and grow your membership business.
Key Features
Hosted Member Website: Memberful can host your entire subscription site, including the sign-up page, member-only content, and more.
Content Protection: Memberful restricts access to your premium content, downloads, or resources based on member status. This ensures that only those who subscribe can access certain areas of your website.
WordPress Integration: It protects WordPress pages and posts for seamless integration with your existing website.
Custom Branding: You can personalize your checkout, login, and member subscription pages to match your brand.
Affiliate marketing: Memberful Integrates with platforms like Tapfiliate for tracking referrals and incentivizing members to share your content.
Analytics: It gives you the ability to track member engagement, revenue, and other key metrics to optimize your membership strategy.
Pros
Easy integration with existing websites
Clean and user-friendly interface
Supports multiple membership plans
No need to migrate your entire site
Focuses on privacy and security
Great for creators who want control over their branding
No coding required for setup
Cons
Requires a separate website or CMS (like WordPress)
Limited course creation tools
Fewer customization options than other top platforms
No mobile app for members
Pricing
You can try Memberful in test mode for as long as you want. You’ll get access to all the features for one monthly price.
Monthly Fee: $49/month
Transaction Fee: 4.9% per successful payment
14. ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels is a robust and popular platform designed to help you create a subscription site by providing powerful marketing and sales funnel tools.
ClickFunnels was originally built for marketers. You can easily build business sales pages, landing pages, membership sites, and whole sales funnels without needing any technical skills.
It’s perfect for those who want to streamline starting up their online business and get the most conversions possible. ClickFunnels is more than capable of handling your subscription business with the built-in automation, payment processing, and marketing capabilities to grow your business.
Key Features
Funnel Builder: ClickFunnels makes it easy to create sales funnels that guide users from landing pages to checkout, including upsells and order bumps to maximize revenue.
Membership Sites: You can create membership sites where only paying members can access certain exclusive content.
Email Marketing Automation: ClickFunnels also has tools for automating your email campaigns, follow-ups, and even nurturing your subscribers.
Payment Integrations: ClickFunnels can integrate with different forms of payment processing and allows you to create recurring subscriptions and process member payments.
Drag-and-Drop Builder: With ClickFunnels, you can easily create and customize pages using their drag-and-drop editor without the need for coding.
Tools for A/B Testing: With the help of A/B testing, you can improve your funnels by checking different pages and components for improved performance.
User Management: The platform provides tools to manage user accounts, track subscriptions, and communicate with your membership base.
Pros
All-in-one solution for building funnels, memberships, and email automation
User-friendly drag-and-drop builder for ease of use
High-converting funnel templates are available to get started quickly
Excellent for launching and scaling subscription-based businesses
Built-in email marketing and automation tools
Seamless integration with various payment gateways
Robust A/B testing tools for optimizing funnels
Cons
It can be expensive, especially for smaller businesses
Steep learning curve for beginners unfamiliar with funnels and automation
Not ideal for creators who want only a simple subscription site without sales funnels
The platform’s focus on sales funnels may not appeal to creators who prioritize community or courses over marketing automation
Pricing
ClickFunnels offers two pricing plans.
1. Startup: $81/month (billed annually)
2. Pro: $248/month (billed annually)
15. Payhip
Payhip is a straightforward platform that allows you to build a subscription website and sell digital products, memberships, and subscriptions with ease.
This is ideal for content creators, writers, illustrators, and anyone who wants to sell their work on a subscription model. It includes simple tools for digital product sales, membership management, and subscription billing.
Payhip makes it easy for creators to set up and manage their subscription sites. This platform remains a great option for small to mid-sized businesses that don’t need an overly complex platform.
Key Features
Automatic Payments: You can set up recurring payments from your customers with Payhip for memberships, subscriptions, or courses.
Sales of Digital Products: In addition to your subscriptions, you can sell ebooks, courses, design assets, software, templates, and other digital products.
Branded Checkout Pages: You can create a personalized checkout page that’s on-brand and provides a frictionless purchasing experience for your customers.
Integration of Payment Gateways: You can now process payments securely and easily on Payhip because PayPal and Stripe have been integrated.
Affiliate Program: You can create an affiliate program to commission others for selling subscriptions.
Analytics & Reports: With Payhip's detailed reports, you can track subscription sales, customer data, and overall performance at a glance.
Pros
Simple and easy-to-use platform for beginners
No setup fees or monthly charges for basic plans
Supports both digital product sales and subscriptions
Customizable checkout pages to match your brand
Integrates with PayPal and Stripe for secure payments
Built-in affiliate program to drive new subscribers
Immediate digital product delivery for a seamless user experience
Cons
Lacks community-building features like forums or group discussions
Customization options are more limited
Does not offer built-in course creation tools
No mobile app for customers to access content on the go
Pricing
Payhip offers three pricing plans.
1. Free Forever: $0/month
2. Plus: $29/month
3. Pro: $99/month
How to Choose the Right Platform to Create a Subscription Site
Choosing the right platform for a subscription site depends on your specific goals, audience, and content type. Here's a guide to help you decide:
1. Define Your Goals
Ask yourself:
What are you offering? (e.g., premium content, courses, newsletters, community access)
Who’s your target audience? (creators, professionals, students, readers)
What’s your format? (videos, articles, downloads, coaching, etc.)
What is your revenue model? (monthly/annual subscriptions, tiered memberships, free trials)
You just need to cross-check the features list of the platform with your answer set. If the platform offers all of them, you’ve got a winner.
2. Evaluate Key Features
Look for platforms that support:
Subscription billing and payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal, etc., for recurring billing)
Content restriction and drip scheduling based on subscription level
Tiered membership levels
Email marketing and automation
Community features (forums, chat)
Analytics to track subscriptions and engagement
3. Technical Skill Required
No-code: Go with EzyCourse, Podia, Kajabi, or Substack
Moderate to Advanced: Thinkific, Mighty Networks, Ghost, MemberPress, LearnDash, Memberful, ClickFunnels
4. Budget
Free to Low Budget: Substack, Gumroad, Payhip, Ghost (self-hosted), Patreon
Mid-range: EzyCourse, Podia, Teachable, Thinkific, Mighty Networks
Higher budget: Kajabi, MemberPress, or custom platforms
5. Scalability & Integrations
Consider whether the platform integrates with your email marketing, CRM, and analytics tools.
Ensure it can grow with your business without becoming overly costly or limited.
Why EzyCourse is the Best Platform for a Profitable Subscription Site
Here’s why EzyCourse is one of the best platforms to create a profitable subscription site:
All-in-One Solution: EzyCourse combines online courses, memberships, digital downloads, coaching, and community features- no need for extra tools or plugins.
Flexible Subscription Models: Create tiered memberships, sell bundles, or offer free trials- perfect for scaling and maximizing recurring revenue.
Built-In Marketing Tools: Includes email marketing, funnels, upsells, coupons, and automation for the purposes of converting and keeping subscribers, all in one place.
Community & Engagement: Group functionality, messaging, and discussions are all built into the platform, keeping your audience engaged and more likely to retain.
Simple and No Tech Skills Needed: You can easily build and control your site with the drag-and-drop builder and intuitive dashboard without being tech-savvy.
Variety of Monetization: Multiple options for monetizing, including subscriptions, one-time sales, coaching, and other digital products, all allowing you to make more from every customer.
Low Setup Cost: Compared to high-end tools like Kajabi, EzyCourse offers similar, rather unlimited features at a more affordable price, making it perfect for creators who want to stay profitable from day one.
With EzyCourse, you have everything you require to develop, create, launch, grow, and monetize your subscription business in one platform, without juggling multiple platforms or breaking the bank.
Conclusion
If you're ready to create a subscription site, you’ve got plenty of options here, each with its own strengths tailored to different needs and goals. The key is to find the best platform (e.g., EzyCourse) that aligns with your content type, audience, and business model.
The platforms we covered are designed to help you launch quickly and grow efficiently, whether you’re selling online courses, memberships, or premium content.
So, spend some time browsing the platforms, try to begin with a free trial when possible, and think in terms of providing consistent value.
You can try the free trial of EzyCourse now and explore the awesome features of it to create your subscription website.
FAQs
Can I create a subscription site without coding skills?
Yes, most modern platforms are no-code or low-code, drag-and-drop type tools. That being said, if you are someone with coding skills, it’ll definitely help you to integrate some advanced features into your website.
Which platform is best for beginners?
Platforms like EzyCourse and Podia are beginner-friendly with intuitive interfaces. They have close to zero learning curve.
What types of content work best for subscription models?
The most popular types of content for subscription models include online courses, coaching, premium newsletters, exclusive videos, digital communities, and templates.
Do these platforms handle payments and security?
Yes, almost all of the platforms on our list integrate with Stripe, PayPal, or built-in processors and offer secure transactions.
