How Much Does It Cost to Start a Membership Website in 2023?
Starting a membership website can be an excellent way to build a recurring revenue stream online. But before diving in, it‘s important to understand the costs involved to budget appropriately and avoid any surprises.
In this guide, we‘ll break down all the potential expenses you might encounter when launching a membership site, provide specific pricing examples, and share some tips for keeping costs under control. By the end, you‘ll have a clear idea of how much to allocate and where you might be able to save some money.
One-Time Costs vs Recurring Costs
When budgeting for a membership site, it‘s helpful to separate your projected expenses into two main categories:
- One-time costs for the initial setup and configuration of your site
- Recurring monthly or annual costs to keep everything up and running
Some of the key one-time costs include:
- Purchasing a domain name
- Buying an SSL certificate
- Paying for a membership plugin
- Buying a premium theme (if desired)
- Hiring a designer and/or developer for custom work
Typical recurring costs to account for:
- Web hosting
- Email marketing service
- Payment processing fees
- Plugin and theme license renewals
- Ongoing support and maintenance
We‘ll look at each of these in more detail, but generally you can expect to spend $500-1000 upfront to get started, then $50-200+ per month to operate the site. The recurring costs can scale up depending on the size of your member base and which services you use.
Domain Name
Every website needs a domain name, which will cost you around $10-20 per year. Choosing a good domain is important for branding and SEO. If your preferred .com is taken, you might consider an alternate TLD like .co, .net, .io, etc. But in general, .com is still the gold standard for credibility and memorability.
Some hosting plans, like those from Bluehost, include a free domain name for the first year, which is a nice added value. But you‘ll need to factor in that $10-20 annual renewal cost going forward.
SSL Certificate
An SSL certificate is essential for any site that collects payment or personal info. It encrypts the connection to keep data secure. Google also uses SSL as a positive ranking signal.
Many hosts now include a free Let‘s Encrypt SSL certificate, which is perfectly adequate in most cases. For example, Bluehost, SiteGround, Dreamhost and other popular shared hosts all offer Let‘s Encrypt certificates that can be activated with just a few clicks.
If your host doesn‘t provide an SSL cert for free, you can buy one separately for around $50-200 per year. More expensive certificates may offer a warranty or more robust encryption, but are not strictly necessary for most membership sites. The free options work just fine.
Web Hosting
Web hosting is the foundation of your site and it‘s a recurring expense you‘ll need to budget for each month. For most new membership sites, a simple shared hosting plan is the most economical choice and will provide plenty of resources, at least initially.
Shared hosting plans start as low as $3-5/month from providers like Bluehost or Hostinger. As of 2023, here are some current hosting prices from popular companies:
- Bluehost: $2.95/month for 12 months, then $9.99/month
- Dreamhost: $2.59/month for 12 months, then $6.99/month
- HostGator: $2.64/month for 12 months, then $8.95/month
- SiteGround: $3.99/month for 12 months, then $14.99/month
As your site grows, you may need to upgrade to a VPS or managed WordPress hosting plan for better performance. For example, SiteGround‘s GrowBig managed WordPress plan supports ~25,000 monthly visits for $24.99/month. WP Engine‘s managed plans start at $28/month for up to 25,000 visits. This type of upgrade won‘t be required right away but is something to budget for down the road.
Membership Plugin
To accept payments and restrict access to premium content, you‘ll need a membership plugin. Most of the top options have an upfront fee to purchase the plugin, then an annual renewal to continue receiving updates and support.
Here‘s a quick price comparison of some of the leading WordPress membership plugins in 2023:
- MemberPress: $249/year for up to 2 sites
- Paid Memberships Pro: Free core plugin, Plus add-on for $297/year
- WishList Member: $147/year for 1 site
- Restrict Content Pro: $249/year for up to 5 sites
- MemberMouse: Starts at $29/month + 1.9-2.9% transaction fee
You likely only need one membership plugin, so we‘d recommend budgeting $200-300 for this part of the stack, with the expectation that it will be an annual expense to continue receiving updates.
Payment Processing
In order to accept credit card payments directly on your membership site, you‘ll need to integrate it with a payment processor like PayPal or Stripe.
Payment providers charge a transaction fee for each payment processed. The industry standard rate is currently 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction for PayPal and Stripe. So for example, if you have a $50/month membership plan, you‘ll pay $1.75 in transaction fees each time that plan renews.
Some membership plugins may also layer on a small additional fee. For example, MemberMouse charges between 1.9-2.9% depending on your plan tier. But in general, expect to lose about 3% of your membership revenue to payment processing costs.
The good news is that this expense scales directly in proportion to your revenue. The 3% fee is only applied to payments you actually receive. So while it does eat into profits a bit, it‘s not a cost you have to pay unless you‘re making money.
Email Marketing Service
Building an email list is also key for attracting and retaining members over time. For this, you‘ll need an email marketing service (EMS) to store your subscribers and send email campaigns.
The cost of an EMS depends on your number of subscribers. Most charge based on the size of your email list. Here are some pricing examples for a list of 5,000 subscribers:
- Mailchimp: $72/month
- ConvertKit: $79/month
- AWeber: $69/month
- Drip: $184/month
There are a few providers like MailerLite that offer free plans up to 1,000-2,000 subscribers. So in the early stages when your list is small, you may be able to avoid this cost temporarily. But realistically, budget at least $50-100/month if you want to grow your membership business for the long run.
Other Plugins
Aside from your membership plugin, there are a handful of other plugins we‘d consider essential that may have an additional cost:
- Backup plugin: $0-100/year
- Security plugin: $0-200/year
- Form plugin: $0-200/year
- SEO plugin: $0-200/year
Fortunately, for each of these key needs, there are excellent free options available like UpdraftPlus, Wordfence, WPForms Lite, and Yoast SEO or Rank Math.
So we‘d recommend starting with free plugins where possible and only upgrading to paid if you need the extra functionality they provide. This will help minimize costs without sacrificing essential features.
Theme
When it comes to your site‘s design, you also have the choice between a free theme, a premium off-the-shelf theme, or a fully custom design.
There are great free options available, like Astra or Kadence, that are very flexible and more than capable of creating a professional looking membership site. The $0 price tag is hard to beat.
If you opt for a premium theme, the typical one-time price is in the $50-200 range. Some popular premium themes for membership sites include:
- Divi by Elegant Themes: $89/year or $249 lifetime
- Genesis Framework by StudioPress: $59.95 one-time
- BuddyBoss Theme: $228/year
- MembershipWorks: $125/year
A custom design is the most expensive route but may be worth considering if you have very unique needs or want a truly one-of-a-kind site. Expect to pay at least $1,500-5,000 for a quality custom membership theme. You‘ll also need to factor in ongoing costs for a developer whenever you need to make changes or troubleshoot issues.
For most membership sites just starting out, a free or premium theme is more than sufficient. You can always invest in a custom design down the road once your site is more established and revenue allows.
Maintenance and Support
The final piece of the budgeting puzzle is accounting for ongoing maintenance and support costs. This includes things like:
- Troubleshooting technical issues that arise
- Performing regular site backups
- Installing plugin/theme updates
- Making content changes and additions
- Answering customer support emails
In the beginning, you can probably handle most of this yourself. But as your site grows, the admin work can quickly become unmanageable.
If you have some technical knowledge, you may be able to find a developer to help out on a contract basis for one-off projects. Expect to pay at least $50/hour for reliable WordPress support.
For more comprehensive and proactive support, there are services like WP Maintainer or WP Buffs that offer monthly maintenance plans. These typically start around $75/month and go up from there depending on the size of your site and level of support needed.
You‘ll definitely want to budget for this expense as your membership matures. Keeping your site updated and running smoothly is key to member satisfaction and retention. Nobody wants their credit card to be charged for a membership they can‘t access.
Keep Costs Under Control
As you can see, the costs to start and run a membership site can add up quickly, especially as your site scales. But the good news is there are ways to keep expenses manageable.
Start small and lean – In the early stages, stick to the essentials and most affordable options like shared hosting and a free theme. Resist the temptation to splurge on fancy bells and whistles you don‘t really need yet. Wait until you have some paying members and revenue coming in before making big investments.
Make the most of free – Take advantage of free plans and plugins wherever you can to reduce your monthly overhead. Just be sure they come from reputable providers and are well-maintained. Free doesn‘t always mean lower quality.
Do it yourself – Learning to handle basic admin tasks like installing SSL, setting up backups, and troubleshooting common issues can save you a lot of money on developer fees. Invest some time in educating yourself and embrace the DIY ethos.
Think long-term – While it‘s good to keep upfront costs low, don‘t make decisions solely based on price. Consider the long-term implications as well, like performance, security, scalability, etc. Spending a bit more on managed hosting and premium plugins can pay off in terms of reliability and peace of mind.
Optimize for efficiency – Look for opportunities to automate repetitive tasks and streamline your workflows. The less time you have to spend on administration and support, the leaner you can operate. For example, creating an extensive knowledge base can reduce one-on-one support requests.
The Bottom Line
Starting a membership website doesn‘t have to be prohibitively expensive. By planning ahead, focusing on the essentials, and making smart choices, you can get up and running for less than you might think.
Expect to spend around $500-1,000 upfront for hosting, domain, SSL, membership plugin, and theme. Then budget at least $50/month for recurring costs like email, payment processing, and maintenance.
As your site grows, your operational costs will increase accordingly, but so will your revenue. With the right strategy and a lean approach, you can build a profitable membership business while keeping your expenses under control.
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