How Much Does Membership Management Software Cost? (2026)

Four ways membership software is priced

Nearly every platform for an association this size uses one of four pricing models. The model tells you more than the headline price. Each one gets more expensive in a different way as your association grows.

1. Tiers by contact or account count. You pay for a band, such as up to 250 or up to 500 contacts. Wild Apricot, MembershipWorks, Raklet and Veldun price this way. The catch is what counts as a contact. Some platforms count everyone in your database, newsletter subscribers and lapsed members included. A large mailing list can then push you up a band while your membership stays the same.

2. A rate per active member. ClubExpress charges from 42 cents per active member a month, up to 200 members. The rate falls to 30 cents between 501 and 1,000 members. Expired members cost nothing. So does a mailing list of up to 5 times your active members.

3. A low price plus a share of your payments. Join It starts at $29 a month and takes 3% of online payments on that plan. Raklet is free up to 100 contacts. It takes between 1% and 4% plus 60 cents a payment, depending on plan. These models look cheapest on the pricing page. They cost more the more dues you collect.

4. An annual quote. Systems built for associations with full-time staff, such as MemberClicks and Glue Up, publish a starting figure and then quote. MemberClicks lists "Starting at $4,500 annually" for individual-member organizations. Glue Up lists its Professional plan from $3,000 to $6,500 a year, billed annually.

Monthly cost at 100, 250 and 500 members

The table shows what each platform with a published price list charges at three common sizes. It assumes your member count and your contact count are the same. Further down, this guide shows why that assumption matters.

Two things stand out. The bands step up at different sizes, so the cheapest platform changes as you grow. ClubExpress is $95 a month at 250 members against Veldun's $99, and $170 at 500 against Veldun's $149. The table also cannot show what a platform takes from each payment. To see that, you need to add up a year.

What a year costs once payment fees are added

A subscription is a fixed cost. A share of payments grows with every member who renews. Adding both up over a year is the fair way to compare them. The example assumes each member pays $60 in dues online, once a year.

At 250 members, Join It's Starter plan comes to $798 for the year. That includes its 3% fee on $15,000 of dues, which is $450. Veldun comes to $1,188 for the same year, so Join It is cheaper at this size. No single model wins every time. You need your own dues total in the sum to know which is cheaper for your association.

Costs you won't find on the pricing page

These line items most often turn a reasonable quote into a surprising invoice.

A fee for using your own payment processor. Wild Apricot adds 20% to your subscription price if you collect through Stripe, PayPal or Authorize.Net, for accounts in the US and Canada. It calls this a Payment System Servicing Fee. The fee is charged on your subscription, whatever you collect, and Wild Apricot's help center notes it applies before you take a payment. On the 500-contact plan it adds about $370 a year.

A share of every payment. Some platforms take their own percentage, on top of the card fee your processor charges. Join It takes 3% on its Starter plan and 1.5% on its $199 Extra plan. Raklet takes from 1% to 4% plus 60 cents a payment, depending on plan. Springly's free tier takes no percentage. It is funded by optional tips that members are invited to add at checkout. MembershipWorks and Veldun take nothing from payments.

Setup fees. ClubExpress charges a one-time setup fee from $150 for its basic package, where you build the site yourself. Its pricing page lists a $24 monthly minimum, while its calculator applies $35. A small association should ask which one applies.

How contacts are counted. Take a bar association with 300 members and a mailing list of 700 more people. A platform that counts every address in the database bills it for 1,000 contacts. Veldun bills members plus anyone who registered for an event in the last twelve months. Newsletter-only subscribers are free up to 3 times your member count, so that association pays for its 300 members and any non-members who came to an event in the last year. ClubExpress goes further, with a free mailing list of up to 5 times active members. Price each platform at the number it will bill you for.

Annual commitments. Many vendors show a lower monthly figure that you only get by paying a year up front. That is a fair discount, as long as you compare like with like. Every figure in this guide is month to month unless it says otherwise.

The cost in someone's hours. A platform where you build and maintain the website yourself costs less than one where it is done for you. The difference is paid in someone's hours, whether a board member's or your staff's. That trade works if someone enjoys the work. It gets expensive if nobody does.

What each price includes

Prices compare fairly only once you know what each one buys. At this size, the biggest difference between platforms is the website. Some sell membership software that plugs into a website you already run. Some give you a builder to design your own. A few build the site for you. Most platforms that cover the whole job include email newsletters, event registration and a member directory. Check each feature at the plan you would buy, because some sit on higher tiers.

Veldun's price includes your association's website on its own domain. Veldun rebuilds your current site and drafts each change an admin asks for, so nobody has to become the website person. Dues, events, newsletters and the member directory come with every plan. Help moving from your old tools is included, and your new site is live within five business days of signing up.

When a cheaper option is the better buy

No single price is right for everyone. Several platforms above are the better buy for some associations.

• You have no budget at all. Springly's free tier takes no percentage of your payments. It works well if your members are happy to be invited to tip at checkout.
• Someone already runs your website. MembershipWorks is $35 a month at 250 accounts and $59 at 500, and takes nothing from payments. If you need membership software added to a site you already run, it is a strong buy.
• You need a member list and dues, and you collect modestly. Join It at $29 a month is simple and well liked. Check its percentage against your dues total before you assume it is cheapest.
• Your mailing list is far bigger than your membership. ClubExpress bills active members only and includes a mailing list of up to 5 times that number. That suits an association with a wide audience and a small paying core.
• You have full-time staff and complex needs. If you manage certifications and committees, MemberClicks or Glue Up is built for that work. Veldun is not built for it.

Veldun is the right price when nobody wants to be the website person, and you want dues, events and newsletters in one place, with every payment landing in the organization's own Stripe account.

Work out your own cost in five steps

1. Count what each platform bills for. That might be members, contacts, active members or accounts. Use the number that platform will count, which may differ from your membership.
2. Find the band. Read the vendor's own month-to-month price at that number.
3. Add what it takes from payments. Multiply your yearly dues and event income by any platform percentage. Add any charge per payment.
4. Add one-off and conditional fees. Setup, migration, and any fee for using your own processor.
5. Compare twelve months. A year is the only fair period for setting a subscription against a share of payments.

The calculator adds up a year for Veldun and Wild Apricot using your own numbers. It opens on the 250-member example above.