Membership Site4 platforms compared

Best CMS for Membership Sites in 2026

Compare the best platforms for building membership and subscription sites with gated content, payments, and member management.

Monetize your expertise with a membership site that you fully own and control.

TL;DR — Our Top Pick

Ghost is our top recommendation for membership site sites.

Built-in memberships, paid tiers, and newsletters. The fastest path to a membership site with zero custom code. Handles Stripe payments natively.

What a Membership Site CMS Needs

Creators, educators, and publishers building paid content or community platforms.

User authentication and member management

Payment processing and subscription billing

Gated content with access tiers

Member dashboard and profile pages

Email notifications and drip content

Top 4 Platforms Ranked

Ghost

Modern publishing platform built for professional content creators

TOP PICK

Built-in memberships, paid tiers, and newsletters. The fastest path to a membership site with zero custom code. Handles Stripe payments natively.

Open SourceNode.jsFree (self-hosted) / $9-199/month (managed)

Strengths

Beautiful, focused writing experience (Markdown + rich editor)
Built-in membership and subscription payment system
Newsletter/email delivery built right into the platform

Trade-offs

Limited to blogs and newsletters — not a general CMS
Small theme ecosystem compared to WordPress

Next.js + Stripe + Auth

React framework for production with SSR, SSG, and API routes

Full control over the member experience. NextAuth for authentication, Stripe for billing, and a headless CMS for content. Maximum flexibility.

Open SourceJavaScript/TypeScript (React)Free (open-source)

Strengths

Hybrid rendering — SSG, SSR, ISR, and client-side in one app
Most popular React framework with massive community
Built-in image optimization, API routes, and middleware

Trade-offs

React learning curve for non-JavaScript developers
App Router introduced complexity with Server Components

Payload CMS + Next.js

TypeScript-first headless CMS that lives in your Next.js app

Built-in access control, user management, and admin panel. Add Stripe for payments. Self-hosted with full data ownership.

Open SourceTypeScript / Node.jsFree (self-hosted) / Cloud plans available

Strengths

Lives inside your Next.js codebase — zero API latency
Config-as-code with full TypeScript type safety
Built-in auth, access control, and file uploads

Trade-offs

Tightly coupled to Next.js ecosystem
Newer platform with a smaller community and fewer plugins

Sanity + Next.js + Clerk

Real-time collaborative headless CMS with customizable Studio

Sanity manages content, Clerk handles auth, Stripe handles billing. Powerful stack for complex membership products.

Open SourceJavaScript/TypeScript (React-based Studio)Free / $15+/month per user

Strengths

GROQ query language is more powerful and flexible than GraphQL
Real-time collaborative editing (like Google Docs)
Fully customizable React-based Studio admin panel

Trade-offs

GROQ is a custom query language with its own learning curve
Studio customization requires React development knowledge

How to Decide

Ghost gets you to revenue fastest — memberships and payments are built-in

Custom Next.js builds give maximum control but require more development time

Payload CMS is ideal if you need custom member roles and content access rules

Always plan your content tiers before building — retrofitting access levels is harder

Ready to migrate from WordPress?

WordPress → Ghost WordPress → Next.js WordPress → Payload CMS

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I use Ghost or build custom?

If your membership is primarily content (articles, newsletters), Ghost is faster to launch. If you need custom features (courses, forums, tools), build with Next.js + Payload.

How do I handle payments?

Stripe is the standard. Ghost integrates natively. For custom builds, Stripe Checkout handles the payment flow and Webhooks manage subscription status.

Can I migrate from Patreon or Substack?

Yes. Export your subscriber list and content, then import into Ghost or your custom platform. Ghost has dedicated importers for both.