Squarespace Member Sites (Formerly Member Areas): The Honest Guide + Platform Comparisons
Updated May 2026 — originally published December 2020. These prices are correct at the time of writing, but platforms love a quiet update — always worth a quick check on their website before making any decisions.
Quick note: Squarespace has renamed Member Areas to Member Sites. You'll see both terms used across the web (and in this post) — they refer to the same product. 👋
If you want to create a membership site using Squarespace Member Sites (was Areas), host online courses, or gate your content behind a paywall, you're likely asking at least one of these questions:
"Can I actually do this on Squarespace?"
"Is Squarespace Member Areas (now Member Sites) worth paying for?"
"What's the difference between Squarespace Member Areas and Squarespace Courses?"
"Or should I just use Teachable / Kajabi / something else entirely?"
Squarespace Member Sites lets you create gated, subscription-based content right inside your existing website — no extra platform needed. But it isn't right for every business, and the landscape has changed a lot since I first wrote this post back in 2020.
In this post, we'll cover:
What Squarespace Member Sites actually is — and what's new in 2026
The update nobody talks about: Squarespace Courses (a completely separate product)
Who Member Areas is (and isn't) the right fit for
Updated 2026 pricing — and how to work out which plan saves you money
Honest comparisons with 9 membership platforms: MemberSpace, Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi, Mighty Networks, Skool, Circle, Podia and ThriveCart.
A quick-reference table so you can spot your best fit fast
My honest recommendation as a Squarespace Circle Member who's either tried these or knows someone who has
Heads up: this post contains affiliate links. If you click through and purchase, I may earn a small commission — but I only ever share tools I genuinely use or rate. Pinky promise.
Note: If you need a website, choose from my Squarespace template, my 3-day template build, or custom web design.
🔑 First Things First: What Is Squarespace Member Sites?
Squarespace Member Areas (you might also see it called "Member Sites" in some parts of the Squarespace platform) is a built-in add-on that lets you create ‘password-protected, members-only content’ on your existing Squarespace website.
Think of it like having a back room in your lovely shop. The public pages of your site are the shopfront; welcoming, doing their job beautifully. Member Areas is the room behind the velvet rope, where only your people get to go. 🛋️
Once set up, visitors can sign up (free or paid), log in, and access their content, all within the same website they already know and trust. Your branding stays completely consistent. No new platform to learn. No separate login, they'll definitely lose.
You can gate pretty much any page type in Squarespace behind a member area:
Videos
Blog posts
Downloadable files (PDFs, worksheets, ebooks)
Course pages
Standard pages with any mix of content
Members pay via a recurring subscription (monthly or annual), or you can offer free access. There's no cap on the number of members across any plan.
🆕 The Biggest Update Since 2023: Squarespace Now Has Two Products for This
Right, here's the thing that's changed most significantly since I wrote the original version of this post.
Squarespace now has two completely separate products for content monetisation:
1. Squarespace Member Sites (formerly Member Areas)
Designed for flexible, ongoing, subscription-based content.
Think of it like Netflix — your members pay a recurring fee and get access to an ever-growing content vault. Resource libraries, video collections, premium downloads, ongoing group programmes, and accountability memberships.
Squarespace Member Sites, formerly Squarespace Member Areas
2. Squarespace Courses (new since 2023)
Designed for structured, sequential online courses.
Think: a proper beginning-middle-end learning journey, with chapters in order and progress tracking. This is included in Business and Commerce plans, but comes with a 9% transaction fee out of the box (you can reduce this with add-ons).
Squarespace Courses
The big question to ask yourself before going any further:
"Am I building a library, or a course?"
Library (ongoing content, subscription, vault) → Member AreasCourse (structured learning journey, one-time purchase) → Squarespace Courses
You can also combine them. If you want to bundle a structured course with wider membership content — that's doable. Course pages can sit inside a Member Area.
🤔 Is Squarespace Member Areas Right For You?
✅ Member Areas is likely a good fit if you:
Already have (or plan to have) a Squarespace website
Want to offer an ongoing, recurring subscription — not a one-time course
Are building a resource library, premium video vault, or exclusive download hub
Run a group programme or monthly accountability membership
Want everything in one beautifully branded space — no platform-hopping
❌ Member Areas probably isn't the right fit if you:
Need proper course tracking and student progression reports (→ look at Squarespace Courses, Teachable, ThriveCart or Thinkific)
Want a built-in community forum or discussion board
Need to drip-feed content on a schedule (neither Squarespace product supports this currently)
Are building a primarily course-based education business from scratch
Need a full marketing funnel, email sequences, and automations baked in (→ Kajabi territory)
💰 Squarespace Member Areas: 2026 Pricing
Member Areas is an add-on — this is on top of your Squarespace website subscription (now Basic, Core, Plus or Advanced).
⚠️ Note: These transaction fees are on top of Squarespace Payments, standard Stripe or PayPal payment processing (roughly 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction). That adds up — so factor it into your pricing from day one.
Digital content transaction fees via Squarespace
Working Out Which Plan Is Worth It
A practical example: Say you're charging £50/month for your membership.
On Basic (7% fee): you're paying roughly £3.50 + payment processing on every transaction
Break-even point for upgrading from Basic to Core: around £300/month in member payments
So, once you have 6+ paying members at that price, the Core plan already starts to save you money. Do the maths before you start, not after. And just to clear up potential confusion — Squarespace also updated their website plan names in late 2025 (from Personal / Business / Commerce Basic / Commerce Advanced → Basic, Core, Plus, Advanced). The Member Areas add-on plans are completely separate. Don't let the overlapping name "Core" muddle things!
💡 Save 10% on your Squarespace website subscription with code: GIMME10
🔍 Membership Platform Comparisons — 2026 Edition
Right, let's get into the good stuff.
Here are the main alternatives, honestly reviewed. These aren't in ranked order — just worked through so you can find your best fit.
1. MemberSpace
Best for: Squarespace users who want more flexibility than Member Areas, without leaving their Squarespace site.
MemberSpace integrates directly with your Squarespace website (also compatible with Wix and WordPress), gating pages for approved members only. It lives within your site — so your branding, your UX, and your content all stay in one place.
What I like:
Content types are whatever you'd create in Squarespace anyway — blog posts, audio, video, downloadable PDFs
One-time payments, recurring subscriptions, free products, and payment plans are all supported
Multiple membership tiers, up to two connected domains
Welcome emails can be branded and connected to email platforms like Flodesk or Kit (formerly ConvertKit)*
Zapier integration for extra flexibility
14-day free trial
What to watch:
It's an additional third-party tool — another monthly cost, another login to manage
All transactions processed via Stripe
Pricing: From $49/month (or $39/month annual plan), + transaction fee of between 1-5% depending on plan
2. Teachable
Best for: Course creators who want a solid, established platform with strong marketing and checkout tools — and don't mind content living away from their main website.
I tried Teachable myself years ago. The versatility is genuinely good — quizzes, certificates, affiliate tools, VAT support. But I didn't love having my content away from my Squarespace home. That's a very personal thing, but it's worth considering.
What I like:
Strong checkout pages and affiliate marketing tools
One of the most established names in online courses
VAT support — helpful if you're selling to EU customers
7-day free trial on paid plans
What to watch:
Content must be structured as a course — individual pages or posts aren't an option
No built-in community feature
The Starter plan carries a 7.5% transaction fee — that gets painful pretty fast
Styling is more limited than you might hope for
Pricing 2026:
Starter: $39/month (or $29/month annually) — 7.5% transaction fee
Builder: $89/month (or $69/month annually) — 0% transaction fee
Growth: $189/month (or $139/month annually) — 0% transaction fee
3. Thinkific*
Best for: Course creators who want deep customisation, a clean student experience, and zero transaction fees at every plan level.
If you sign up for Thinkific through my link, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you — and I genuinely rate this platform for the right business.
Thinkific is the only major course platform that charges 0% commission across all plans — which is genuinely rare and worth noting. If you're building a proper course-based business, this matters to your bottom line.
What I like:
0% commission on all plans — full stop
All content types supported: quizzes, assignments, learning paths, drip content
Tiered membership levels, monthly or annual subscriptions
Optional standalone community area
Reasonably priced entry point
What to watch:
Members must create an account before purchasing (not ideal for impulse conversions)
One course player theme only — limited visual flexibility
Analytics are fairly basic
Pricing 2026
Basic: $49/month (or $36/month annually)
Start: $99/month (or $74/month annually)
Grow: $199/month (or $149/month annually)
Thinkific charges $0 in platform commission fees across all paid plans. You keep 100% of your course revenue, minus standard payment processing fees.
4. Kajabi
Best for: Established course creators or coaches who want an all-in-one platform for courses, email, marketing funnels, website, and community — and have the budget to match.
Kajabi is the premium option. Think of it as the Land Rover Discovery of course platforms — properly kitted out, excellent performance, and a price tag that reflects it. If you're at the stage where you need your entire marketing system under one roof, Kajabi genuinely delivers.
But — and this is a big but — prices went up significantly in 2026. If you're just starting, this probably isn't your first stop.
What I like:
Everything in one: courses, email marketing, landing pages, funnels, website, community, webinars
No transaction fees on any plan
Community feature built in
Flexible payment options for members (weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual, free trial, upfront fee)
Strong analytics and reporting
Beautiful, on-brand templates throughout
What to watch:
Significantly more expensive than it was when I first wrote this post
Kajabi branding isn't removable on lower tiers
Contact limits can catch you out as your list grows
Overkill (and a tad costly) if you just want a simple membership or one course
Pricing 2026:
Limited time offer: 50% off all plans for six months (until the end of May 2026)
Basic: $199/month (or $143/month annually)
Growth: $249/month (or $199/month annually)
Pro: $499/month (or $399/month annually)
14-day free trial available
5. Mighty Networks
Best for: Building an engaged, ongoing paid community — where connection and interaction between members is just as important as the content you create.
Mighty Networks has been through a pricing restructure in 2025. It's community-first at heart. If your vision is bringing people together — a private network, a mastermind group, a professional community — rather than primarily delivering courses, this is worth a look.
I've been a member of communities hosted on this platform. The community features are genuinely strong.
What I like:
Rich community and member engagement tools: profiles, posts, events, live chats
Free or paid community options with multiple pricing tiers
Mobile-accessible (branded app available on higher plans)
Online course creation with some student tracking
Multiple membership pricing structures
What to watch:
Not an LMS — course features are secondary to the community experience
No inbuilt video or audio hosting on entry plans
Course content is accessible to the whole community (harder to restrict to specific tiers)
Pricing 2026:
Launch: $79/month — 2% transaction fee
Scale: $179/month — 1% transaction fee
Mighty Pro: Custom (fully branded mobile app)
6. Skool 🆕 (New since my original post)
Best for: Coaches and online educators who want a simple, community-first platform with gamification built in — and don't need fancy marketing tools.
Skool is the newcomer worth knowing about. Founded by Sam Ovens and now co-owned by Alex Hormozi, it's grown fast and built a genuinely engaged creator community around it. It's deliberately stripped back — one feed, one classroom, one leaderboard. Simple.
What I like:
Very quick to set up and manage
Gamification (points, levels, leaderboard) keeps members actively engaged
Courses and community under one roof
14-day free trial
Straightforward pricing — no confusing tiers on the Pro plan
What to watch:
The Hobby plan's 10% transaction fee is genuinely eye-watering at any decent revenue level — do the maths before choosing it
Community-first: not the right choice if you want a pure course platform
No drip content or advanced marketing tools
You're building in Skool's ecosystem, not your own branded space
Relatively new — less proven at scale than most other options here
Pricing 2026:
Hobby: $9/month — 10% transaction fee (proceed with caution)
Pro: $99/month — 2.9% transaction fee
7. Circle*
Best for: Creators and coaches who want a highly polished, white-label community platform — and care deeply about the branded experience their members have.
Circle has grown substantially and is now a serious alternative to Mighty Networks. It's community-focused but with stronger white-labelling options, which matters if brand consistency is non-negotiable for you (and if you're reading this blog, I suspect it is 😉).
If you sign up for Circle through my link, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you — I only share tools I genuinely rate.
What I like:
Strong white-label and brand customisation options
Clean, modern community experience
Workflows and automations on higher tiers
Course hosting available as part of the community
What to watch:
Community + content hybrid, not a primary course platform
Transaction fees vary depending on plan
Pricing 2026:
Professional: From $89/month
Business: $199/month
Circle Plus: Custom Pricing
8. Podia
Best for: Creators who want to sell a mix of digital products — courses, downloads, coaching, and memberships — from one reasonably priced platform.
Podia sits comfortably in the mid-range. It's not as powerful as Kajabi, but it's more flexible than Squarespace Member Areas for selling varied digital content.
What I like:
Supports monthly, annual, and free trial membership tiers
Can drip-feed content — a genuine advantage over Squarespace
Individual posts for members (similar to a newsletter-style model)
Sales pages and EU VAT support
What to watch:
Rigid design limits
Basic text editor
Basic analytics
Limited automation
Pricing 2026:
Starter from approximately $33/month (limited features)
Full membership features from the Mover plan at around $75/month(Check Podia's website for current pricing — it does shift!)
9. ThriveCart*
Best for: Course creators and service-based business owners who want a seriously powerful checkout and sales experience — and would rather pay once than forever.
If you sign up for ThriveCart through my link, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you — I only share tools I genuinely rate.
Here's what makes ThriveCart stand out from everything else on this list: it's checkout-first, not course-first. Where platforms like Teachable or Thinkific are built around delivering content, ThriveCart is built around selling it — upsells, order bumps, payment plans, affiliate management, subscriptions. The checkout experience is genuinely excellent, and that matters more than people realise. A clunky checkout loses sales. ThriveCart doesn't.
The course side comes via ThriveCart Learn — included free with every ThriveCart account — or the upgraded Learn+ for a one-time add-on fee.
What I like:
One-time payment, no monthly fees — a genuine rarity in this space, and over time, a real money-saver compared to monthly SaaS subscriptions
0% transaction fees across all plans
Subscriptions and memberships fully supported — great for recurring income models
Drip content is supported via Learn+ — a notable advantage over Squarespace Member Sites
Strong affiliate management tools built in
Integrates beautifully with email platforms like Flodesk and Kit*
Bundles, student tagging, and multiple access levels are available on Learn+
What to watch:
ThriveCart doesn't host your videos or files — you'll need a separate host (Vimeo works well) and to link content in
No built-in community feature — you'd need to add Circle, Skool, or similar alongside it
No website builder — it works with your existing site, not instead of it (which, for Squarespace users, is actually fine)
The real cost picture includes the tools you'll need around it — email marketing, video hosting, your website subscription — so factor those in alongside the upfront fee
The honest summary: Think of ThriveCart less like a course platform and more like a brilliant sales engine with a course module attached. If your priority is converting visitors into paying members or students — smoothly, professionally, with proper upsell and subscription mechanics — this is worth serious consideration. Especially on a one-time fee.
Pricing (always check thrivecart.com for the latest — these can change):
Standard*: ~$495 one-time — includes ThriveCart Learn
Pro+*: ~$790 one-time — adds affiliate management, custom domain on checkout, advanced reporting
Learn+ upgrade: ~$195 one-time add-on — adds drip content, student tagging, bundles, multiple access levels
Ultimate Bundle*: ~$985 one-time — includes everything above
Comparison Table
Note: Transaction fees do not include standard payment processing fees to your chosen gateway.
The specifics are always changing. Please check platforms in detail before signing up.
💡 My Honest Recommendation (Without the Waffle)
I know that's a lot of information. So let me make this as clear as possible.
Already on Squarespace +, want to add a subscription or membership vault? → Start with Squarespace Member Areas. Least disruption, most consistency.
Want to sell a structured online course (beginning, middle, end)? → Try Squarespace Courses first (it's already in your plan). Need more power? Thinkific* or ThriveCart* are my recommendations — especially for the 0% transaction fee at every tier.
Is community central to your offer? → Mighty Networks (depth and structure) or Skool (simplicity and engagement). Skool is lush for coaches who want that mastermind community feel.
Want one platform to handle everything — website, email, courses, funnels? → Kajabi. But only when the budget comfortably supports it. It's not a starter business platform.
Want to stay on Squarespace but need more flexibility than Member Areas offers? → MemberSpace. A tad more faff to set up, but much more customisation.
Want a leading e-Commerce platform that allows users to build/monetise courses and sell digital/physical products online? → ThriveCart*.
"A good plan executed today is better than a perfect plan executed never." — General George S. Patton
Think of it this way: the best membership platform is the one you'll actually launch on. Pick the simplest option that meets your current needs, and you can always migrate later when you're clearer on what you need.
Blog post: Squarespace Member Areas: Your Top 42 Questions Answered
📣 A Note on Pricing — Read This Before You Decide
One important data point: the global e-learning market is projected to reach $848 billion by 2030 (Source: Global Market Insights, 2023). Your membership or course idea? The market for it is only growing. So yes — this is worth doing properly.
But "properly" doesn't mean most expensive. Start with the platform that fits now, not the one you might need in 3 years.
🎯 Takeaway
The membership and online course world has expanded massively since Squarespace launched Member Sites. More options don't mean more confusion — it just means you need to answer three questions before you decide:
Library or course? (Ongoing subscription vs. one-time structured learning)
Content or community? (Do you need members talking to each other, or just accessing your content?)
One platform or integrated? (Stay in Squarespace, or go standalone?)
Answer those three, and your platform choice becomes a lot clearer. Pinky promise. 🤍
And if you're a Squarespace user who wants help setting up Member Sites, Squarespace Courses, or figuring out which approach makes the most sense for your business, that's exactly what my Web Strategy Sessions or VIP Maintenance Days are for.
Drop me a message here → and we'll figure it out together.
❓ FAQ’s
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Squarespace Member Sites is for ongoing, subscription-based gated content — like a resource vault or monthly membership. Squarespace Courses is for structured, sequential online learning with chapters in order and progress tracking. You can use both, or nest course pages inside a Member Area.
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You need a Squarespace website plan to use and sell memberships.
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No — and neither does Squarespace Courses. Neither product currently supports drip-fed or scheduled content release. If drip content is essential for your business model, platforms like Teachable, Thinkific, ThriveCart or Podia are better suited.
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Yes! You can set a Member Site price to free, which is a great way to grow your subscriber list or offer a taster of your content before a paid tier upgrade.
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It depends on your needs. For pure course creation with no transaction fees, Thinkific and ThriveCart are excellent. For community-led memberships, Mighty.co or Skool are both strong options. For an all-in-one marketing and course platform, Kajabi is the premium choice. For staying within your Squarespace site with more flexibility, try MemberSpace.
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No — neither Member Sites nor Squarespace Courses is a full LMS. If you need advanced features like detailed student progress reports, certificates, or interactive assignments, platforms like Thinkific or Teachable are better suited.
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Partly. You can gate video, PDF, and page content behind a membership — but if you want structured lesson order, progress tracking, and a proper course player, Squarespace Courses (a separate feature) or a dedicated platform like Thrivecart or Thinkific is a better fit.
