Last Updated: June 2026
Disclosure: We are Raklet. We built one of the platforms compared on this page. This guide covers both options objectively, including where MembershipWorks outperforms us.
| MembershipWorks | Raklet | |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment model | Plugin/widget, embeds into existing website | Standalone SaaS, works independently of your website |
| Starting price | $35/mo (300 members) | $49/mo |
| Transaction fees | None from MembershipWorks (gateway fees apply) | Varies by plan |
| Mobile app | None | Custom-branded app included |
| Public API | No | Yes (3,000+ integrations) |
| AI features | None (as of June 2026) | In development |
| Customer support | 4.9/5 Capterra; live screen-share on all plans | Email + live chat |
What Is MembershipWorks?
MembershipWorks is a plugin-based membership management platform for associations, chambers of commerce, nonprofits, and clubs. Founded in 2011, it is operated by SourceFound Inc (Dallas, TX) and led by co-founder and CEO Karen Kuah. The platform embeds into your existing website as a plugin or widget, it supports WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, Duda, Joomla, Drupal, and plain HTML5.
MembershipWorks reports 10,000+ customers (a self-reported figure that may date to 2021). Pricing runs from a free tier (50 member accounts) through eight paid tiers up to $259/month for 10,000 members. The platform carries a 4.8/5 rating on Capterra (37 reviews). MembershipWorks charges no per-transaction fees; payment gateway fees from Stripe or PayPal are billed separately by the gateway.
What Is Raklet?
Raklet is a standalone membership and community management platform for associations, clubs, nonprofits, and professional organizations. Unlike a plugin, Raklet operates independently of your website. Your membership portal, member directory, events, and communication tools run on Raklet’s infrastructure, so your CMS choice does not affect your membership operations. The platform includes a community feed, event management, built-in email marketing, custom forms, a member portal, and custom-branded mobile apps. It connects to 3,000+ tools via API and Zapier. Pricing starts on a free plan (up to 100 members) and scales through paid tiers. Transaction fees vary by plan; see raklet.com/pricing for current rates.
MembershipWorks vs Raklet: The Key Differences
The most important difference is architectural. MembershipWorks bolts onto your existing website. Raklet replaces the need for CMS-level membership management entirely. Neither approach is universally better. The right choice depends on whether you want membership tools that wrap around your existing website or a platform built around your membership operations.
Architecture. MembershipWorks deploys as a plugin or widget inside your CMS. Your member portal, event pages, and directory listings live inside your WordPress or Squarespace installation. When you change your CMS (which organizations do when they rebrand or migrate hosting), your entire MembershipWorks deployment needs to be rebuilt. Raklet’s membership system is decoupled from your website. Changing your public-facing site leaves your membership data and workflows untouched.
Integration depth. MembershipWorks has no public API and no webhooks. Organizations that need to connect membership data to a CRM, accounting platform, or automation tool hit a hard structural limit. Raklet’s open API enables connections to external systems that MembershipWorks cannot support. This is the most frequently cited technical complaint in MembershipWorks reviews on Capterra and G2.
Community layer. MembershipWorks is an administrative platform focused on dues collection, event management, and member directory. Raklet adds a community feed, discussion boards, and member networking features. For organizations that want members to interact with each other beyond paying dues and attending events, this distinction matters. It is also the reason many organizations evaluate Raklet alongside options like Wild Apricot before making a final platform decision.
Support. MembershipWorks’ most consistent competitive strength is customer support. Live screen-share training is included on every plan, including the free tier. That level of hands-on onboarding is unusual at this price point and is cited frequently in reviews as the primary reason customers stay.
Feature Comparison: MembershipWorks vs Raklet
| Feature | MembershipWorks | Raklet |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment | Plugin (embeds into existing CMS) | Standalone SaaS |
| Member portal | Yes | Yes |
| Member directory | Yes | Yes |
| Event management | Yes | Yes |
| Email marketing | Via MailChimp (basic free; +$9/mo premium) | Built-in |
| Mobile app | None | Custom-branded |
| Public API | No | Yes |
| Webhooks | No | Yes |
| Multi-currency | No (requires rebuilding all membership levels) | Yes |
| Multi-chapter | Yes (navigation is a documented pain point) | Yes |
| Community/social feed | No | Yes |
| AI features | None | In development |
| Built-in accounting | No | No |
| Integrations | Stripe, PayPal, QuickBooks, Xero, MailChimp | 3,000+ (Zapier + native) |
| Free tier | Yes (50 members) | Yes (100 members) |
| Starting paid price | $35/mo (300 members) | $49/mo |
| Transaction fees | None from MembershipWorks (gateway fees apply) | Varies by plan |
AI Features: MembershipWorks vs Raklet
MembershipWorks has no AI features as of June 2026. The platform’s website, blog, and product-adjacent posts contain no AI announcements, no roadmap mentions, and no AI-powered tooling. For a platform with monthly product updates and 15 years of operation, the absence of any AI investment is notable given how many adjacent AMS platforms have begun shipping AI-assisted workflows over the past two years.
Raklet’s AI features are currently in development. Specific capabilities and release timelines have not been published on the pricing or features pages. Organizations that need AI-powered member engagement, automated workflows, or smart content generation today should ask both vendors for current timelines before making a platform decision based on AI roadmaps.
MembershipWorks vs Raklet: Pricing Compared
The pricing models differ structurally. MembershipWorks charges by member-account count: your monthly cost increases as your membership grows. Raklet charges by plan tier rather than by member count at lower tiers. Both platforms have free plans, though with different member ceilings.
All MembershipWorks figures below are from the live MembershipWorks pricing page, fetched June 2026. Some aggregators show stale prices from earlier years; use the figures below.
| Plan | Monthly price | Member limit |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 50 members |
| Starter | $35 | 300 members |
| Growth | $59 | 600 members |
| Professional | $95 | 1,200 members |
| Business | $145 | 2,500 members |
| Enterprise S | $205 | 5,000 members |
| Enterprise L | $259 | 10,000 members |
| Custom | Contact sales | 10,000+ |
Hidden costs to account for: MailChimp premium integration adds $9/month. Payment gateway fees from Stripe or PayPal are billed by the gateway and are not included in the prices above. A 30-day money-back guarantee applies; no annual commitment is required.
Raklet pricing (from raklet.com/pricing, fetched June 2026):
| Plan | Monthly price | Contact limit | Transaction fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 100 contacts | 4% |
| Essentials | $49 | 500 contacts | 3% |
| Professional | $99 | 1,000 contacts | 2% |
| Premium | $399 | 10,000 contacts | 1% |
Raklet uses “contacts” as its limit unit, covering members and non-member contacts in your database. For most membership organizations, that number tracks closely with active member count. Add-ons (extra contacts, admin seats, custom domain) are available at additional monthly cost.
What Does Each Platform Cost at Your Member Count?
| Members | MembershipWorks | Raklet |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 50 | Free ($0/mo) | Free ($0/mo) |
| Up to 100 | Starter ($35/mo) | Free ($0/mo) |
| Up to 300 | Starter ($35/mo) | Essentials ($49/mo) |
| Up to 500 | Growth ($59/mo) | Essentials ($49/mo) |
| Up to 600 | Growth ($59/mo) | Professional ($99/mo) |
| Up to 1,000 | Professional ($95/mo) | Professional ($99/mo) |
| Up to 1,200 | Professional ($95/mo) | Premium ($399/mo) |
| Up to 2,500 | Business ($145/mo) | Premium ($399/mo) |
| Up to 5,000 | Enterprise S ($205/mo) | Premium ($399/mo) |
| Up to 10,000 | Enterprise L ($259/mo) | Premium ($399/mo) |
Raklet transaction fees (4% on Free, 3% on Essentials, 2% on Professional, 1% on Premium) are not included in the subscription prices above. MembershipWorks charges no transaction fee from its side; payment gateway fees from Stripe or PayPal still apply. For organizations collecting dues at scale, Raklet’s transaction fees add meaningfully to total cost at lower-tier plans. At 500 to 1,000 members, the two platforms are within a few dollars on base subscription price. Above 1,000 members, MembershipWorks is cheaper on subscription. Total cost depends on dues volume, plan tier, and which features your organization actually uses.
Company Health: MembershipWorks vs Raklet
MembershipWorks is operated by SourceFound Inc, a private company in Dallas, TX. Founded in 2011 by Karen Kuah (current CEO) and co-founder Dennis Boyer, with Karen Kuah having led the company since founding and no leadership changes recorded in the last 24 months. The company has approximately 6 employees (ZoomInfo; 2-10 range on LinkedIn) and has raised zero external funding across 15 years of operation: no Crunchbase entries, no PE acquisition, no investor backing found.
The positive interpretation: no PE acquisition risk, no history of sudden pricing increases driven by investor exit timelines, and stable founder-led pricing history since 2011. The constraint: a 6-person team has limited capacity to build an API layer, ship AI features, or invest in deep third-party integrations. The absence of a public changelog (membershipworks.com/changelog/ returns a 404) makes product velocity hard to assess from outside. Updates appear at roughly monthly cadence, though posts skew toward SEO/marketing content rather than product release notes.
Raklet is a SaaS company with teams across multiple regions. For current company and team details, visit raklet.com/about.
What MembershipWorks Users Say
MembershipWorks earns 4.8/5 on Capterra (37 reviews) and approximately 4.0/5 on G2 (based on approximately 16 reviews; the G2 page returned an access error at research time, so treat this figure as approximate). The WordPress.org plugin listing holds a 4.4/5 rating from 37 reviews.
An executive director at a young professional society, evaluating Raklet on a discovery call, described the core limitation directly:
“The other main pain point with MembershipWorks is they only allow for one membership sign up form like across all membership levels.”
Executive director at a young professional society (verbatim, Raklet sales call, 2025)
That organization had 150 members and ran 18 events per year at approximately $750 annually on MembershipWorks. The single signup form limitation (every membership level shares the same question set, with no per-level customization) was the primary switching trigger.
Recurring complaint themes from Capterra and G2 reviews:
- No API or database access. The most-cited technical complaint. Reviewers Noel K. and Douglas K. on Capterra both flag the inability to connect membership data to external systems as a blocker for their workflows.
- Pricing at scale. Frank V. (Capterra, 3/5) calls the upper-tier pricing “EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE for a non-profit.” The step from $145 to $205 to $259 as membership grows creates real pressure for organizations in the 1,000-to-5,000 member range.
- Single bank account restriction. Cited on Trustpilot for organizations managing multiple chapters or funds that need separate payment routing.
- Multi-chapter navigation. Dina M. and Frank V. on Capterra note that multi-chapter management is possible but not intuitive for non-technical administrators.
- Reporting gaps. Frank V., Janet M., and Jana A. on Capterra note limited custom analytics and no one-click report generation.
Top praise: Customer support is the consistent standout. Live screen-share training is included on every plan, including the free tier, and is cited as a primary retention reason by multiple reviewers. Payment processing reliability via Stripe and PayPal is also consistently rated as clean and dependable.
Switching Away from MembershipWorks: What to Know
Data portability is limited to CSV export. There is no API-based export and no direct database access. Migrating membership records, event history, and transaction data to any platform requires manual CSV export and re-import work.
The larger friction is architectural. Because MembershipWorks is a plugin embedded into your CMS, your member portal pages, event registration pages, and directory listings are woven into your website. Switching to a new membership platform requires rebuilding all of those pages on the new system. This is not a contract lock-in problem (MembershipWorks is month-to-month with a 30-day money-back guarantee and no cancellation penalty) but a technical migration cost that organizations should plan for explicitly.
One Capterra reviewer, Lisa D., switched from MemberPress to MembershipWorks after moving her organization from WordPress to Duda. Her CMS migration forced a full platform migration. This illustrates the bidirectional dependency: the same plugin architecture that made MembershipWorks easy to add also makes it difficult to separate when the website changes.
Switching friction: medium. Not due to contracts, but due to plugin architecture and CSV-only data portability. Budget for portal page rebuilds and member data re-import when planning any migration away from MembershipWorks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is MembershipWorks free?
MembershipWorks has a free plan limited to 50 member accounts with full features and support included. Paid plans start at $35/month for up to 300 members and scale to $259/month for up to 10,000 members. There are no transaction fees from MembershipWorks itself, payment gateway fees (Stripe or PayPal) are charged separately by the gateway.
What is the main difference between MembershipWorks and Raklet?
MembershipWorks is a plugin that embeds into your existing website (WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, or others). Raklet is a standalone platform that operates independently of your website. The practical consequence: if you change your website platform, your MembershipWorks deployment needs to be rebuilt; a Raklet migration is unaffected by CMS changes.
Does MembershipWorks have an API?
No. MembershipWorks does not offer a public API, webhooks, or direct database access as of June 2026. This is the most frequently cited technical limitation in Capterra and G2 reviews. Organizations that need to connect their membership data to external CRMs, accounting tools, or automation platforms should evaluate this carefully before committing.
Does MembershipWorks have a mobile app?
No. MembershipWorks has no native mobile app for members or admins as of June 2026. Members access the platform through a mobile browser via the embedded portal on your website. Raklet offers custom-branded mobile apps included in its plans.
Which is cheaper, MembershipWorks or Raklet?
For organizations with fewer than 300 members, MembershipWorks is cheaper at the base subscription level ($35/month vs. Raklet $49/month). Note that Raklet’s transaction fees vary by plan, check raklet.com/pricing for the current rate on your tier. MembershipWorks charges no transaction fees of its own, though payment gateway fees (Stripe/PayPal) still apply. Total cost depends on member count, plan tier, and transaction volume.
Which Should You Choose?
Choose MembershipWorks if you already have a website you plan to keep long-term, you want to add basic membership management without rebuilding your site, you have under 2,500 members, and your top priority is excellent customer support at a lower entry price. The live screen-share training on every plan (including free) is a genuine differentiator at this price point, and the plugin model means you can be operational in hours without migrating existing web content.
Choose Raklet if you want a membership platform that operates independently of your CMS, you need API access or integrations with external tools, you want a branded mobile app, you are building community features beyond dues and event management, or you anticipate growth that will push against MembershipWorks’ $259/month ceiling. Raklet also handles multi-currency without requiring a configuration rebuild, and the single signup form limitation described by that prospect is not a constraint in Raklet (per-level question customization is available). For a broader view of the alternatives in this space, see the best MembershipWorks alternatives roundup.
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