Is Arc Publishing or Memberful better?

Neither clearly leads. Arc Publishing starts at On request and Memberful at $49/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Arc Publishing or Memberful?

Arc Publishing starts at On request and Memberful at $49/month.

Does Arc Publishing or Memberful run on more platforms?

Arc Publishing runs on Web, Mobile. Memberful runs on web, api.

What is Arc Publishing best used for?

Arc Publishing is most often used for content management for news and digital publishers, subscription and paywall management, video publishing alongside articles, multi-site delivery for broadcast and b2b publishers. Of those, content management for news and digital publishers and subscription and paywall management are not what Memberful is typically brought in for.

What can Arc Publishing do that Memberful cannot?

Arc Publishing covers Modular CMS, Content creation, Publishing workflow, Paywall management. Memberful covers Membership checkout, Flexible subscriptions, Member management, Landing page builder.

Software · head to head

Arc Publishing vs Memberful

Arc Publishing

Software

The enterprise publishing platform for news organizations

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

Memberful

Software

Membership platform for creators to sell subscriptions, courses and gated content

From: $49/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Arc Publishing now sold as Arc XP, and arcpublishing.com redirects there; Memberful charges a 4.9% transaction fee on top of the flat monthly fee on the Standard plan.
They diverge on capability: Arc Publishing covers Modular CMS, Memberful covers Membership checkout.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Arc Publishing and Memberful actually diverge.

Attributes where Arc Publishing and Memberful differ
Attribute	Arc Publishing	Memberful
Starting price	On request	$49/month
Pricing model	quote	subscription
Platforms	Web, Mobile	web, api
Founded	2016	2013

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Arc Publishing

Modular CMS
Content creation
Publishing workflow
Paywall management
Subscription billing
Analytics dashboard
API framework
Commerce integration

Only in Memberful

Membership checkout
Flexible subscriptions
Member management
Landing page builder
Dynamic paywalls
Third-party integrations

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Arc Publishing

Content management for news and digital publishersnot Memberful
Subscription and paywall managementnot Memberful
Video publishing alongside articlesnot Memberful
Multi-site delivery for broadcast and B2B publishersnot Memberful

Memberful

Selling paid membership subscriptions from an existing websitenot Arc Publishing
Gating podcast, newsletter or course content behind a paywallnot Arc Publishing
Running a WordPress site with paid member-only contentnot Arc Publishing
Offering one-time purchases alongside recurring membershipsnot Arc Publishing

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Arc Publishing

Now sold as Arc XP, and arcpublishing.com redirects there
Pricing is not published
Built for media companies, so the editorial workflow assumptions do not suit a general business site

Memberful

Charges a 4.9% transaction fee on top of the flat monthly fee on the Standard plan.
Requires a separate Stripe account, adding setup complexity compared to all-in-one checkout platforms.
Lacks built-in course-hosting depth found in dedicated learning management platforms.
No free plan beyond the pre-launch trial period; charges begin once payments go live.

Pricing, plan by plan

Arc Publishing

On request

Enterprise$undefined/custom
- Custom CMS
- Paywall integration
- Advanced analytics

Memberful

$49/month

Standard$49/month
- 4.9% transaction fee
- Full platform access
- Free until you go live
Enterprise$undefined/mo
- Custom volume-based rates
- Premium services and success management
- Dedicated migration support

Which should you pick?

Choose Arc Publishing if

You need modular cms.
You work on Web, Mobile.
You also want content creation.

Arc Publishing review

Choose Memberful if

You need membership checkout.
You work on web, api.
You also want flexible subscriptions.

Memberful review

Questions people ask

Is Arc Publishing or Memberful better?: Neither clearly leads. Arc Publishing starts at On request and Memberful at $49/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Arc Publishing or Memberful?: Arc Publishing starts at On request and Memberful at $49/month.
Does Arc Publishing or Memberful run on more platforms?: Arc Publishing runs on Web, Mobile. Memberful runs on web, api.
What is Arc Publishing best used for?: Arc Publishing is most often used for content management for news and digital publishers, subscription and paywall management, video publishing alongside articles, multi-site delivery for broadcast and b2b publishers. Of those, content management for news and digital publishers and subscription and paywall management are not what Memberful is typically brought in for.
What can Arc Publishing do that Memberful cannot?: Arc Publishing covers Modular CMS, Content creation, Publishing workflow, Paywall management. Memberful covers Membership checkout, Flexible subscriptions, Member management, Landing page builder.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Memberful: What does Memberful cost?

Memberful's Standard plan costs $49/month plus a 4.9% transaction fee, while larger organizations can get custom volume-based rates on the Enterprise plan.

Source

Memberful: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

Memberful can be used for free while setting up a membership site, with no charges incurred until the creator goes live and starts accepting payments.

Source

Memberful: What does Memberful integrate with?

Memberful integrates with WordPress, Mailchimp, Discord and Kit, among other tools, to connect membership data with existing sites and marketing systems.

Source

Arc Publishing vs Memberful

Arc Publishing

Memberful

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Arc Publishing

Only in Memberful

What people use each for

Arc Publishing

Memberful

Where each one falls short

Arc Publishing

Memberful

Pricing, plan by plan

Arc Publishing

Memberful

Which should you pick?

Choose Arc Publishing if

Choose Memberful if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Arc Publishing

More on Memberful

Keep looking

Other head to heads