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E-Commerce · head to head

Heartland Retail vs Memberful

Heartland Retail logo

Heartland Retail

E-Commerce

Cloud point of sale and inventory management sold alongside Heartland card processing

From
$150/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Memberful logo

Memberful

E-Commerce

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

From
$49/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Heartland Retail the software is sold as part of a card processing relationship, so the monthly licence understates the real cost and the processing rate is the number that determines what you pay over a year.; Memberful charges a 4.9% transaction fee on top of the flat monthly fee on the Standard plan.
  • They diverge on capability: Heartland Retail covers Multi-store inventory, Memberful covers Membership checkout.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Heartland Retail and Memberful actually diverge.

Attributes where Heartland Retail and Memberful differ
AttributeHeartland RetailMemberful
Starting price$150/month$49/month
PlatformsWebweb, api
Founded19972013

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-Commerce).

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 Heartland Retail

  • Multi-store inventory
  • Cloud point of sale
  • Purchasing and receiving
  • Customer records
  • Sales and stock reporting
  • Integrated card processing
  • E-commerce integrations

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.

Heartland Retail

  • A specialty retailer opening a third or fourth site that needs one stock position across all of themnot Memberful
  • Replacing a legacy on-premise till system that requires a server in the back office of every storenot Memberful
  • A retailer whose buying team needs purchase orders and receiving rather than just a cash registernot Memberful
  • An existing Heartland processing customer consolidating software and payments under one suppliernot Memberful

Memberful

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

Where each one falls short

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

Heartland Retail

  • The software is sold as part of a card processing relationship, so the monthly licence understates the real cost and the processing rate is the number that determines what you pay over a year.
  • Leaving means changing till software and merchant account together, and since the payment terminals, the reporting history and the staff training are all tied to the same supplier, the switching cost is far higher than a software migration alone.
  • It is not an online store platform, so a merchant selling on the web still buys and maintains a separate e-commerce platform, and the stock and order integration between the two is an ongoing operational dependency rather than a one-off setup.
  • Historical sales and customer purchase history rarely migrate cleanly out of a point of sale system, so a retailer who switches typically starts with an empty history and keeps the old system read-only, paying for it, for years.
  • Heartland sits within Global Payments, a group that has repeatedly restructured its portfolio through acquisitions and divestitures, so which entity owns and invests in this specific product is not stable over a long contract term.

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

Heartland Retail

$150/month
  • Core$150/month
    • POS system
    • Inventory management
    • Customer management
  • Professional$350/month
    • All Core features
    • Omnichannel
    • 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 Heartland Retail if

  • You need multi-store inventory.
  • You also want cloud point of sale.
Heartland Retail review

Choose Memberful if

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

Questions people ask

Is Heartland Retail or Memberful better?
Neither clearly leads. Heartland Retail starts at $150/month and Memberful at $49/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Heartland Retail or Memberful?
Heartland Retail starts at $150/month and Memberful at $49/month.
Does Heartland Retail or Memberful run on more platforms?
Heartland Retail runs on Web. Memberful runs on web, api.
What is Heartland Retail best used for?
Heartland Retail is most often used for a specialty retailer opening a third or fourth site that needs one stock position across all of them, replacing a legacy on-premise till system that requires a server in the back office of every store, a retailer whose buying team needs purchase orders and receiving rather than just a cash register, an existing heartland processing customer consolidating software and payments under one supplier. Of those, a specialty retailer opening a third or fourth site that needs one stock position across all of them and replacing a legacy on-premise till system that requires a server in the back office of every store are not what Memberful is typically brought in for.
What can Heartland Retail do that Memberful cannot?
Heartland Retail covers Multi-store inventory, Cloud point of sale, Purchasing and receiving, Customer records. Memberful covers Membership checkout, Flexible subscriptions, Member management, Landing page builder.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Heartland Retail: Can I use it as my online store?

No. It manages the shop floor and stock. Selling online means a separate e-commerce platform and an integration to keep the catalogue and stock aligned.

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
Heartland Retail: Do I have to use Heartland for card processing?

The product is sold as part of a payments relationship, and that is where the supplier's margin sits. Ask explicitly what the software costs standalone before assuming you have a choice.

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
Heartland Retail: What should I negotiate hardest on?

The card processing rate and the contract term, not the software subscription. Ask for interchange-plus pricing in writing rather than a blended rate.

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
Heartland Retail: What happens to my sales history if I leave?

Assume products and current stock export cleanly and that years of transaction history do not. Budget for keeping the old system available read-only during any transition.

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