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E-Commerce · head to head

Memberful vs Swell Commerce

Memberful logo

Memberful

E-Commerce

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

From
$49/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Swell Commerce logo

Swell Commerce

E-Commerce

Headless ecommerce for modern brands

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Memberful charges a 4.9% transaction fee on top of the flat monthly fee on the Standard plan.; Swell Commerce each plan carries an annual revenue ceiling, and exceeding it is charged as a percentage of the excess: 2 percent on Starter down to 0.4 percent on Unlimited
  • They diverge on capability: Memberful covers Membership checkout, Swell Commerce covers Headless architecture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Memberful and Swell Commerce actually diverge.

Attributes where Memberful and Swell Commerce differ
AttributeMemberfulSwell Commerce
Starting price$49/month$29/month
Platformsweb, apiWeb
Founded20132019

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 Memberful

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

Only in Swell Commerce

  • Headless architecture
  • GraphQL & REST APIs
  • Subscription commerce
  • Multi-currency support
  • Inventory management
  • Custom checkout
  • Webhook integrations
  • Developer-friendly SDK

What people use each for

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

Memberful

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

Swell Commerce

  • Running a headless commerce backend with APIs for a custom storefrontnot Memberful
  • Selling subscription products alongside one off purchasesnot Memberful
  • Operating multi currency stores from one commerce backendnot Memberful

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Swell Commerce

  • Each plan carries an annual revenue ceiling, and exceeding it is charged as a percentage of the excess: 2 percent on Starter down to 0.4 percent on Unlimited
  • Starter at $29 a month allows 2 admin users and includes only 100,000 API requests and 1GB of storage per month
  • Additional API requests cost $5 per 100,000 and extra storage $5 per GB
  • Role based permissions and developer support are restricted to the Unlimited plan at $2,250 a month
  • Advanced reports and priced currencies require the Standard plan or higher
  • Published prices are the billed yearly rates, so monthly billing costs more

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Swell Commerce

$29/month
  • Starter$29/month
    • Up to $50K annual revenue
    • Basic reports
    • Up to 5 admin users
  • Basic$79/month
    • Up to $250K annual revenue
    • Most popular plan
    • Basic reports
  • Standard$299/month
    • Up to $1M annual revenue
    • Advanced reports
    • Up to 15 admin users
  • Unlimited$2250/month
    • Up to $5M annual revenue
    • Unlimited scalability and granular control
    • Unlimited admin users

Which should you pick?

Choose Memberful if

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

Choose Swell Commerce if

  • You need headless architecture.
  • You also want graphql & rest apis.
Swell Commerce review

Questions people ask

Is Memberful or Swell Commerce better?
Neither clearly leads. Memberful starts at $49/month and Swell Commerce at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Memberful or Swell Commerce?
Memberful starts at $49/month and Swell Commerce at $29/month.
Does Memberful or Swell Commerce run on more platforms?
Memberful runs on web, api. Swell Commerce runs on Web.
What is Memberful best used for?
Memberful is most often used for selling paid membership subscriptions from an existing website, gating podcast, newsletter or course content behind a paywall, running a wordpress site with paid member-only content, offering one-time purchases alongside recurring memberships. Of those, selling paid membership subscriptions from an existing website and gating podcast, newsletter or course content behind a paywall are not what Swell Commerce is typically brought in for.
What can Memberful do that Swell Commerce cannot?
Memberful covers Membership checkout, Flexible subscriptions, Member management, Landing page builder. Swell Commerce covers Headless architecture, GraphQL & REST APIs, Subscription commerce, Multi-currency support.

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
Swell Commerce: How much does Swell Commerce cost?

Swell offers four tiers starting at $29 per month for Starter and going up to $2,250 per month for Unlimited. Annual billing provides a 25% discount compared to monthly billing. All prices are in USD.

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
Swell Commerce: What are Swell's revenue tier overages?

Each plan includes a revenue ceiling based on 12-month trailing sales. Starter allows up to $50K with 2% overage, Basic allows $250K with 1.5% overage, Standard allows $1M with 1% overage, and Unlimited allows $5M with 0.4% overage. Custom plans are available for merchants exceeding $10M annually.

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
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