Simple Membership vs Patreon WordPress (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, Simple Membership has a higher user rating (4.6/5 from 466 reviews) and leads in active installations (40K+ vs 3.0K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Simple Membership has accumulated 3.3M+ total downloads while Patreon WordPress has 287K+. Simple Membership has a higher support resolution rate (80% vs 0%).
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Simple Membership | Patreon WordPress | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.6/5 | ◄ | 3.6/5 |
| Total Reviews | 466 | ◄ | 51 |
| Active Installs | 40K+ | ◄ | 3.0K+ |
| Total Downloads | 3.3M+ | ◄ | 287K+ |
| Support Resolution | 80% | ◄ | 0% |
| Last Updated | 1 month ago | ► | 2 weeks ago |
| First Released | 2014 | 2017 | |
| Age | 12 years | 9 years | |
| WP Requires | 6.0+ | 4.0+ | |
| PHP Requires | 7.4+ | 7.4+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 4.7.2 | 1.9.17 |
Rating Breakdown
Simple Membership
Patreon WordPress
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, Simple Membership averaged approximately 503 daily downloads while Patreon WordPress averaged 121.
Recent Reviews
Simple Membership Reviews
Very good plugin for membership levels and control
I have tested various plugins for creating and controlling members in various levels. This is the only plugin which I trust totally. It is very easy to create user groups/levels and users in different
PERFETTO!
Questo plugin è la soluzione perfetta per chi vuole realizzare l’accesso a vari livelli di abbonamento (gratuito ma con registrazione delle credenziali, oppure a pagamento) per i propri utenti: chi
werkt zoals het hoort
Mooie plugin voor een basis login en membership.
Patreon WordPress Reviews
Poorly coded mess
This version is stable. Don’t buy or try the pro plugin. That plugins code is garbage and it crashes everything. This topic was modified 9 months, 4 weeks ago by erdeme61.
Works as a start but doesn’t include featured images
I have to go in and manually edit each post as this plugin doesn’t pull in the main image from Patreon. I would expect it to pull the image as a featured image in WP. It does pull in the images from t
It stopped working out of nowhere
It stopped working on my 2 hostings, and support doesn’t provide a solution.
More Members Worth Comparing
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.