How to start a paid membership: a guide for creators
How to start a paid membership in 2026: decide what members get every month, price it, pick a platform (fees for 9 compared), launch it, and keep members from canceling.
To start a paid membership, decide what members get every month that they can't get free, set a monthly price with a cheaper yearly option, and pick a platform that bills automatically. Then launch to your warmest followers first. Memberships live or die on one thing: a reason to stay each month. Plan what month two, three, and six look like before you launch month one.
This guide is for creators who want steady monthly income instead of one-off launches. Full disclosure: we make Eden, which sells memberships. Platform fees were checked on each company's site in September 2026.
Step 1: Decide what members get
A membership is a promise that repeats. Pick one main thing people pay for every month:
- Ongoing content. A weekly essay, video, or template drop.
- Access to you. Monthly group calls, Q&A, or reviews of members' work.
- A community. A group of peers working on the same goal.
- A tool. Something they use every week, like an AI trained on your method.
- A growing library. Everything you've made, with new additions every month.
The strongest memberships combine a library (value on day one) with something new each month (a reason to stay).
Step 2: Price it
- Start low enough to say yes to. A monthly price people don't think twice about grows faster.
- Offer yearly at a discount. Two months free is common. Yearly members can't cancel next month, which smooths your income.
- Add a higher tier later. The same membership plus a monthly group call, at two or three times the price.
- Give founding members a locked-in price. It rewards early believers and gives people a reason to join now.
Step 3: Pick a platform
| Platform | Monthly cost | Fee per payment |
|---|---|---|
| Eden | $29 (Starter) | 5% |
| Stan Store | $29 (Creator) | 0% |
| Patreon | $0 | 10% for pages launched after Aug 4, 2025 |
| Substack | $0 | 10% |
| Memberful | $49 | 4.9% |
| Ghost(Pro) | From $29 billed yearly (Publisher) | 0% |
| Buy Me a Coffee | $0 | 5% |
| Ko-fi | $0, or Gold at $12 | 5%, or 0% on Gold |
| Skool | $9 (Hobby) | 10% (2.9% on the $99 Pro plan) |
Payment processing applies on top everywhere (usually 2.9% + 30¢ per payment, and Stripe adds 0.7% on recurring billing on some platforms, like Substack).
How to choose:
- Your membership is a newsletter: Substack or Ghost.
- It's a community: Skool or Circle.
- Fans supporting your work: Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, or Ko-fi.
- It's a product (courses, templates, tools, or coaching) billed monthly: a creator store like Eden or Stan.
Step 4: Launch to your warmest people first
- Start with a founding round. Invite your email list and top followers first, at a founding price, for a set number of days.
- Show exactly what's inside. A list of what members get on day one and every month after.
- Set a close date. Open enrollment for a week, then close it. Deadlines move people.
- Get 10 members, then 100. A small, happy group gives you testimonials and tells you what to make next.
Step 5: Keep members
Every membership loses some people each month. Most cancel for one of three reasons: they forgot why they joined, they didn't use it, or it stopped being new. Plan for each:
- A strong first week. Welcome email, one quick win, and a clear "start here."
- A rhythm. New content or a call on the same day every month, so members expect it.
- Notice who's quiet. Reach out to members who haven't shown up in a while.
- Show what's coming. A preview of next month gives people a reason not to cancel.
- Make yearly the default option. Yearly members stay through slow months.
- Recover failed payments. Some cancellations are just expired cards. Make sure your platform retries and emails them.
How to sell a membership on Eden
On Eden, a membership isn't a separate product type. It's a way to price any product: a Custom AI, a course, a digital download, or coaching.
- Open your product in Your store → Products.
- On the Offer step, set How buyers pay to Membership.
- Fill in a Monthly price, a Yearly price, or both. With both, buyers pick on your page and see the saving.
- Publish.
Members see when their plan renews and a Manage membership button that opens Stripe to change their card, see invoices, or cancel. If they cancel, access lasts until the end of the period they paid for, and afterward the product opens to your sales page with a way to rejoin.
A few things that make Eden memberships different:
- An AI members use every month. A Custom AI trained on your method is a tool, not just content, which gives people a reason to stay.
- Monthly AI credits. Include 100 to 1,000 credits per member every month, at $0.04 each, taken from each payment.
- Coaching by the month. Coaching memberships can include a set number of calls that reset every paid month.
Eden takes 5% of every payment, renewals included. Selling needs the $29 Starter plan. Full steps: sell a membership.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I charge for a membership?
Price below what the content would cost to buy one piece at a time, and low enough that it's an easy monthly yes. Add a higher tier with more access to you for people who want more.
Monthly or yearly?
Offer both. Monthly gets more people in. Yearly, usually with about two months free, keeps them through slow months.
How much does Patreon take?
For pages launched after August 4, 2025, 10% of what you earn, plus payment processing, currency conversion, and payout fees. Creators who launched earlier keep their older rates.
What's the difference between a membership and a subscription?
Mostly wording. Both bill on a schedule. "Membership" usually means access to a library, community, or tool. "Subscription" often means a newsletter.
Want to sell something members use every month? Start Eden free and turn any product into a membership.