BricksMembers vs Paid Memberships Pro
Honest. Table-driven. No fluff. Bricks-native all-in-one vs. the free open-source membership plugin with 79+ add-ons.
Verified May 2026 by AI · please confirm with the vendorWhich one is right for you?
Free open-source membership
Choose Paid Memberships Pro if you want a 100% GPL free core plugin, the largest add-on library (25 free + 54 premium), and you're fine using a separate LMS plugin and bringing your own infrastructure.
- Free core plugin, 100% GPL, unlimited sites
- 79+ add-ons covering nearly every membership scenario
- 100-day money-back guarantee on paid plans
Everything bundled, including LMS.
Choose BricksMembers if you want complete control over how your membership and LMS site looks. Because it's built natively for Bricks, membership, courses, payments, drip and access all run on Bricks' own dynamic data and conditions, with custom elements added only where there's no native way, so every member-facing page is yours to design, with no fixed templates or locked layouts. It's a true all-in-one (membership, LMS, payments, community, automation) available on annual plans or a one-time lifetime license if you'd rather not pay every year.
- All-in-one: membership, LMS, payments, community, drip, certificates, chat, gifting, automation. No add-ons needed
- Because it's native to Bricks Builder, you design every member-facing page yourself, with full control over the layout and styling, with no fixed templates or locked layouts in the way.
- Lifetime $497 one-time for 100 sites instead of forever-recurring yearly fees (60-day money-back guarantee, no free trial)
Every feature, side by side
Grouped by category. Hover any row for detail.
3 things this comparison can't match
- Native Bricks dynamic data tags and conditions across every member, LMS and payment state, which PMPro does not provide. PMPro's native Bricks support is a single membership-level show/hide condition plus shortcodes pasted into a Bricks element, with no native member/LMS/payment elements and no dynamic data tags.
- PMPro covers basic courses/lessons via its free Courses add-on, but needs a paired LMS (LearnDash/LifterLMS/Tutor) for quizzes, certificates, and topics, plus premium add-ons for community/chat/automation.
- $497 one-time lifetime for 100 sites vs. PMPro Standard $499/yr forever (1 site)
Builder & Design
Membership & Access
Payments & Checkout
LMS & Courses
Emails & Automation
Community & Engagement
How the plans line up
Approximate prices.
The Migration Center handles the heavy lifting
A guided, dry-run-first wizard at BricksMembers › Migration Center in wp-admin. It scans your site, builds an import plan, runs in safe chunks, and offers rollback if anything looks off.
What it migrates automatically
- Course, lesson, and topic structure (with hierarchy preserved)
- Post content, titles, excerpts, and status
- Custom post meta fields (carried as-is)
- Required-level assignments (creates matching access rules)
- User level assignments and progress tracking
- Generic CSV exports of users, levels, courses, and progress
What you'll rebuild manually
- Quizzes from the source plugin (rebuild in BricksMembers' quiz module)
- Certificates and certificate issuance records
- Drip schedules from the source plugin
- Email automations (use BricksMembers' automation tab)
- For Paid Memberships Pro specifically: import members + level assignments via the standard CSV path. PMPro's Drip rules, sponsored member relationships, and add-on configurations need manual rebuild.
From Paid Memberships Pro
PMPro stores level data in custom database tables (`pmpro_memberships_users`, `pmpro_membership_levels`, `pmpro_membership_orders`), not as custom post types, so migration is CSV-based rather than post-type import. Export PMPro members with their level assignments from PMPro's Members admin screen, then import via BRM's Migration Center CSV path.
Level IDs are remapped to BRM levels during import. Active Stripe subscriptions remain on the PMPro side until re-onboarded through BRM's checkout. If you used PMPro add-ons for drip, downloadable files, or LearnDash integration, plan to rebuild those flows in BRM's native equivalents (drip, file delivery, level-gated LearnDash course requirements).
Common questions: BricksMembers vs Paid Memberships Pro
Not on entry price: PMPro core is free; BricksMembers starts at $97/yr. Comparing paid tiers: PMPro Standard is $499/yr (1 site) versus BricksMembers Creator at $97/yr (1 site) or Lifetime at $497 one-time (100 sites). BRM Lifetime costs the same as a single year of PMPro Standard and covers 100 sites forever. If you'd run the PMPro free core indefinitely without buying anything, PMPro is cheaper.
Yes, via CSV. Export PMPro members and level assignments from the PMPro admin, then import through BRM's Migration Center CSV path. Level IDs remap to BRM levels; active Stripe subscriptions stay on PMPro until re-onboarded through BRM's checkout. Add-on-specific data (drip schedules, file delivery rules) is rebuilt in BRM's native equivalents.
Yes: PMPro core is 100% free, open-source, GPL-licensed, with 25 free add-ons. Note that the plugin's WordPress.org listing has been closed since October 2024 (Author Request); the free download remains available direct from paidmembershipspro.com. The Standard plugin tier ($499/yr) adds the 54 premium add-ons and support. The Max tiers ($999/yr+) bundle managed hosting. BricksMembers has no free tier.
Lightweight, yes. PMPro ships a free Courses add-on with basic course and lesson creation plus completion tracking. For full LMS depth (quizzes, certificates, gradebook, drip per lesson) you pair PMPro with LearnDash, LifterLMS, or Tutor LMS. BricksMembers includes the full LMS in the same plugin.
PMPro works on any builder including Bricks but does not provide Bricks-native conditions, dynamic data tags, or first-class Bricks elements. Member pages render through PHP templates with override files. BricksMembers ships first-class Bricks integration.
Not the right competitor? Try these.
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LearnDash
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LifterLMS
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Masteriyo
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MemberPress
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Restrict Content Pro
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SureMembers
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Tutor LMS
LMS + native eCommerce (subscriptions)
WishList Member
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Open the hubAbout this comparison
Last reviewed May 2026. This comparison reflects our own assessment based on publicly available information. Features, pricing, and availability change often. Please verify current details on each vendor's official website before purchasing.
All product names, logos, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification and comparison purposes only; this does not imply affiliation with or endorsement by them.