You can use both. Many creators, experts and coaches do. Here is a quick way to choose.
In one sentence
Use a community when you want people to talk to you and to each other.
Use a membership when you want to share content with paying members and give different people different levels of access.
Side by side
Community | Membership | |
What it is | A shared space with a feed, posts, comments and reactions | An area with your content, set up in tiers |
Best for | Chat, Q&A, support between members, accountability | Ongoing lessons, posts, collections, downloads and courses |
How people join | Free, paid, or bundled with another product | Subscribe to a paid membership, or join a free one |
Pricing options | Free or paid. A paid community has up to two price options, and each can be recurring or a single payment | Monthly, yearly or both. For a free tier, create a separate membership and set it to free |
Access | Members who have joined see the same feed | Each tier unlocks the products you assigned to it |
Organising content | Categories, pinned posts, events | Tiers, included products, collections |
How many you can create | Unlimited communities, with no extra add-ons | Start with one or two tiers and add more later |
Choose a community if...
You want your audience to talk, not only read.
You run a group programme, a challenge or a support space.
You want a free space to bring people in before they buy.
Choose a membership if...
You publish content regularly and want people to pay monthly or yearly to see it.
You want more than one level, for example a standard tier and a premium tier with extras.
You want one subscription to unlock several products at once, such as courses and downloads.
Use both together
A common setup:
Run a free community. Share free posts and tips so people get to know you.
Tease your paid content in the community.
Point people to your membership, where the full lessons and extras live.
See "Using Your Community to Drive Membership Sign-Ups" for the step by step.
You can also bundle a course or digital product with a community or a membership. Look for Included Products in the product's settings and pick what to include.
Can I try this on the free trial?
Yes. The 14-day free trial gives you full access to communities and the other creator tools.
What members see
In a community, members see a feed of posts, any categories you set up, and your community guidelines.
In a membership, members see the posts and content in the tiers they have joined. Posts show newest first, and collections sit in a Collections tab.
Private communities
Private communities are not available yet. If you want an invite-only space for now, see "How to Manage Your WithMe Communities" for the workaround.
Not sure? Start simple
Start with one free community or one membership tier and see how your audience responds. You can add more later. WithMe takes 0% commission on every sale. Stripe's own payment fee still applies.
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Need help choosing? Message us from the chat bubble and tell us what you teach.