Subscription management software: what it should have and how to choose it

A subscription management software is the tool that automatically charges your customers every month or every year, controls who has access to what you sell, and handles renewals, plan changes, and cancellations. Without it, all of that is done by hand.

There isn't one that is the best for everything: the right one depends on what you sell. In this guide you'll see what it should do, which one you need in each case, and how to create your subscription page.

What subscription management software does

• Recurring payments. It charges only at each renewal, without you having to send payment links.
• Plans and pricing. It lets you offer several tiers, with monthly or yearly payment.
• Access control. It gives access to whoever pays and removes it when they stop.
• Changes and cancellations. It handles plan upgrades, cancellations, and failed payments.
• Taxes and invoices. It helps you show the price with taxes and issue invoices.
• Data. It shows you revenue, sign-ups, and cancellations so you know how the business is doing.

What software you need depending on what you sell

This is the point where most people go wrong. “Subscription” can be a monthly box, a software program, or a course, and each case calls for a different tool.

What you sell	What to look for	Examples
Courses, content, or community	Membership platform: it charges and also hosts the content	Membersfy, Kajabi, Teachable
Physical products or monthly boxes	Online store with subscriptions	Shopify with a subscriptions app
Software or services with complex billing	Recurring billing tool	Stripe Billing, Chargebee
Fees for an association or a club	Member management software	Tools made specifically for associations

If you sell training or a community, avoid charging with one tool, hosting the content on another, and setting up the forum on a third. It may work to get started, but every piece adds cost and maintenance tasks. If yours is an association, you may also be interested in this guide on memberships for associations and clubs.

How to create a subscription website

1. Define what each plan includes. Write down what the customer receives each month, not just what they have access to.
2. Choose the price and billing period. A discount on yearly payment is usually a good starting point.
3. Choose the platform and the payment gateway. Check that your customers can pay with it from their country.
4. Create the sales page. Explain who it's for, what it includes, how much it costs, and how to cancel.
5. Test the full purchase. Pay yourself, log in as a customer, and check that you get access and the emails.
6. Prepare the welcome. Say what to do first, because the first few days weigh heavily on whether someone stays.

If you sell training or a community, here is the complete guide on how to create a membership step by step.

What to look at before choosing

• Commission per sale. If a platform keeps 10 % and you sell 5.000 € per month, you pay it 500 € per month. Always do this math with your own numbers.
• Payment methods. If you sell in Latin America, check which gateways work there.
• Language and support. Check that both the dashboard and the customer service are in your language.
• Taxes and invoices. Ask what the tool does and what is left for you to do.
• Your data. Make sure you can take your customers with you if you ever switch.
• Plan limits. Look at how many members, courses, and storage each price includes.

When Membersfy is a fit and when it isn't

Membersfy is a platform 100 % in Spanish designed for those who sell training, content, or community.

It's a fit if:

• You sell courses, memberships, or a community and want to have everything in one place.
• You need free and paid plans, recurring subscriptions, one-time payment, or installments.
• You want to get paid with Stripe, PayPal, or Mercado Pago. Membersfy doesn't charge a commission per sale on any plan; the payment gateway charges its own.
• You want your community to run under your brand and have support in Spanish.

It's not a fit if:

• You sell physical products with shipping. An online store is better for that.
• You need to integrate payments into your own software. Membersfy doesn't have a public API.

As for taxes, you turn on VAT in your community settings and choose whether it's included in the price or added at the end. The customer sees the breakdown at checkout. If you want to see it in more detail, here is everything Membersfy includes.

How much Membersfy costs

Plan	Monthly payment	Yearly payment (per month)	The essentials
Freemium	Free	Free	10 GB, 1 course, forum
Iniciador	37 €	30 €	100 GB, 10 courses
Creador	197 €	164 €	1 TB, unlimited courses, white label, custom domain
Creador+	297 €	245 €	2 TB, unlimited administrators and tutors

All of them include unlimited members. You'll find the details in Plans & Pricing.

FAQ

What is the best subscription software?

It depends on what you sell. For courses and communities, a membership platform is the best fit; for physical products, an online store; and for a software product with complex billing, a recurring billing tool.

What's the difference between a subscription and a membership?

The subscription is the way of paying: a fee that renews. The membership is what you receive for belonging to something, such as content, community, or perks. Here we explain in more detail what a membership is.

Does Membersfy charge a commission on every subscription?

No. Membersfy doesn't charge any commission on your sales on any plan. The money goes to your payment gateway account, which applies its own fees.

Can I start for free?

Yes. The Freemium plan is free, includes unlimited members, and already lets you charge your students.

Can I bring my subscribers over from another platform?

You can import your students from CSV or Excel, and receive automatic sign-ups from Hotmart or ThriveCart. If you have active subscriptions with payments already running, talk to the team before moving them.