Leaky Paywall vs Paid Memberships Pro (2026): Which Pays Better?
Both are popular paywall & subscription tools. Here is how Leaky Paywall and Paid Memberships Pro stack up on requirements, what you keep, payout terms, strengths and weaknesses, and which one we would pick.
Leaky Paywall
Metered paywall for WordPress publishers: free article counts, registration walls and subscriptions.
7.2 /10
Pricing: Paid from $199/mo
Pros
- Purpose-built metering (X free articles, then subscribe) for news and magazine sites
- Google-friendly paywall markup
Cons
- Publishing-only focus
- Annual licence and add-ons
Paid Memberships Pro
Open-source WordPress membership plugin with a free core and paid add-ons.
7.5 /10
Pricing: Free plan, paid from $174/mo
Pros
- Free and open source with a large add-on library
- Flexible levels, gateways and gated content
Cons
- Less polished than MemberPress
- Setup takes configuration
Leaky Paywall vs Paid Memberships Pro at a glance
| Leaky Paywall | Paid Memberships Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Editor score | 7.2 / 10 | 7.5 / 10 |
| Pricing model | Paid | Freemium |
| Starting price | $199/mo | $174/mo |
| Web rank | – | #259k |
| Minimum traffic | None | None |
| Revenue share / fee | From $199/year; no per-sale cut | Free core; Plus from $174/year; no per-sale cut |
| Commission | – | – |
| Payout | Via your gateway | Via your gateway |
| Methods served | paywall premium content | paywall premium content, memberships subscriptions, paid newsletter, online courses |
| Niches accepted | General, Tech & SaaS, Finance & Insurance, Health & Supplements, Gaming & Esports, E-commerce & Retail | General, Tech & SaaS, Finance & Insurance, Health & Supplements, Gaming & Esports, E-commerce & Retail |
| Reader upvotes | 0 | 0 |
| Best for | metered paywall, wordpress, publishers | wordpress, open source, membership plugin |
Our pick
Paid Memberships Pro edges it with a score of 7.5 versus 7.2. Paid Memberships Pro is the better fit if you value: free and open source with a large add-on library, flexible levels, gateways and gated content. Choose Leaky Paywall instead if you need: purpose-built metering (x free articles, then subscribe) for news and magazine sites, google-friendly paywall markup.
Other paywall & subscription tools to consider
Full ranking →MemberPress 🧰 PlatformPaid
WordPress membership plugin: paywalls, subscriptions, courses and drip content with no revenue share.
Piano 🧰 PlatformPaid
Enterprise subscription, paywall and audience platform used by major publishers.
Poool 🧰 PlatformPaid
Dynamic paywall and registration wall platform for mid-sized publishers, with audience scoring.
Supertab 🧰 PlatformFree
Micropayments and time passes for articles: readers pay per piece or per hour without a subscription.