// memberclicks vs wild apricot
MemberClicks vs Wild Apricot: same owner, five times the price.
Start with the thing neither product's marketing leads on: Momentive Software lists both of them as its own products, alongside YourMembership, NimbleAMS, NetForumAMS, Aptify and CobaltAMS. So this is a comparison inside one vendor's catalogue. And the published entry prices are a long way apart: MemberClicks from $4,500 a year, Wild Apricot at $792. Below is what each one publishes, read from their own pricing pages on 12 September 2026, MemberClicks' own explanation for the gap, and then the option that is in nobody's catalogue.
// what each one publishes
The published prices, dated
Read from each product's own pricing page on 12 September 2026. Software pricing moves, so check before you budget. Note these are not the same kind of number: MemberClicks publishes a starting figure with no member count attached, Wild Apricot publishes an exact price for a specific contact tier.
MemberClicks
| Product | Price | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| MC Professional | From $4,500/year | When your members are individuals |
| MC Trade | From $3,500/year | When your members are organizations |
Both carry the same caveat on the page: pricing is based on your organization and the functionality you need. Specialty pricing for chambers is named. There is no published trial; the route is a form, a sales call, then a product walkthrough. MemberClicks cites over 3,000 associations.
Wild Apricot
| Billing | Price | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly billing | $66.00/month | $792/year at the 100-contact tier |
| Prepay 1 year | $59.40/month | Saves $79.20/year |
| Prepay 2 years | $56.10/month | Saves $118.80/year |
Wild Apricot prices by contact tier - 100, 250, 500, 2,000, 5,000, 15,000 and 50,000 - and states that all packages carry the same features, so the tier only changes how many contacts you may hold. The figures above are its 100-contact tier, the only one the page actually prices. Its own payment processing rate is not published there. 60-day free trial, no credit card, $0 setup. It cites over 15,000 organizations.
// the honest version
The gap is not nothing, and MemberClicks explains it
A five-fold price difference between two products in one catalogue looks strange until you read MemberClicks' own answer to it, which is on the same pricing page. It describes Wild Apricot as the do-it-yourself option for smaller organizations with limited budget who can build and manage their own setup, and positions MemberClicks for small to medium organizations that want help with implementation and onboarding, with a dedicated support line and live chat.
That is a real distinction and a real service. You are not paying five times for the same software. You are paying for implementation, onboarding and a support relationship, and for a product with a deeper feature set aimed at organizational members and complex structures.
So the question is not "why is it more". It is whether roughly $3,700 a year more is the right price for your organisation to buy internal capacity it does not have. For plenty of associations it is. The reason to look carefully is that the figure compounds, and unlike Wild Apricot's it is set in a negotiation rather than on a page.
// side by side
Two products, one catalogue
| MemberClicks | Wild Apricot | |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns it | Momentive Software. | Momentive Software. The same company lists both, plus YourMembership, NimbleAMS, NetForumAMS, Aptify and CobaltAMS. |
| Published entry price | From $4,500/year (MC Professional) or $3,500/year (MC Trade). | $66.00/month at 100 contacts, which is $792/year. |
| What the price depends on | Your organization and which functionality you need. It is a starting figure, not a rate card. | Your contact count. Tiers at 100, 250, 500, 2,000, 5,000, 15,000 and 50,000. |
| Features by tier | Two different products with different feature sets, not tiers of one product. | Identical at every tier. It states all packages carry the same features. |
| Who each one says it is for | Small to medium organizations that want help with implementation and onboarding, with a dedicated support line and live chat. | Its own words: a DIY solution for smaller organizations with limited budget who can build and manage their own setup. |
| Scale each one claims | Over 3,000 associations. | Over 15,000 organizations. |
| If you run chapters | Specialty pricing for chambers is named on the pricing page. Otherwise it is a sales conversation. | Multi-chapter volume discounts and customized pricing. Quote only. |
| Try before you buy | No trial published. The path is a form, then a sales call, then a walkthrough. | 60-day free trial, no credit card, $0 setup. |
Looking wider than these two? I keep the same kind of honest page on Springly vs Wild Apricot, on Wild Apricot vs MemberPlanet, and on leaving either Wild Apricot or MemberClicks.
// rent vs own
The third option
Both products above are rentals from the same landlord. That is not a criticism - renting is the right call for plenty of organisations, and at Wild Apricot's price it is usually the right call. But against a negotiated multi-thousand contract that renews indefinitely, the trade is worth seeing plainly.
| Renting a platform | Owning one | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup speed | Fast for Wild Apricot; an implementation project for MemberClicks | Slower - it's built for you, over weeks |
| Upfront cost | Low to moderate | Higher - it's a real build |
| Cost over time | Recurring, and it rises with your contact count or your next negotiation | You own the asset; hosting + care, not per-contact rent |
| Capability ceiling | Whichever product in the family you bought into | Whatever you need built, when you need it |
| Chapters & committees | A quote, on both products | Modelled on how your org is actually organised |
| Your data & content | Lives inside their platform | Yours - export it, move it, own it |
| Integrations | Their ecosystem and what the product supports | Anything with an API - Stripe, your CRM, email, events |
| If you outgrow or leave | Migration and lock-in to untangle | You already own it - nothing to escape |
| Who maintains it | They do - you're a tenant | I do, on a Care Plan - or your team. Either way it's yours |
// own it if
- You've been quoted well above the published starting price and cannot see what the increment buys.
- You are being moved between products in the same vendor's family instead of getting what you asked for.
- Your chapters, committees or programs land you in a sales call rather than a price.
- You want to own the member database, the content, and the platform itself.
// rent instead if
- You want someone else to run implementation and onboarding for you. That is a real service and MemberClicks sells it.
- You are small and standard. Wild Apricot at $792 a year is very hard to beat, and I will say so.
- Nobody (me included) is lined up to maintain a custom platform long term.
// platforms I've shipped
HAULYP
A Houston chapter moved off Wild Apricot onto Circle for community management, then run on systems built to keep working when volunteers, deadlines, and live members depend on them. This is what leaving actually looks like, not a theory about it.
Read the case study
AAMA
A live membership platform for a marketing association: member portal, admin dashboard, payments, events, and automated communications - owned by the org, not rented.
Read the case studySix Urban League chapters
Membership, events, donations, and volunteer intake across six chapters - the chapter-and-committee world both of these products route to a sales call.
See the chapter work
Pulse Awards
A full platform from zero: submissions, Stripe payments, judge scoring, and a multi-section admin dashboard. Proof that custom association tooling ships.
Read the case study// common questions
Are MemberClicks and Wild Apricot really the same company?
They are two products under one owner. Momentive Software lists both on its own products page, along with YourMembership, NimbleAMS, NetForumAMS, Aptify and CobaltAMS. Wild Apricot came in through Personify, which is now part of Momentive. That does not make them the same software - they have genuinely different feature sets and price points - but it does mean a shortlist of MemberClicks, Wild Apricot and YourMembership is a shortlist of one vendor. Worth knowing before you treat those three quotes as competitive.
Why is MemberClicks five times the price?
MemberClicks answers this itself, and the answer is reasonable. On its own pricing page it describes Wild Apricot as the do-it-yourself option for smaller organizations with limited budget who can build and manage their own setup, and positions MemberClicks for small to medium organizations that want help with implementation and onboarding, with a dedicated support line and live chat. So you are not paying five times for the same thing; you are paying for implementation, onboarding and a support relationship. Whether that is worth roughly $3,700 a year more is a question only your staff capacity can answer.
So which should we pick?
If you have someone who can set up and run the software, Wild Apricot at $792 a year is very hard to beat, and its features do not change between tiers - only your contact allowance does. If you have no internal capacity and need a partner through implementation, MemberClicks' starting figures of $4,500 or $3,500 a year buy that. The honest catch on both sides: MemberClicks publishes a starting price rather than a rate card, so your real number comes from a sales call, and Wild Apricot only prices its 100-contact tier on the page. Neither figure above is the number you will actually pay unless you happen to be exactly the buyer it describes. Both were read from their own pricing pages on 12 September 2026.
Where does a custom platform fit in this comparison?
It is not a third product in the family. It is the option where you stop renting and own the platform, modelled on your chapters, committees, dues and programs. At Wild Apricot's price a build rarely makes sense. Against a negotiated MemberClicks contract at several thousand a year, indefinitely, the arithmetic changes - and it changes again if you are being quoted for chapters. That is worth it when the software has started shaping how your organisation runs rather than the other way round. Below that, off-the-shelf is the right answer and I will tell you so.
We're already on one of them. What does moving off actually involve?
A tiered migration: members, committees, content and history mapped and moved, with a redirect plan so you do not lose data, donors or search rankings in the switch. It is a Migration Strategy engagement, and it has been done - a Houston Urban League chapter moved off Wild Apricot onto Circle, and on a separate rebuild every existing member credential carried across intact so nobody had to reset a password.
// start the conversation
Been quoted, and unsure it adds up?
Tell me what you've been quoted and what you actually need it to do, and I'll tell you whether it is fair - including when the answer is yes, take the deal. You'll hear back within one business day. Prefer to talk? book a call instead.