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Tips & Strategies7 min read

Monthly vs annual membership pricing: how big a discount, and should you offer both?

Monthly vs annual pricing for memberships and paid communities: discount size, churn, cash flow and offering both. WithMe: $25/month billed annually (UK £25).

WithMe Team·11 November 2026

For most memberships and paid communities, offer both: a monthly price as the easy way in, and an annual price at roughly two months free, which is about 15% to 20% off twelve monthly payments. Monthly keeps the barrier low; annual brings cash up front and gives members a reason to commit for a year. On WithMe a membership tier or a community can carry a monthly and an annual price at the same time, and buyers pick Monthly or Yearly at checkout.

WithMe is $25 per month billed annually (UK £25), with a 14-day trial and 0% WithMe commission. Stripe and PayPal fees still apply. More than 8,000 creators use it.

How big should the annual discount be?

There is no official standard, but "two months free" is the most common way to price a year. These are software subscriptions, not creator memberships, checked on 11 Nov 2026 on each company's pricing page, and they show the range:

Rewardful and FirstPromoter: $49 a month or $490 a year, two months free (about 17% off).
Tapfiliate: $89 a month, or $74 a month billed annually (about 17% off).
Kajabi: Basic $179 a month, or $143 a month billed annually (20% off).
Thinkific (UK page): Start £92 a month, or £69 a month billed annually (25% off).
A WithMe creator, Ryan Wilaby, prices his membership at $77 a month or $777 a year, a little over ten monthly payments.

As a guideline for a creator membership, an annual price of 10 times the monthly price (two months free, about 17% off) is a good default. Go up to 20% to 25% off if you want most members on annual. Go lower, around 10%, if your members already stay for years and you do not need to persuade them.

Avoid a discount so large that monthly looks like a bad deal. If annual is half price, people who would have paid monthly for two years end up paying you less.

How do you work out the annual price?

Start from the monthly price. At $30 a month, two months free is $300 a year, which works out at $25 a month. Show both numbers on your sales page: "$300 a year, that is $25 a month" makes the saving easy to see.

Then check it against how long members stay. A yearly member pays $300 up front. A monthly member has to stay 10 months to pay the same. If your average monthly member leaves after 5 or 6 months, every member who chooses annual is worth more to you, even with the discount. If they stay for years, the discount costs you money, so keep it smaller.

Does annual pricing reduce churn?

In a sense, yes. A monthly member decides whether to stay twelve times a year; a yearly member decides once. Someone who has a quiet month does not cancel, because there is nothing to cancel until the year is up. That gives you a full year to help them get a result.

The risk moves to the renewal date. A large charge a year later can surprise people, cause refund requests and lead to cancellations all at once. Remind yearly members before they renew and tell them what they got that year. This is guidance from how renewals work, not a figure from a study.

What about cash flow?

Annual pricing brings a year of money in one payment. That helps when you are launching, paying for a course you are filming or covering a slow season. But you owe those members a year of content and support, so do not spend it as if it were one month of income.

Monthly pricing gives a steadier, more predictable income and a smaller decision for the buyer. Most creators find the mix of both smooths things out: monthly members cover running costs, and annual payments arrive in bursts after launches and promotions.

Should you offer both?

Usually, yes. Monthly suits people who want to try you first; annual suits people who already trust you. Offering both lets each buyer choose. There are a few cases for only one:

Monthly only when you are new and your content is not yet steady enough to promise a year.
Annual only for a yearly programme with a fixed start, where everyone goes through it together.
A one-time fee with a set access length, such as 12 months, when you want one payment and no renewal at all.

How do members switch from monthly to annual?

The best time to ask is after a member has been with you two or three months and is getting value. A short email that shows how much they save in a year is enough for many people.

On WithMe there is no one-click switch for an existing member. A member who wants to move cancels their monthly subscription from their subscriptions page and joins again on the yearly price. Suggest they do it close to their monthly renewal date, so the months do not overlap.

How do you set up monthly and annual prices in WithMe?

Membership tiers and communities both support a monthly and an annual price at once. For a membership tier:

Open the membership tier in My Hub, or create one from the Memberships tile.
On the Checkout tab, under Add Pricing, choose Paid Membership and the Recurring billing type.
Switch on Monthly price and enter it. The minimum is 1.00 in your currency (11.00 in SEK).
Switch on Annual price and enter it. The minimum is 10.00 (110.00 in SEK).
If you want, turn on Discount Price for either one, to charge a lower sale price and show the original with a strikethrough.
Save. On the checkout, buyers choose Monthly or Yearly before they pay, by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay.

A paid community works the same way: it can be monthly, yearly or a payment plan, and you can turn on a monthly and an annual price together. You can sell up to three paid membership tiers, each with its own monthly and annual price, and add an optional free trial.

What is not included?

There is no one-click switch between monthly and annual for an existing member, and no automatic proration. On a membership tier the annual price and the flexible price (billed every few weeks or months) cannot both be on, because they use the same price slot. The free trial length is set once for all your tiers, not per tier. Payment plans are offered on a one-time price, not on a monthly or annual subscription.

How much does WithMe cost?

WithMe is $25 per month billed annually (UK £25), with a 14-day trial and 0% WithMe commission. Stripe and PayPal fees still apply. Free migration of up to 10 GB of your courses and members comes with the yearly plan. One plan covers courses, memberships, community, coaching, webinars and digital products, with the affiliate programme, promo codes and order bumps built in.

Monthly and annual pricing questions

How much cheaper should an annual membership be?

A common default is two months free: an annual price of 10 times the monthly price, about 17% off. Go to 20% or 25% off if you want most members on annual.

Is annual or monthly pricing better for a membership?

Offer both. Monthly lowers the barrier for new members, and annual brings cash up front and gives members a full year to get a result.

Can a WithMe membership have a monthly and an annual price?

Yes. Membership tiers and communities can have both at once, and buyers choose Monthly or Yearly at checkout.

Can members switch from monthly to annual on WithMe?

Not in one click. A member cancels their monthly subscription from their subscriptions page and joins again on the yearly price.

What does WithMe cost?

$25 per month billed annually (UK £25), with a 14-day trial. WithMe takes 0% commission. Stripe and PayPal fees still apply.

Start your 14-day trial at https://www.withme.so/become-a-creator.