Membership.io screenshot

What is Membership.io?

Membership.io (formerly Searchie) is a platform for creators, coaches and online educators who want to build and run membership businesses. It brings content hosting, community discussion, course delivery and recurring payments together in one place, with AI tools for search, content summaries and chat. Members can be served through branded web hubs and a fully branded mobile app.

Key Features

Hubs

Branded spaces that combine content, community and member engagement in one place.

AI Content Library

Organise audio, video and text files with AI-generated summaries and instant keyword search.

Community

Algorithm-free discussion spaces with a searchable member directory.

Personalisation

Customised learning paths and tailored content for individual members.

AI Copilot and Chat Agents

AI assistance for content creation plus custom chatbots trained on your own material.

Built-in Payments

Recurring subscription and one-time payment handling through a connected Stripe account.

Branded Mobile App

A fully branded mobile experience for members, with analytics tracking consumption, engagement and revenue.

Pros & Cons

Advantages

  • Combines content hosting, community, courses and payments in a single system, reducing the need to stitch together separate tools.
  • AI search and content summaries make large libraries of video and audio easier for members to navigate.
  • Includes a fully branded mobile app for members, which many competing platforms charge extra for or omit.
  • Integrates with Stripe, Zapier, Zoom, YouTube, Vimeo and other common creator tools.
  • Offers a free trial so prospective customers can test the platform before committing.

Limitations

  • There is no free plan, with the entry-level Start tier beginning at 41 dollars per month billed annually.
  • Lower tiers limit the number of member hubs and team members, so growing businesses may need to upgrade.
  • Payment processing is tied to Stripe, which may not suit creators in regions where Stripe is unavailable.
  • The rebrand from Searchie to Membership.io may cause confusion for users searching under the old name.

Use Cases

Course creators selling and delivering online courses with personalised learning paths.

Coaches running paid coaching programmes that combine content, community and recurring billing.

Community builders hosting algorithm-free discussion spaces for their audience.

Creators with large video and audio libraries who need AI search to help members find content.

Membership businesses that want a branded mobile app for member access.

Entrepreneurs consolidating multiple tools into one platform for content, payments and analytics.