Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships
by Nexcess · Membership
Also makes 23 other plugins · 2.6M+ installs across the portfolio →
Kadence Memberships is a powerful WordPress membership plugin that gives you full control over who can and cannot view content on your WordPress site.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
B 76/100
no flags
Active installs
8K+
≈9K estimated
Momentum
-9%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “registration form”, “membership” and “restrict access” for “membership plugin”, “memberships” and “restrict content”. “registration form” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “membership plugin” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “membership” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #14. “memberships” sits at #9 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “restrict access” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #14. “restrict content” sits at #9 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
76 health vs 71 average across 298 Membership plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.1%
of downloads still active
At least 8K of 700.5K lifetime downloads are still running, in line with its category: the median Membership plugin keeps 0.9%, across 164 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Membership plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 17 releases in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Support resolution
Updated 17 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
3.1★ over 100 reviews, smoothed to 3.43★
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
1 of 3 support threads resolved in the last 2 months
To rank higher: Mark more forum threads resolved — the resolved ratio feeds the ranking.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
38
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.4
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
20%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.2
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| restrict posts your tag | #4 | #9 | down 1 |
| restrict pages your tag | #5 | #13 | down 1 |
| membership plugin | #6 | #11 | 0 |
| kadence | #7 | #15 | 0 |
| memberships | #9 | #17 | down 1 |
| membership your tag | #14 | #19 | up 2 |
| restrict access your tag | #14 | #15 | down 2 |
| restrict content | #9 | #17 | 0 |
| restrict site | #6 | #14 | 0 |
| membership site | #12 | #22 | up 1 |
| membership plugins | #7 | #12 | 0 |
| restrict | #12 | #15 | 0 |
| restrict content pro | #7 | #18 | 0 |
| membership management | #14 | #21 | down 2 |
| content membership | #9 | #13 | down 1 |
| paid memberships pro | #15 | #20 | down 2 |
| restrict page | #9 | #16 | up 1 |
| paid membership | #17 | #23 | down 1 |
| restrict post | #10 | #19 | 0 |
| restricted content | #17 | #16 | 0 |
| registration form your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
116 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 86 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 1 of its tags isn't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “registration form”, “membership” and “restrict access” for “membership plugin”, “memberships” and “restrict content”. “registration form” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “membership plugin” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “membership” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #14. “memberships” sits at #9 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “restrict access” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #14. “restrict content” sits at #9 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- One page off on “membership”. #14 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
- One page off on “restrict access”. #14 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 23.1K · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
Actively maintainedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
17
releases in the last 12 months
17d ago
latest release · v4.0.5 · 14 Oct 2026
73
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 40% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “8K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band today and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just under 9K.
Install history since 3 Jun 2019
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 4.0.1 Security: Strengthened security measures for password recovery. 4.0.1
- — Version 4.0.0 Tweak: Plugin name changed to be “Kadence Memberships”. Tweak: Updated branding references from StellarWP to Nexcess. 4.0.0
- — Version 3.2.26 Fix: Fixed a fatal error when no payment gateways are enabled in telemetry data. 3.2.26
- — Version 3.2.25 Security: Improved sanitization and validation of member-related POST data. Fix: Improved redirect URLs sanitization of member-related POST data. 3.2.25
- — Version 3.2.24 Fix: Fixed incorrect date array key in payment import process. 3.2.24
- — Version 3.2.23 Security: Strengthened security measures for processing payments with Stripe. 3.2.23
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceAll 12 disclosed vulnerabilities are patched in the current version (4.0.5). Sites still on an older version should update.
- Patched Critical · 9.3 Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships <= 4.0.0 - Unauthenticated Password Reset Link Poisoning to Account Takeover ↗2026-08-04 CVE-2026-9273 Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password Affects <= 4.0.0 Patched in 4.0.1
- Patched Medium · 4.3 Membership Plugin – Restrict Content <= 3.2.24 - Unvalidated Redirect in Password Reset Flow via rcp_redirect ↗2026-03-19 CVE-2026-4136 Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password Affects <= 3.2.24 Patched in 3.2.25
- Patched Medium · 4.4 Membership Plugin – Restrict Content <= 3.2.18 - Authenticated (Administrator+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Invoice Settings ↗2026-02-17 CVE-2026-1304 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 3.2.18 Patched in 3.2.19
- Patched High · 8.2 Membership Plugin – Restrict Content <= 3.2.16 - Missing Authentication to Insecure Direct Object Reference and Sensitive Information Exposure ↗2026-01-15 CVE-2025-14844 Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key Affects <= 3.2.16 Patched in 3.2.17
- Patched Medium · 6.4 Membership Plugin – Restrict Content <= 3.2.15 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Shortcodes ↗2025-12-22 CVE-2025-14000 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 3.2.15 Patched in 3.2.16
- Patched Medium · 5.3 Membership Plugin – Restrict Content <= 3.2.13 - Unauthenticated Content Restriction Bypass to Sensitive Information Exposure ↗2025-01-25 CVE-2024-11090 Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor Affects <= 3.2.13 Patched in 3.2.14
- 2023-11-06 CVE-2023-47668 Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor Affects <= 3.2.7 Patched in 3.2.8
- 2023-06-23 Missing Authorization Affects < 3.2.3 Patched in 3.2.3
- 2023-06-23 CVE-2023-3182 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects < 3.2.3 Patched in 3.2.3
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 14 languages, 2 at 90% or more
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Share of voice
How often each assistant names Membership Plugin when asked about this topic, where it comes in the answer, and how that compares with its wp.org search position. Latest run 25 Oct 2026.
- Assistants
- ChatGPT, Claude
- Topics tracked
- Membership
Readme readiness
7 of 8 pass · checked 25 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ✓ Has a FAQ 10 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 10 of 10 read like questions a user would type.
- ✓ Names who it is for Names its audience or use cases ("built for", "if you have", "for developers").
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions WooCommerce, Mailchimp, ConvertKit, ActiveCampaign and 5 more.
- ✓ Headings and lists 16 headings and 11 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 15,600 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "restrict pages", "restrict posts" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-31 9K+ → 8K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-10-30 8K+ → 9K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-10-29 9K+ → 8K+ down after 182 days in tier
- 2026-04-30 10K+ → 9K+ down after 3808 days in tier
- 2015-11-26 9K+ → 10K+ up after 81 days in tier
- 2015-09-06 8K+ → 9K+ up
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
- R Restrict Posts based on Conditions – Conditional Post Restrictions 30+ installs · 3.9★ · 4 shared tags A
-
WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A -
All-in-One Content Restriction – Conditional Content Visibility & Access Control for WordPress 50+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B -
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ installs · 4.4★ · 1 shared tag A -
Paid Membership Plugin, Ecommerce, User Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content – ProfilePress 100K+ installs · 3.1★ · 1 shared tag B -
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/restrict-content" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships: 8K+ active installs, 3.1★ (100 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/restrict-content
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