A simpler alternative to WildApricot

Wild Apricot is often a good fit for organizations that want an all-in-one system with membership management, website tools, email, events, and payments bundled together. Join It is a better fit for teams that want a cleaner, more focused membership platform that works alongside their existing website, email platform, event tools, and payment workflows. Since 2016, more than 4,000 organizations have used Join It to manage over $100M in membership payments, and Capterra rates Join It 4.7 overall, including 4.9 for customer service. The result is less software complexity, more flexibility, and a membership system your team can manage without rebuilding everything around one platform.

WildApricot takes a broad all-in-one approach, combining membership management with built-in website, email, event, and payment tools. Join It focuses on making core membership management easier: member records, online sign-ups, recurring payments, renewal reminders, digital membership cards, event registration, member check-in, and integrations. For organizations that already have a website, email provider, or event workflow they like, Join It can be a more flexible alternative because it supports your existing stack rather than asking you to move everything into one bundled system.

Teams evaluating alternatives to WildApricot often look for a more modern admin experience, stronger connections to outside tools, and a simpler digital experience for members. Join It addresses those needs with a clean admin and member experience, native integrations across email, events, payments, and automation, digital membership cards for Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, and a full member activity timeline in one view. Responsive, human support is also one of Join It’s most frequently praised strengths in customer reviews, which matters during any platform transition.

Many membership teams are run by small staffs, volunteers, or administrators who do not have time to learn a complicated system. Join It focuses on a clean admin experience, straightforward setup, and self-service tools that let members join, renew, update their information, and access their membership online without help. Third-party reviewers regularly highlight Join It's simplicity, quick setup, and responsive customer support. If reducing training time and day-to-day admin is a priority, that track record is worth weighing.

Some organizations want their membership software to replace everything. Others already have a website, email tool, payment workflow, or event platform they like. Join It is designed for the second group: it gives you a central membership database while integrating with the tools that already work for your organization. This means you can modernize membership management without forcing your team to abandon the systems and workflows they already trust.

Modern members expect a convenient digital experience. With Join It, members can join and renew online, access their membership through a self-service portal, save digital membership cards to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, check in with QR codes, register for events, and stay connected with your organization. These features help organizations move beyond static member lists and create a more active, digital membership experience. Digital membership cards are a clear Join It differentiator, especially for organizations that want members to save cards to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet.

When comparing costs, look beyond the starting monthly price. Consider how pricing changes as your database grows, whether inactive contacts or mailing-list records affect your tier, which features are included at each level, and what transaction fees apply to payments. Join It is designed to keep pricing predictable, with plans that scale based on the members you manage and service fees that decrease on higher plans. For many organizations, especially those carrying large contact lists with a smaller active membership, that structure can work out meaningfully cheaper, but the right comparison is always your numbers in both models.

A successful migration usually starts with reviewing your existing member records, membership types, custom fields, statuses, and renewal dates. From there, your data can be mapped into Join It so your team can continue managing memberships without rebuilding everything manually. The Join It team is available to help review and import your data, and bulk import is free on all plans — making the switch straightforward for organizations that want a simpler system without losing the structure of their existing membership data.

Switching membership systems can feel risky, especially if your team depends on accurate member records, renewals, payments, and communications. Join It’s support team can help you understand how your current setup maps into Join It, guide your import process, and answer questions as you configure your new workflows. Customer support is one of Join It’s highest-rated areas, with Capterra rating Join It 4.9 for customer service. That kind of responsive support is exactly what you want on your side during a platform change.