A simpler alternative to WildApricot

Switching from WildApricot to Join It: need to know

The short answer: WildApricot and Join It are both all-in-one membership platforms. The difference is how much work they take. WildApricot bundles a website builder, online store and apps, and its reviewers say the result is hard for volunteers to learn. Join It covers what membership organizations use every day (member records, payments, automated renewals, member emails, event registration and digital membership cards) and keeps it simple enough for a new volunteer to run without training. Join It is rated higher than WildApricot on Capterra, G2 and Trustpilot, and plans start at $29 a month, month to month.

Is Join It an all-in-one platform?

Yes. WildApricot's comparison page describes Join It as a set of tools you have to stitch together, with no built-in events. That's out of date: event registration is built into Join It, along with everything else below.

Your member database, recurring payments, automated renewals, member emails and event registration are all built in, along with a member portal, a searchable directory, and Apple and Google Wallet cards with check-in (on Total and above). Integrations with Mailchimp, Eventbrite, QuickBooks, HubSpot and more are included on every plan, for when you want them, not because you need them to get the basics working.

WildApricot is all-in-one and complex. Join It is all-in-one and simple.

Why do organizations move away from WildApricot?

These are the reasons organizations give us most often for switching:

• Volunteers can't pick it up. New board members struggle to learn it, so everything falls on one or two people. As one Capterra reviewer puts it: "Considerable computer experience is necessary."
• It feels dated. "This is a SaaS product from 2002" (Trustpilot reviewer, May 2026).
• Prices keep rising, the product doesn't. "Zero product improvement, in spite of multiple large price increases" (Capterra reviewer).
• Support has slipped. Reviewers say help has become slower since WildApricot changed ownership.
• It doesn't work well with your own website. WildApricot is built around its own website builder, and organizations tell us its widgets are hard to add to the site they already have.

What is Join It's support like?

You talk to people who know membership, not a help-centre search bar. Join It scores 4.9 for customer service on Capterra, and support is the thing Join It reviewers mention most. Join It's team will also import your members for you on any plan, including during your free trial.

What stays the same, and what changes

What stays the same: Join It, like WildApricot, has a member database, membership levels, online payments, automated renewal reminders and a member directory (the directory is on the Total plan and above).

What changes:

• Your website. Keep the website you already have, whether it's WordPress, Squarespace, Wix or anything else. Members get a portal for posts, upcoming events and a searchable directory, with no second website to maintain inside your membership system.
• Events. Run member events with Join It's built-in event registration. Registrations sit alongside your member records, so there's no second list to manage.
• Email. Email members by status, membership type, join date or expiry date, using templates. Renewal reminders and lifecycle emails run automatically. Connect Mailchimp, Constant Contact, Sendlane or Mailjet if you want designed newsletters.
• Membership cards. On the Total plan and above, members get a branded digital card in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, and you can check members in at events with a quick scan. No extra app to download, and WildApricot doesn't offer Wallet cards.
• Payments. Payments go straight to your own Stripe account.
• Your other tools. When you need more, Join It integrates directly with the tools membership organizations use most, such as Mailchimp, Eventbrite, Stripe, QuickBooks, HubSpot, Salesforce and Google Sheets, plus thousands more through Zapier, on every plan.

How much does Wild Apricot cost?

As of September 2026, WildApricot starts at $66 a month for up to 100 contacts, priced by the number of contacts in your database, with 10% off annual plans and 15% off two-year plans. It doesn't charge a per-transaction platform fee when you use its own payment processor, Personify Payments, which charges 2.99% + $0.30 per card payment in the US. If you're in the US or Canada and use a different processor, such as Stripe or PayPal, WildApricot adds a 20% servicing fee to your subscription. WildApricot's comparison page says it charges no platform fee on transactions; it leaves this surcharge out.

Join It publishes all of its pricing. Plans start at $29 a month on Starter (3% platform fee). Total, at $99 a month (2%), adds digital membership cards, member check-in, a member directory and API access, and Extra, at $199 a month (1.5%), adds custom domains and a dedicated account manager. Plans are month to month, Stripe's processing fees apply, and there are no setup fees. Annual billing saves 10%, and nonprofits get an additional 10% off. See full pricing.

Is Wild Apricot cheaper than Join It?

No. WildApricot starts at $66 a month for up to 100 contacts, and the price rises with the number of contacts in your database. Join It starts at $29 a month, month to month, with a platform fee of 1.5% to 3% depending on your plan. In the US and Canada, WildApricot also adds a 20% servicing fee to your subscription if you process payments through Stripe or PayPal instead of its own processor. Card processing fees apply on both.

Join It is rated higher than WildApricot on every major review site

On Capterra, as of September 30, 2026, Join It scores 4.7 from 83 reviews and WildApricot scores 4.4 from 558. On G2, Join It scores 4.7 from 22 reviews and WildApricot scores 3.8 from 45. On Trustpilot, Join It scores 4.7 from 192 reviews and WildApricot scores 1.3 from 159.

Ratings checked 30th September 2026.

What Join It reviewers mention most: responsive human support, self-serve setup and automated renewals.

What WildApricot reviewers mention most: having the website, events, email and membership in one place. The most common criticisms are repeated price increases, a dated interface, a steep learning curve for volunteers, and support that reviewers say has become slower.

What are the best Wild Apricot alternatives for membership organizations?

Join It suits organizations that already have a website, or only need a member portal, and want membership, renewals, payments, events and member emails that are often run by volunteers. If you're moving off spreadsheets and weighing both platforms, the choice mostly comes down to scope.

• WildApricot makes sense if you want one system that also builds and hosts your website, and you have permanent staff or someone with the time to learn it.
• Join It makes sense if you already have a website, want membership, renewals, payments, simple event registration and member emails running quickly, and need it to be simple enough for volunteers to manage.

Join It and WildApricot both offer a free trial with no credit card. The best test is to set up your real membership levels and a renewal email in each, and see which one your volunteers can use without help.

Who is WildApricot for?

WildApricot does more if you want your membership software to:

• Host your whole website with a built-in website builder.
• Run an online store in the same system.
• Offer a dedicated member mobile app.

If you want membership that a new volunteer can run on day one, choose Join It.

Can I switch from Wild Apricot to Join It without members re-entering card details?

Yes, if your members already pay through your own Stripe account: Join It's team can bring their existing Stripe subscriptions across, so they won't need to re-enter their card details. To switch without disrupting renewals:

1. Check when your WildApricot billing period ends. If you prepaid for one or two years, plan your move around that date. If WildApricot hosts your whole website, decide where those pages will live before you switch.
2. Export your data from WildApricot: members, membership levels and renewal dates. Bulk import is free on all Join It plans, and Join It's team can do the import for you on any plan, even during your free trial.
3. Rebuild your membership levels and renewal emails in Join It during your free trial.
4. Plan how members will set up payments. If you've been using WildApricot's own payment processing, members will set up card payments with Stripe when they next renew, so time the move before your main renewal period.
5. Update the join and renew links on your website.
6. Tell your members what's changing, and introduce their new digital membership card.

Questions to ask before you decide

• Which WildApricot features do we use every month, and which could we replace or do without?
• What are we paying today, including payment processing and any servicing fees?
• Could a new board member or volunteer run our membership system without training?
• Are our renewals and payments fully automated?

Join It is trusted by more than 4,000 membership organizations in 40 countries and has processed over $100 million in membership payments since 2016.

Comparing other options? See all Join It alternatives and comparisons.

Last reviewed: October 1, 2026. WildApricot pricing and product details are taken from wildapricot.com and may change. Check their current pricing before making a decision.