For independent creators

Membership Site Software Built for Creators

Run subscriptions, digital products, and your own community from one place, without giving up 10% of every sale to somebody else's algorithm.

See how it works Compare the platforms

Independent podcast creator checking a membership subscriber dashboard on a laptop in a home studio

How it works

From Zero to Your First Paying Member

No developer, no separate storefront, no waiting on someone else's roadmap.

1

Set your tiers

Create free, paid, and premium tiers with the pricing you choose. No revenue split forced on you before you have even launched.
2

Add products

Bundle ebooks, presets, templates, or one-off sessions next to your subscription tiers, so fans buy everything from the same page.
3

Turn on the AI copilot

Get churn alerts before a paying member cancels, plus pricing suggestions based on what similar creators actually charge.
4

Keep your audience

Export your fan list and payment history whenever you want. No algorithm decides who gets to see you.

Features

Everything a Membership Business Actually Needs

Flexible membership tiers

Set as many paid tiers as your audience supports, from a $3 supporter tier to a $50 inner circle, priced however you like.

AI churn alerts

Get flagged when a paying member looks likely to cancel, with enough runway to actually reach out before they do.

Digital products built in

Sell ebooks, presets, templates, or one-off coaching sessions right alongside your subscriptions, with no separate storefront to manage.

AI pricing suggestions

See what similar creators in your niche charge for comparable tiers, so you stop guessing at your own pricing.

You own your fan list

Export emails and payment history any time you want. Nobody else gets to decide who can reach your audience.

Stripe-grade payments

Subscriptions, refunds, and failed payments run on the same payment infrastructure trusted by major platforms, so fans trust the checkout.

Why the math matters

What Other Platforms Actually Take

5-12%

of every payment Patreon keeps before Stripe processing fees

10%

cut Substack takes off paid subscriptions before fees

$143+/mo

starting cost for Kajabi's flat-fee plan, billed annually

15-30%

cut Apple and Google take on in-app subscriptions

Podcasters

Early Access Without Losing Your Free Feed

A podcaster with a loyal weekly audience does not want to lock everything behind a paywall and lose new listeners. A membership tier gates early access and behind-the-scenes audio for paying fans, while the main feed stays open to everyone else. The split keeps discovery alive and gives dedicated listeners a real reason to pay.

Early access episodes for paying tiers
Ad-free or bonus feeds as a perk
Behind-the-scenes audio fans cannot get elsewhere
Public feed stays open for discovery

Podcaster recording early-access episodes in a home studio for paying subscribers

Course creators

Course, Community, and Payments in One Login

An online educator does not want students split across a course platform, a separate community app, and a payment processor that does not talk to either. A membership tier can unlock the paid course and a monthly live Q&A together, with renewals and payment history visible in a single dashboard. Nobody falls through the cracks between three different logins.

One tier unlocks the course and the community
Live Q&A scheduling lives in the same space
Renewals and payment history in a single dashboard
No separate tool just for course hosting

Online course creator recording a video lesson for a paid membership tier

Musicians & artists

Sell Exclusive Tracks Directly to Fans

A musician recording from a home studio does not need a label's cut to reach the fans who already show up for every release. A membership tier can unlock unreleased tracks, stems, and presets for a flat monthly price, paid straight to the artist. The relationship stays direct, and so does the revenue.

Unreleased tracks and stems for paying tiers
Presets and sample packs sold as products
Direct payment, no label or platform cut
Fans get a reason to stay subscribed

Independent musician selling exclusive tracks and stems directly to fans from a home studio

How it compares

Heenok vs the Usual Suspects

Same job (get paid by your audience), different trade-offs.

Feature	Heenok	Patreon	Substack	Kajabi
Revenue model	You set the tiers and keep control of your pricing	5-12% platform commission	10% platform commission	Flat monthly fee from $143/mo, billed annually
Best for	Independent creators mixing subscriptions and products	Fans-first tipping and perks	Newsletter writers and journalists	Course creators and coaches
AI copilot for admin	Built in: churn alerts, pricing help, reply drafting	Not built in	Not built in	Not built in
Digital products alongside memberships	Yes, one place for both	Limited, mostly perks	Mostly written content	Yes, course-focused
Audience ownership	Exportable fan list, direct relationship	Platform-mediated relationship	Email-based, more portable than most	Exportable, but tied to the course funnel

Common Questions

What is membership site software?

It is a tool that lets you charge fans for recurring access to your content: paid tiers, gated posts, private communities, or bundled digital products, instead of relying on a single platform's built-in monetization and taking whatever cut it sets.

How is this different from Patreon or Substack?

Patreon and Substack take a percentage of every payment (5-12% and 10% respectively, before processing fees) and control most of the page layout. Membership software built for creators lets you set your own tiers, mix subscriptions with digital products, and keep more of the relationship on your own terms.

Can I sell digital products and subscriptions together?

Yes. A membership tier can unlock recurring content while ebooks, presets, templates, or one-off sessions sell separately from the same page, so fans do not need to leave to buy something extra.

Do I need to know how to code to set this up?

No. Setting tiers, gating content, and connecting payments is meant to be done without touching code. Most creators have a first tier live within an afternoon.

What happens when a member wants to cancel?

They cancel from their own account, the same way they would on any subscription service. An AI copilot can flag members who look likely to cancel before it happens, giving you time to reach out first.

How does the AI copilot actually help with churn?

It watches engagement and payment signals, missed logins, a lapsed message reply, a failed card, and flags members who match the pattern of someone about to cancel, before the cancellation happens.

Can I export my member list if I switch tools later?

Yes. Your fan list and payment history should belong to you, not the platform. Exportable data is the whole point of owning your audience instead of renting it.

Is membership software worth it with a small audience?

Even a few hundred fans paying $5-10 a month adds up to real recurring revenue, and tiers can start free. The bigger question is whether your audience already engages with your content for free; if so, some percentage will pay for more.

Run Your Membership on Your Terms

Set your own tiers, keep your audience data, and let the AI copilot handle the busywork of retention.

Visit Heenok Read the platform comparison