What MemberPress itself asks of a server
MemberPress's technical requirements page, read on 29 October 2026, lists PHP 7.4+, MySQL 8.0+ with NO_ZERO_DATE and Strict Mode disabled, and WordPress 6.0+. It says its digital file protection rules work best with Apache and that only Apache is officially supported for that feature; on other servers it recommends the MemberPress Downloads add-on instead. It also states that the paywall and SEO features will not work with any kind of page caching enabled.
MemberPress's hosting article adds that aggressive caching does not mesh well with membership sites, that object caching and Varnish are the most common sources of problems and should be disabled so MemberPress can work properly, and that it cannot recommend or support GoDaddy's managed WordPress hosting.
| Requirement | MemberPress states | Question for the host |
|---|---|---|
| PHP | 7.4+ | Can I choose PHP 8.3, as WordPress.org recommends? |
| MySQL | 8.0+, NO_ZERO_DATE and Strict Mode disabled | Can you change SQL mode for my database, or confirm it already meets this? |
| Web server | Apache officially supported for file protection rules | Is my site served by Apache, Nginx or another server? |
| Page caching | Paywall and SEO features fail with page caching | How do I exclude member URLs, and is it self-serve or by ticket? |
| Object cache and Varnish | Most common problem sources | Can these be disabled or bypassed for my site? |
Criterion 1: logged-in traffic must reach PHP
MemberPress's caching guide lists the paths to exclude: /thank-you, /account, /login, /register and /unauthorized, plus /mepr, which MemberPress uses for internal operations such as webhooks and the PayPal IPN URL, /coaching for CoachKit and /mpdl for the Downloads add-on. If you renamed those pages, use your own slugs. For Kinsta, the guide says to contact support and ask for the MemberPress URLs to be excluded, then purge the cache.
Because members bypass the page cache, every logged-in click is PHP work. Kinsta's knowledge base says it does not recommend dynamic sites such as membership sites on its 2-thread plans (Single 35k and WP 2) except for light traffic, and Kinsta's PHP documentation lists Single 65k as the first single-site tier with 4 threads. Liquid Web's managed WordPress plans list Object Cache Pro as included on every plan; given MemberPress's warning about object caching, ask whether it can be turned off and test member access with it on and off before launch.
Criterion 2: payment webhooks must never be cached
Renewals, cancellations and refunds usually arrive as a webhook from Stripe or an IPN message from PayPal. If a cache answers that request, the gateway sees success while MemberPress never processes the event, which is why the /mepr path belongs on your exclusion list. MemberPress's caching guide notes that some SiteGround servers continue caching Stripe webhook and PayPal IPN URLs even after all exclusions are set up, and documents an .htaccess rule that sends a private Cache-Control header for the webhook path, suggesting you ask SiteGround support if you are unsure.
Whatever host you choose, test this before launch: trigger a test event from the Stripe dashboard and confirm it appears in MemberPress, then check the response headers on the webhook URL. Our Stripe webhooks guide covers the same test during a migration.
Criterion 3: scheduled tasks need a clock, not visitors
WordPress's developer documentation says WP-Cron checks scheduled tasks on page load and does not run constantly; its example is a task due at 2:00 PM that waits until 5:00 PM if nobody visits. MemberPress's requirements page does not mention cron, but any plugin that registers WordPress scheduled events depends on it, and a quiet membership site can go hours without an uncached visit.
Hosts handle this differently. WP Engine offers Alternate Cron, which checks for due events every minute once you enable it in the User Portal. SiteGround documents disabling WP-Cron and adding a real cron job in Site Tools, suggesting every 30 minutes. Kinsta lets you add your own crontab entries over SSH or via support, with a 5-minute minimum interval. Use a tool such as WP Crontrol, which WP Engine mentions, to see which events your site actually schedules.
Criterion 4: email that reaches members
Welcome emails, password resets and receipts are part of the product on a membership site. SiteGround's plan pages list free email accounts on its shared plans. The Liquid Web managed WordPress page we read did not mention email. A mailbox on your host is not the same as reliable transactional sending, so plan a dedicated sending service and authenticate it with SPF, DKIM and DMARC records whichever host you choose.
How the shortlisted hosts line up on published features
This table records what each vendor publishes or documents, not performance we measured.
| Host | Cache exclusions | Staging and backups | Scheduled tasks | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SiteGround GrowBig/GoGeek | Supported; MemberPress notes webhook URLs may need an .htaccess rule | Staging, daily and on-demand backups listed | Real cron via Site Tools, 30 min suggested | GrowBig renews at $29.99/mo after the first invoice |
| Kinsta | By support ticket, per MemberPress | Staging on all plans, 14-day backups on lower tiers | Own crontab, 5 min minimum | Avoid 2-thread plans for busy member areas |
| WP Engine Essential | Not covered in MemberPress's guide; ask support | 1-click staging, 30 to 60 day backups | Alternate Cron every minute | First-year promotional pricing |
| Liquid Web Pro/Elite | Ask support | Staging, 14 or 30 day backups | Ask support | Object Cache Pro included; test against MemberPress's object cache warning |
Questions before you decide
Can I use page caching at all with MemberPress?
Public pages can be cached, but MemberPress states its paywall and SEO features do not work with page caching and that MemberPress URIs should be excluded from server-side caching.
Does MemberPress work on Nginx?
MemberPress runs there, but its file protection rules are officially supported only on Apache. On other servers it recommends the MemberPress Downloads add-on for protected files.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- MemberPress: Technical requirements Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- MemberPress: What web hosting works best with MemberPress Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- MemberPress: How to set up popular caching plugins with MemberPress Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- WordPress.org: Hosting requirements Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Kinsta: PHP thread recommendations for eCommerce and membership sites Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Kinsta Docs: PHP threads and memory by plan Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Kinsta Docs: Cron jobs Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- WordPress Developer Resources: Cron Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- WP Engine: WP-Cron and Alternate Cron Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- SiteGround: Replace the WordPress cron with a real cron job Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- SiteGround: Shared hosting features and plan comparison Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Liquid Web: Managed WordPress hosting plans Accessed 29 Oct 2026
Sources link directly to providers. Product buttons may use separately labeled affiliate links. Read our disclosure.