Why membership sites cost more to host than their traffic suggests
Most of a membership site's traffic is logged in, and logged-in pages are not served from page cache. WP Engine's cache documentation lists pages where a cookie containing wordpress_ has a value set, wp-login.php, the admin area and cart or checkout pages among its default exclusions. MemberPress's own hosting guidance says aggressive caching does not mesh with membership sites and that MemberPress URIs should be excluded from server-side caching.
So size for PHP capacity, not page views. Kinsta's PHP documentation says each thread handles one request at a time and extra requests wait for a free thread; its table lists 2 threads on Single 35k, 4 on Single 65k and 6 on Single 125k.
Traffic and volume assumptions
WP Engine counts one visit per unique IP address per UTC day and excludes known bots and static-file requests. Other hosts count differently, so read each host's definition before comparing plan limits.
| Assumption | Value | How it scales |
|---|---|---|
| Members | 2,000 | Baseline |
| Weekly active members | 40%, 800 people | Linear with members |
| Days active per week | 3 | Content cadence |
| Member visits per month | About 10,400 (800 x 3 x 4.33) | Linear with members |
| Public visits per month | 10,000 | Marketing, not members |
| Total visits per month | About 20,400 | Counted per unique IP per day on WP Engine |
| Email per member per month | 4 (receipts, renewal notices, content alerts) | Linear with members |
| Price | $20 a month per member, monthly billing | Payment fees scale with charges |
Hosting options at list price
| Host type | Plan | Annual hosting | Fit for 20,400 visits | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shared | SiteGround GoGeek: $7.99/mo first year prepaid, renews $44.99/mo | $95.88 first year, $539.88 renewal | SiteGround estimates 400,000+ visits | CPU and memory limits not published; staging included |
| Managed WordPress | Kinsta Single 65k, billed annually | $500 | 65,000 visits | 4 PHP threads; visit overage $0.50 per 1,000 |
| Managed WordPress, larger | Kinsta Single 125k, billed annually | $900 | 125,000 visits | 6 PHP threads for busier logged-in periods |
| Managed WordPress | WP Engine Essential, 1 site | $336 first year (promotional, new customers) | 25,000 visits on the 1-site tier | Renewal price not shown; the visits article lists $2 per 1,000 overage for named plans that do not include Essential, so ask |
| Managed VPS | KnownHost Basic: $43.25/mo plus JetBackup $107.40/yr | $519 + $107.40 = $626.40 | Dedicated 4 cores, 6 GB RAM | Page says cPanel, DirectAdmin or Plesk come preinstalled and licensed but shows no separate price |
Renewal-year budget
MemberPress lists Growth at $349.50 for the first year and says all annual renewals are at full price; the page shows the normal price as $699 but does not state the renewal amount, so this budget assumes $699. First-year totals are therefore about $350 lower on every column, and SiteGround's first year is about $444 lower again.
| Line | SiteGround GoGeek | Kinsta Single 65k | WP Engine Essential | KnownHost Basic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hosting | $539.88 | $500.00 | $336.00 (first-year promo; renewal unknown) | $626.40 |
| MemberPress Growth (renewal, assumed at the listed normal price) | $699.00 | $699.00 | $699.00 | $699.00 |
| Postmark Basic, 8,000 emails a month | $180.00 | $180.00 | $180.00 | $180.00 |
| Total before payment fees | $1,418.88 | $1,379.00 | $1,215.00 plus renewal difference | $1,505.40 |
The lines that scale with members
Payment processing is the largest. At $20 a month, 2,000 members generate 24,000 charges a year. Stripe's domestic card rate of 2.9% plus 30 cents is $0.88 per charge, or $21,120 a year on $480,000 of revenue. Stripe also lists 0.7% for Stripe Billing volume, which applies if your setup bills through Stripe Billing; check how your membership plugin creates subscriptions.
The plugin plan can add a second percentage. MemberPress Launch lists a 4.9% transaction fee, while Growth and Scale list 0%. At $480,000 a year, 4.9% is $23,520, so the $300 gap between Launch and Growth at their listed normal prices ($399 versus $699) pays for itself many times over.
Email grows linearly. At 4 messages per member, 8,000 a month fits Postmark Basic's 10,000. Doubling membership to 4,000 sends 16,000 a month: $15.00 plus 6 x $1.80 overage, $25.80 a month. Amazon SES at $0.10 per 1,000 would be $1.60 a month for the same volume.
Visits grow linearly too. On WP Engine's 25,000-visit tier, about 2,900 members at these assumptions would cross the limit. WP Engine's visits article lists $2 per 1,000 extra visits for Startup, Professional, Growth, Scale and its Agency plans; it does not name Essential, so get the Essential overage rate in writing. Kinsta bills $0.50 per 1,000 visits over its limit.
| Line | 2,000 members | 4,000 members | Scales with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stripe card fees, $20/mo | $21,120 | $42,240 | Charges |
| Postmark | $180 | $309.60 | Messages |
| Visits per month | About 20,400 | About 30,800 | Active members |
| MemberPress Growth | $699 | $699 | Flat |
| Hosting | Plan price | Plan price, or next tier if PHP threads queue | Concurrency |
How to choose
- If you can, offer annual billing: 2,000 annual charges at $200 cost $12,200 in standard card fees, against $21,120 for monthly billing at $20, because the fixed 30 cents is paid once a year instead of 12 times.
- Pick hosting on PHP capacity and support for logged-in caching, then check the visit definition.
- Ask any host for the renewal price in writing before migrating; WP Engine's plans page shows only the first-year Essential price.
- Choose the managed VPS only if someone will own WordPress updates on it, and confirm at checkout whether the control panel license is included in the plan price.
Questions before you decide
Which costs grow as a membership site adds members?
Payment processing, email volume and visits grow roughly in line with members. The membership plugin license is flat, and hosting steps up in tiers when logged-in traffic outgrows PHP capacity.
Does MemberPress charge transaction fees?
Its pricing page lists a 4.9% transaction fee on the Launch plan and 0% on Growth and Scale. On a large membership, that fee can exceed every other cost line.
Why can't page caching handle a 2,000-member site?
Logged-in pages bypass cache. WP Engine excludes pages where a wordpress_ cookie is set, and MemberPress advises excluding its URIs from server-side caching, so each member page load uses PHP.
What does WP Engine charge if I exceed my visits?
WP Engine's visits article says overages are billed monthly at $2 per 1,000 extra visitors on the plans it lists (Startup, Professional, Growth, Scale and Agency plans); Essential is not named, so ask. It counts one visit per unique IP address per UTC day.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- SiteGround: web hosting plans Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Kinsta: pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Kinsta: PHP threads and memory Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Kinsta: overages Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- WP Engine: plans Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- WP Engine: how visits are counted Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- WP Engine: cache Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- KnownHost: managed VPS Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MemberPress: pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MemberPress: what web hosting works best with MemberPress Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Postmark: pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Amazon SES: pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Stripe: pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
Sources link directly to providers. Product buttons may use separately labeled affiliate links. Read our disclosure.