Which offers digital membership cards?

Both, partially. MemberPlanet issues membership cards in its member app and as PDFs. Wild Apricot shows cards through its member app, with Apple and Google Wallet passes only via a third-party PassKit integration. Neither issues native Wallet passes out of the box.

Which is better for a PTA or booster club?

MemberPlanet was built for that segment: free to start, US group texting, surveys, donation pages and a multi-chapter Enterprise option for fraternal and PTA structures. Wild Apricot suits a PTA too, but its website focus makes it a better fit for clubs and associations with a public site and steady dues.

What if we also book rooms or run programs?

Neither Wild Apricot nor MemberPlanet has facility booking, volunteer shift scheduling or program registration beyond events. Communal covers memberships, program registration with waitlists and attendance, facility booking with approvals and invoices, donations with tax receipts and volunteer shifts in one member database.

Head to head · 2026

Wild Apricot vs MemberPlanet: website-first database or a PTA and booster toolkit

MemberPlanet is a free-to-start toolkit for dues, donation pages, surveys and group texting, built for PTAs and booster clubs.

Wild Apricot pairs a member database with a website builder, event registration and email in every plan, which suits a club that wants its public site and member records together. Neither books facilities or schedules volunteer shifts, so groups that do need a third option.

Wild Apricot

Membership database, events, email and a website builder whose pricing counts every contact.

Memberships
Events
Donations
Website

Best for: Small to mid-size clubs, associations and nonprofits that want website, member database and events from one vendor and are comfortable using the in-house payment processor
Watch out for: Pricing is by total contacts (lapsed members, prospects, newsletter subscribers all count), so database growth pushes you into higher tiers; A subscription surcharge for using your own payment gateway instead of Personify Payments

MemberPlanet

Free-to-start membership, dues and texting tool for PTAs, booster clubs and small chapters.

Memberships
Events
Donations
Website
Chapters

Best for: Small US clubs, PTAs, booster clubs, fraternal chapters and associations that want a free or low-cost single tool with texting and fundraising
Watch out for: Platform fee stacks on top of processing fees, so effective cost on payments runs high; Tiers are metered by email/text credits (1k/5k/10k per month), which penalizes communication-heavy groups

Side by side

Wild Apricot vs MemberPlanet, plus the option most comparisons skip.

Communal is listed as a third column because organizations comparing these two usually need the same things it was built for: memberships, programs and facilities in one database.

Feature	Wild Apricot	MemberPlanet	Communal
Membership management	Included	Included	IncludedTiers, custom fields, segments
Automated renewals	Included	Included	IncludedReminders and auto-renew
Digital membership cards (Apple / Google Wallet)	Partial	PartialIn-app / PDF	IncludedIncluded in every plan
Event registration & ticketing	Included	Included	Add-onPrograms & events add-on
Program & class registration	Not listed	Not listed	Add-onWaitlists, capacity, attendance, rosters
Facility booking & rentals	Not offered	Not offered	Add-onApprovals, invoices, agreements, iCal
Volunteer shifts & hour tracking	Not offered	Not offered	IncludedShifts, hours, auto volunteer discounts
Donations & fundraising	Included	Included	IncludedIncluded; donor covers fees option
Automatic tax receipts	PartialDonation receipts	Not listed	IncludedAutomatic
Member self-service portal	IncludedMember app	IncludedMember app	Included
Email campaigns	Included	IncludedMetered credits	IncludedCampaigns and segments
Website builder	Included	Included	Not offeredWorks beside your site
Public API	Included	Partial	IncludedREST API, Zapier webhooks, MCP server

The detail

The short version

Pick MemberPlanet if you are a US PTA, booster club or fraternal chapter that wants a free or simple tool with dues, events, texting and donation pages. Pick Wild Apricot if you are a club or association that wants a real website, member-only pages, events with waitlists and a large integration ecosystem. Pick neither if your week includes hall rentals, kids programs or volunteer shifts.

Where Wild Apricot wins

Website builder and member-only pages. Mature drag-and-drop builder, themes, widgets and WordPress embeds. MemberPlanet's site builder is simpler.
Unmetered email. Email comes with every plan. MemberPlanet meters campaign emails by plan.
Integrations. Public API, Zapier and Make, QuickBooks sync and WordPress widgets. MemberPlanet positions API integrations as Enterprise-only customizations.
Trial length. A 60-day trial with no card, against MemberPlanet's free basic plan as the try-before-you-buy path.

Where MemberPlanet wins

Free to start. The basic plan has no monthly cost and allows unlimited members and admins.
No contact counting. MemberPlanet does not meter by database size, so lapsed members and subscribers cost nothing. Wild Apricot counts every contact.
Texting and surveys. US group texting and surveys are built in. Wild Apricot has no native texting.
Chapter structures. An Enterprise multi-chapter option for fraternal, PTA and booster networks. Wild Apricot does not support chapters.

Who should pick which

If you are...	Lean towards
A PTA, booster club or fraternal chapter	MemberPlanet
A multi-chapter network that wants one vendor for all chapters	MemberPlanet Enterprise
A club or association that needs a website and membership from one vendor	Wild Apricot
A group running many events with waitlists and guest registration	Wild Apricot
A community league, rec center or club that rents space or runs programs	Neither; see the third option below

The third option

If you are comparing these two because your current setup no longer fits, check what your organization actually does week to week. Communal was built for groups that run memberships alongside programs, facility rentals, donations and volunteers, and it counts members rather than contacts: volunteers, donors and POS included, programs and facility booking as add-ons, no contract and free migration from either tool. It does not include a website builder or texting, which is the honest trade.

Questions people ask about Wild Apricot vs MemberPlanet

Short answers.

MemberPlanet includes a site builder, but Wild Apricot's is the more developed: drag-and-drop editing, themes, member-only pages, widgets and WordPress embeds, included in every plan. If the public website is the reason you are buying, Wild Apricot is the safer choice.