BuddyNext - community engine for WordPress

Ways to Make Money

Free & Pro

BuddyNext Pro gives you several ways to charge for a community, not just one. This page explains each model, when it fits, and how they combine, so you can choose a business model before you wire up the mechanics. Every model here needs BuddyNext Pro and a connected payment gateway; once that is in place, the models are just different ways of deciding what a payment unlocks.

New to the money features? Read What BuddyNext Pro Adds first for the parts list, then come back here for the strategy.

The models#

1. Recurring membership (subscription)#

The default model: members pay a recurring fee - monthly or yearly - for ongoing access. Revenue is predictable and compounds as you grow.

  • Set it up with Membership Plans and take payment through Stripe or another gateway.
  • Best for: creators, professional networks, and any community whose value is continuous.

2. Tiered plans (good / better / best)#

Offer two or three plans at different prices, each unlocking more - more spaces, more content, more perks. Members self-select, and you capture both the price-sensitive and the committed.

  • Create several plans and decide what each unlocks; entitlements are per-plan. See Membership Plans.
  • Best for: communities with a clear "casual vs serious" split.

3. Gated spaces (charge for a room)#

Instead of charging for the whole community, charge for entry to specific spaces - a premium space, a mastermind, a paid cohort - while the rest stays open. Great for adding paid value on top of a free community.

  • Require a plan to enter a space with Gated Spaces.
  • Best for: a free community with one or more premium rooms; agency or client spaces.

4. Paywalled content (sell a single thing)#

Lock individual posts or pieces of content behind a plan, so you can sell one item - a guide, a recording, a template - without selling a whole space.

  • Lock content with Content Protection.
  • Best for: selling standout content à la carte alongside a subscription.

5. The levers: trials, coupons, and tax#

Layer these onto any model above to convert and comply:

  • Free trials start the subscription at the provider, so access begins immediately and billing starts when the trial ends. See Stripe Payments.
  • Coupons run launch discounts and win-back offers; tax is applied flat at checkout. See Coupons and Tax.
  • Renewal reminders recover revenue that would quietly lapse. See Renewal Reminders.

Which model should I use?#

If you want to... Use
Charge for the whole community Recurring membership (1)
Offer entry-level and premium prices Tiered plans (2)
Keep a free community but sell premium rooms Gated spaces (3)
Sell one post, guide, or recording Paywalled content (4)
Run a launch discount or a trial Coupons and trials (5)

These are not exclusive - a common shape is a free community with a paid tier (1 + 2) that unlocks a couple of premium spaces (3), with a launch coupon (5).

How the money reaches you#

Whichever model you choose, the flow is the same: a member subscribes through hosted checkout, the gateway takes the payment, and BuddyNext keeps their access in sync as payments succeed, renew, fail, or refund. Members manage their own subscription - upgrade, cancel, see invoices - from Settings > Membership, so you are not fielding billing requests by hand. Set the mechanics up once by following Launch a Paid Community.