Maven vs Memberful
Side-by-side comparison on fees, payouts, monetization, and audience ownership.
Platform fee
10% · of course revenue
4.9% + $25/mo · of revenue on Pro plan
Payout speed
weekly
weekly
Minimum payout
$0 (Stripe payout schedule)
Stripe default
Countries
Global where Stripe is supported
Wherever Stripe operates (40+ countries)
Email list export
Limited (course and cohort comms)
Full access
Custom domain
No (hosted on maven.com)
Yes
Community features
Built-in cohort discussion and Slack integrations
No native forums; integrates with Discord and Circle
Best for
Experts running premium live cohort courses rather than self-paced content
Writers, podcasters, and publishers who want to own their site, domain, and email list
Maven vs Memberful: which one wins?
Maven charges 10% (of course revenue) versus Memberful at 4.9% + $25/mo (of revenue on Pro plan).
On payout speed, Maven pays weekly while Memberful pays weekly. No difference here.
For audience ownership, Maven offers limited (course and cohort comms) email export and Memberful offers full access. Email portability matters most for creators planning to migrate later or build a list independent of any single platform.
Best for: Maven suits experts running premium live cohort courses rather than self-paced content. Memberful fits writers, podcasters, and publishers who want to own their site, domain, and email list.