WooCommerce memberships add a layer of complexity to Shopify migration that standard product migration doesn't address. Whether you're using WC Memberships, MemberPress, Restrict Content Pro, or a custom solution, the core challenge is the same: Shopify is a product-first platform with no native content restriction system. Your membership logic needs to move to a Shopify app that handles what WordPress/WooCommerce did natively.

WooCommerce membership plugins and their Shopify equivalents

WooCommerce plugin	Shopify equivalent	Key difference
WC Memberships (by SkyVerge)	Bold Memberships, Conjured Memberships, or Locksmith	WC Memberships is WooCommerce-native and ties membership to purchase directly
MemberPress	Bold Memberships or Appstle Memberships	MemberPress is a full LMS/membership platform — Shopify equivalent is less mature
Restrict Content Pro	Locksmith (content gating) + subscription app	RCP focuses on content restriction; Locksmith does the same for Shopify
WooCommerce Subscriptions (memberships tied to subscriptions)	Recharge + Locksmith, or Bold Memberships	Subscription billing + content access are separate on Shopify
Ultimate Member	Customer accounts (native Shopify) + Locksmith	Community/profile features very limited on Shopify
LearnDash (LMS memberships)	Teachable, Thinkific, or Kajabi (dedicated platforms)	Shopify is not suitable for course-based memberships — use a dedicated LMS

What a WooCommerce membership includes

A typical WC Memberships setup includes:

Membership plan: A product (or free signup) that grants membership
Member access rules: Which content, pages, products, or categories are visible/restricted by plan
Discounts for members: Percentage discounts on products for plan holders
Member data: Which users hold which plans, activation date, expiration date
Drip content: Content unlocked progressively after membership start date

Shopify membership apps compared

Locksmith

The most flexible Shopify content restriction app. Locksmith controls what visitors can see and buy:

Lock products, collections, pages, blog posts — by customer tag, purchase history, passcode, or location
Customer tags are the "membership" signal — a customer tagged "member" sees locked content
Works with any subscription app (Recharge, Bold, Appstle) to tag customers based on active subscription
Does not handle billing — pure access control
Price: $9–$149/month based on pageviews

Bold Memberships

All-in-one: billing + access control + member portal
Members log in, manage their plan, see member-exclusive products
Supports: member pricing, exclusive products/collections, member-only blog posts (via page hiding)
Best direct equivalent to WC Memberships for standard membership-based stores
Price: $9.99/month + transaction fees

Conjured Memberships

Simpler than Bold — focused on recurring membership billing + perks
Customer portal for self-service plan management
Works with Locksmith for content restriction
Price: $9/month + 1% of membership revenue

Appstle Memberships

Comprehensive membership platform: billing, tiers, member portal, email notifications
Supports free trial, member pricing, exclusive products
Price: free up to $100k GMV, then $39/month

What doesn't migrate automatically

No migration tool migrates membership data — it's stored in WordPress-specific database tables with no Shopify equivalent. What you'll need to handle manually:

Member accounts: Names, emails can migrate as customers. Membership plan assignments cannot.
Access rules: WC Memberships rule configuration needs to be recreated in your chosen Shopify app
Membership history: Start dates, renewal dates, past plan changes — export to CSV for reference
Member-exclusive pricing: WC Memberships discount rules need to be rebuilt as customer tag-based discounts or app-managed pricing
Drip content schedules: WC Memberships drip content has no direct Shopify equivalent — requires custom implementation or a LMS platform

Exporting member data from WooCommerce

From WC Memberships

WooCommerce → Members (menu item added by WC Memberships)
Export: CSV with member email, plan, status, start date, expiration date
Note which members have active plans — these need accounts in Shopify with appropriate tags

From MemberPress

MemberPress → Members → Export CSV
Export includes: name, email, username, membership level, status, expiration
Separately export transaction history if needed for billing records

Migrating member accounts to Shopify

Steps to bring members over to Shopify:

Export member list from WooCommerce (email + plan name + active/expired status)
Import customers to Shopify via Admin → Customers → Import (CSV). This creates customer accounts.
Tag members with their plan: Add customer tags (e.g., "gold-member", "basic-member") to each imported customer matching their plan. Shopify Locksmith and Bold Memberships both use customer tags as the access control signal.
Notify members: Members need to set a new password for Shopify (passwords can't transfer). Send a password reset email via Shopify Admin → Customers → "Send account invite" to tagged members.

Recreating access rules

With WC Memberships, access rules were configured per content type (specific products, categories, pages). On Shopify with Locksmith:

Exclusive products: Create a lock in Locksmith → applies to specific products or collections → condition: customer tag = "member"
Member pricing: Use Shopify's native discount codes for tagged customers, or configure member pricing in your chosen app. Bold Memberships handles this automatically per plan.
Restricted blog posts / pages: Locksmith can hide specific pages and blog posts. Create locks for each piece of gated content.

When Shopify isn't the right platform for memberships

Shopify works well for product-first memberships (membership grants access to purchase restricted products or receive discounts). It works less well for:

Content-heavy memberships: If your membership primarily delivers articles, videos, and downloadable content — a platform like MemberStack, Memberful, or a dedicated LMS (Kajabi, Teachable) is better suited
Course-based memberships: LearnDash equivalents on Shopify don't exist. Move course content to a dedicated platform and use Shopify only for product sales
Community memberships: Forum/community features (BuddyPress, Ultimate Member) have no Shopify equivalent — use Circle.so, Mighty Networks, or Discord
Drip content: WC Memberships drip (unlock content X days after signup) has no clean Shopify app equivalent. This requires custom development or moving to Kajabi/Memberful

Hybrid approach: Shopify + external membership platform

For complex memberships, many stores successfully use:

Shopify for product sales, checkout, and physical goods orders
Memberful or MemberStack for content access and membership management
Zapier/n8n to sync: when someone buys membership on Shopify → grant access in Memberful

This is more complex to maintain but avoids forcing Shopify to be something it isn't.

Membership migration checklist

Identify your WooCommerce membership plugin and list all membership plans
Export member list with plan assignments, start dates, and expiration dates
Decide Shopify membership app: Locksmith (access control only) + billing app, or all-in-one (Bold, Appstle)
Set up membership plans in chosen Shopify app before migration day
Import customer accounts to Shopify via CSV
Add membership plan tags to each customer based on their WooCommerce plan
Recreate access rules in Locksmith or your chosen app
Test: verify locked content is accessible with member account, inaccessible without
Send "Account invite" emails to all imported members (forces password reset)
Email members explaining the migration and any changes they'll notice
For billing: decide whether to migrate recurring subscriptions (complex) or let them expire and re-subscribe on Shopify

The billing migration (getting members to re-enter payment details) is the most friction-heavy step. Many stores choose to grandfather existing members through their current billing cycle and require re-signup on Shopify for the next renewal period, which gives members a natural re-engagement point.

Migrating WooCommerce memberships to Shopify (2026)