CartFlows
Cart Abandonment Recovery Pro 1.3.0 adds an activity log and an email capture popup.
Comparison · E-comm
Paid Memberships Pro vs Solidus
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Paid Memberships Pro and Solidus — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:open-source
Paid Memberships Pro vs Solidus: at a glance
What is Paid Memberships Pro?
Membership-plugin ecosystem advances core comms and its Memberlite theme.
Paid Memberships Pro is an open-source WordPress membership platform shipping in two coordinated tracks: the core PMPro plugin and its Memberlite theme. Recent core work centers on a rebuilt email editor with Liquid syntax, profile pictures, and email logging, while Memberlite moved to a modern block-based foundation.
What is Solidus?
Solidus admin 0.5.0 fills in settings editors and swaps pagination for Kaminari.
solidus_admin, Solidus's newer admin interface, shipped 0.5.0, its first feature release since 0.4.0. It adds editors for tax rates, payment methods, stores, zones, stock locations and option types, taxon management on the product page, and faster order and product index pages. It also breaks compatibility: pagination moves from Geared Pagination to Kaminari, and the floor rises to Solidus 4.6 and Ruby 3.2.
Paid Memberships Pro vs Solidus: editorial side-by-side
Paid Memberships Pro
2.5E-COMM
Membership-plugin ecosystem advances core comms and its Memberlite theme.
◆ Current state
Paid Memberships Pro is an open-source WordPress membership platform shipping in two coordinated tracks: the core PMPro plugin and its Memberlite theme. Recent core work centers on a rebuilt email editor with Liquid syntax, profile pictures, and email logging, while Memberlite moved to a modern block-based foundation.
◆ Where it's heading
Both tracks are modernizing their foundations: PMPro is upgrading communication and admin tooling toward a v4.0 horizon, and Memberlite has been refactored from the ground up onto blocks. The cadence is regular and release-driven, with monthly add-on roundups filling the gaps.
◆ Prediction
Expect the Liquid-powered email system and block-based Memberlite to keep expanding, and continued groundwork releases pointing toward the referenced v4.0.
Solidus
5.0E-COMM
Solidus admin 0.5.0 fills in settings editors and swaps pagination for Kaminari.
◆ Current state
solidus_admin, Solidus's newer admin interface, shipped 0.5.0, its first feature release since 0.4.0. It adds editors for tax rates, payment methods, stores, zones, stock locations and option types, taxon management on the product page, and faster order and product index pages. It also breaks compatibility: pagination moves from Geared Pagination to Kaminari, and the floor rises to Solidus 4.6 and Ruby 3.2.
◆ Where it's heading
The new admin is filling in the settings screens a store needs before it can replace the legacy backend, and it's taking breaking changes while still pre-1.0. The team is splitting large migrations into separate releases so stores can absorb them one at a time; the ViewComponent 4 upgrade was deliberately held back to its own release.
◆ Prediction
The release notes say solidus_admin 0.6.0 with ViewComponent 4 ships immediately after this one, and it will require stores to update their ViewComponent 3 storefront code.
Alternatives to Paid Memberships Pro and Solidus
Other E-comm products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Paid Memberships Pro or Solidus.
Virto Commerce
Virto Commerce ships one validation fix to three branches in a single morning.
Shopify
Shopify moves warehouse work into the admin: batch pick, print and pack up to 250 orders.
Gifted
Gifted lets hotels sell in-room extras through the same checkout as vouchers.
Antavo
Antavo's feed is loyalty-industry commentary; the product rarely appears in it.
Cody
Cody now builds promotions from a plain-language request, ahead of Black Friday.
See all Paid Memberships Pro alternatives → · See all Solidus alternatives →
Recent activity from Paid Memberships Pro and Solidus
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 3d agoSolidusSolidus admin 0.5.0 adds settings editors, moves to Kaminari
- 10d agoSolidussolidus_admin 0.4.1 fixes stored XSS on Items Purchased page
- 3mo agoPaid Memberships ProMemberlite 7.1: Block-Based Header & Footer Variations
- 4mo agoPaid Memberships ProPMPro v3.8 Release: Email Editor, Liquid Autocomplete, Single Level Shortcode, Divi 5
- 4mo agoPaid Memberships ProAdd On Updates in May 2026
- 6mo agoPaid Memberships ProPMPro v3.7 Release: Profile Pictures, Email Log, Admin Filters, Liquid Email Syntax
- 7mo agoPaid Memberships ProMemberlite 7.0: Modern Colors, Block Patterns, & Theme Variations
- 8mo agoPaid Memberships ProMemberlite v6.1 & v6.1.1: New Admin Tools Plus Reorganized Customizer
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Paid Memberships Pro and Solidus?
Both compete on the same themes — open-source — within E-comm. Solidus is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Paid Memberships Pro better than Solidus?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Solidus is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other E-comm products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Paid Memberships Pro?
Top Paid Memberships Pro alternatives in E-comm are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Paid Memberships Pro alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/paid-memberships-pro for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Solidus?
Top Solidus alternatives in E-comm are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Solidus alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/solidus for the full list with editorial commentary on each.