Turn your community into a revenue stream. Outpost’s Paid Communities feature lets you charge members a monthly subscription to access exclusive content — powered by Stripe Connect with a 0% platform fee. You keep 100% of your revenue (minus standard Stripe processing fees).
Plan requirement: Paid Communities are available on Pro and Business plans.
How It Works
The paid community system is built on three pillars:
- Stripe Connect — your own Stripe account receives payments directly
- Membership Tiers — you set a monthly price and description
- Content Gating — authors mark individual posts as "Members Only"
Members can join your community for free and browse public content. When they encounter a members-only post, they see a blurred preview with a subscribe call-to-action. One click starts a Stripe checkout, and they’re in.
Setting Up Paid Memberships
Step 1: Connect Your Stripe Account
- Navigate to Admin Settings → Paid Community
- Go to the Stripe Connect tab
- Click Connect with Stripe
- Complete Stripe’s onboarding flow (business details, bank account, identity verification)
- You’ll be redirected back to Outpost with a success confirmation
Once connected, you’ll see your account status:
- Charges Enabled — you can accept payments
- Payouts Enabled — Stripe can deposit funds to your bank
- Details Submitted — onboarding is complete
A link to Manage Payouts in Stripe gives you direct access to your Stripe dashboard for managing transfers, viewing balances, and adjusting payout schedules.
Step 2: Configure Your Membership Tier
- Go to the Membership Tier tab
- Set your tier details:
- Tier Name — what members see (e.g., "Premium Member", "VIP Access", "Insider")
- Monthly Price — in dollars (e.g., $9.99/month)
- Benefits Description — explain what paid members get
- Click Save
Outpost automatically creates the corresponding Stripe Product and Price on your connected account. Each community supports one membership tier.
Step 3: Enable the Paid Community
- Go to the Overview tab
- Toggle Enable Paid Community on
Your community is now accepting paid memberships.
Content Gating — Members Only Posts
The real power is in selective content gating. Not everything needs to be behind a paywall — you choose.
How to Gate a Post
When creating or editing a post, toggle the Members Only switch. That’s it.
What Free Members See
When a non-paying member encounters a members-only post:
- The content appears blurred with a frosted overlay
- A lock icon badge marks the post
- A Subscribe call-to-action appears with your tier name and price
- Clicking subscribe takes them through the Stripe checkout
What Paid Members See
Full, unblurred content — exactly as the author wrote it.
Who Bypasses the Gate
- Admins and moderators always see all content
- Post authors see their own gated content
- Comped members with manually granted access
The Member Subscription Flow
Here’s what your members experience:
- Discover — they encounter a members-only post with a blurred preview
- Subscribe — they click the subscribe button
- Checkout — Stripe’s hosted checkout page handles payment securely
- Access — after payment, they’re redirected back and immediately see all gated content
- Manage — from the Membership page, they can view their subscription status and cancel anytime
Cancellation
Members can cancel their subscription at any time:
- Navigate to the Membership page
- Click Cancel Subscription
- Confirm in the dialog
- They retain access until the end of their current billing period
- After the period ends, they return to free member status
Managing Members
Viewing Paid vs. Free Members
In Admin Settings → Members, use the filter dropdown to view:
- All Members
- Paid Members — those with active subscriptions
- Free Members — those without
Paid members display a badge next to their name.
Comping Members (Manual Access)
Want to give someone free paid access? No Stripe subscription needed:
- Go to Members in admin settings
- Find the member
- Click Grant Paid Access
This immediately gives them full access to all members-only content without any payment. Useful for:
- Early supporters and beta testers
- Influencers and partners
- Staff and team members
- Contest winners
To remove comped access, click Revoke Paid Access on the same member.
Revenue Analytics
The Overview tab in Paid Community settings shows real-time revenue metrics:
| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
| Paid Members | Total number of active paid subscribers |
| Free Members | Members without a paid subscription |
| MRR | Monthly Recurring Revenue — the sum of all active subscription prices |
| Total Revenue | Approximate lifetime revenue from all subscriptions |
The Subscribers tab shows your 10 most recent subscribers with:
- Member name and avatar
- Subscription date
- Status (Active, Past Due, or Cancelled)
- Monthly amount
Pricing & Fees
| Fee Type | Amount |
|---|---|
| Outpost platform fee | 0% — we take nothing |
| Stripe processing fee | ~2.9% + $0.30 per transaction (standard Stripe rates) |
You keep everything minus Stripe’s standard processing fees. There’s no revenue share, no hidden fees, no percentage taken by the platform.
Payment Lifecycle
Understanding how payments flow:
| Event | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Subscription Created | Stripe charges the member, creates a subscription, notifies Outpost via webhook. Member gets paid access immediately |
| Monthly Renewal | Stripe automatically charges on the billing date. Outpost updates the billing period |
| Payment Failed | Subscription marked as "Past Due". Stripe retries automatically. Member retains access during retry period |
| Subscription Cancelled | Member keeps access until period end. After that, reverts to free member |
All payment events are processed via Stripe webhooks — completely automated, no manual intervention needed.
Webhook Events for Payments
If you have webhooks configured, paid community events trigger:
| Event | Trigger |
|---|---|
paid.subscription_created |
New paid membership started |
paid.subscription_cancelled |
Membership cancelled |
paid.payment_failed |
Payment attempt failed |
These are useful for syncing subscriber data with your CRM, sending custom notifications, or triggering automations.
Best Practices
- Start with a mix — keep most content free, gate your premium guides, deep-dives, and exclusive insights
- Price for value — members are paying for access to a community and its knowledge, not just content
- Comp strategically — give free access to early members who bring energy and engagement
- Announce clearly — use an announcement post to explain what members get and why it’s worth it
- Deliver consistently — paid members expect regular, high-quality members-only content
Quick Setup Checklist
- Upgrade to Pro or Business plan
- Connect your Stripe account (Paid Community → Stripe Connect tab)
- Configure your membership tier name, price, and description
- Enable the paid community toggle
- Create your first members-only post
- Announce the membership to your community
That’s everything you need to start monetizing. Your community, your content, your revenue.