How to switch from MemberPress to Heartbeat
Members, subscriptions, content and courses, step by step. A typical import takes under 15 minutes.
Updated
MemberPress bills through payment accounts you own, so you can run the move yourself. Subscriptions on Stripe move with the subscription importer on their existing renewal dates, and nobody re-subscribes. Members, gated content and MemberPress Courses come across too.
Your WordPress site can stay. Keep your public pages and blog there, and point their join buttons at your Heartbeat signup link.
What moves
| What | How it moves |
|---|---|
| Members | Export the Members table as a CSV, then invite from Heartbeat. |
| Subscriptions on Stripe | Subscription importer, self-serve. Typically under 15 minutes. |
| Subscriptions on PayPal, Square or Authorize.net | Stripe’s customer copy can’t reach them. These members re-subscribe through your new offer. |
| Gated pages and posts | Pulse rebuilds them as documents, course lessons or posts. |
| MemberPress Courses | Pulse rebuilds them from your lesson content. Videos are uploaded or embedded. |
| Course progress | MemberPress has no progress export. Our team imports it from a database export. |
Before you start
Step by step
Create your Heartbeat community
Start building, then connect payments, which sets up the Heartbeat Stripe account your members will move into. Leave MemberPress running while you set up. Nothing on this page changes anything there until you cancel.
Export your members
In WordPress, open MemberPress > Members and choose Export table as CSV. That exports every record, while Export all as CSV only exports the page you’re viewing (MemberPress’s guide).
Rebuild your content with Pulse
Gather your gated pages, posts and MemberPress Courses lessons, hand them to Pulse, and ask it to build your courses and documents. Upload your videos or embed them from where they’re hosted (video embeds). Each MemberPress membership becomes an offer, and its access rules decide what that offer includes.
Bring over course progress
MemberPress Courses keeps progress in your WordPress database and has no export for it (MemberPress’s data guide). Ask your developer or host for an export of the course progress table and send it to our support team once your courses are built. We import it so members pick up where they left off.
Move your paying members
Export subscriptions from your Stripe account (Subscriptions > Export). Run the subscription importer and choose Other, typing MemberPress.
- Platform and data. Go to Settings > Import Subscriptions and press + New Migration. Pick the platform you are leaving (or Other, and type its name), then upload your subscription CSV.
- Column mapping. Match the columns in your file to Heartbeat’s fields. Check the preview for duplicate entries.
- Offer mapping. Match each old product or price to a Heartbeat offer. If an offer doesn’t exist yet, Pulse can create it for you here.
- Customer copy. Copy your members’ saved payment details to your Heartbeat Stripe account. In the old Stripe account, go to Customers > Copy and paste the Heartbeat account ID the importer gives you, then accept the request in your Heartbeat Stripe dashboard. Copy only current subscribers or your whole customer list.
- Review and migrate. Check every member, offer and next billing date, then run the migration. Each member is billed the price you mapped them to, starting on the date they would have renewed.
The typical import takes under 15 minutes, from uploading your file to running the migration. Screenshots and the full walkthrough: Import and migrate existing Stripe subscriptions.
Cancel the old subscriptions
The importer doesn’t touch your old platform, so cancel the original subscriptions yourself. It gives you a CSV of exactly which ones to cancel, and it flags anyone who renews in the next 72 hours so you can cancel those first. Then tick the box confirming you have canceled them. This is what stops anyone being charged twice.
Cancel in MemberPress, not Stripe. Go to MemberPress > Subscriptions, hover over each subscription and choose Cancel. MemberPress cancels it at Stripe too (MemberPress’s guide).
Invite your members
Send invites when the community is ready, not before. The importer’s last screen invites your paying members for you, and the rest come from your exported list. Tell them why you moved and when your MemberPress site closes. How invitations work.
Sources
What we checked about MemberPress, where, and when. Heartbeat steps come from our Help Center and the product itself.
| Claim | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Gateways: Stripe, PayPal, Square, Authorize.net, Offline, each connected to the site owner’s own account | memberpress.com/docs/choosing-your-gateways | October 7, 2026 |
| Members export: Export table as CSV exports all records | memberpress.com/docs/using-the-members-page | October 7, 2026 |
| Cancel from MemberPress > Subscriptions cancels at the gateway | memberpress.com/docs/canceling-subscriptions | October 7, 2026 |
| MemberPress starts PayPal renewal payments itself | memberpress.com/docs/connect-paypal-complete-payments-to-memberpress | October 7, 2026 |
| Course progress is stored in the WordPress database (no export) | memberpress.com/docs/where-is-data-stored | October 7, 2026 |
Can my MemberPress members keep their subscriptions?
Yes, if they pay through Stripe. MemberPress bills through your own Stripe account, so the importer moves them on their existing renewal dates. Members paying through PayPal, Square or Authorize.net re-subscribe through your new offer, because Stripe’s customer copy can’t reach those accounts.
Can I keep my WordPress site?
Yes. Keep your public pages and blog on WordPress and point their join buttons at your Heartbeat signup link. Your members-only content moves to Heartbeat.
Will my members be charged twice?
Not if you cancel the old subscriptions after the import. The importer lists exactly which ones to cancel, flags anyone renewing within 72 hours, and asks you to confirm the cancellations before you invite members.
Do members keep their price and billing date?
Yes, if you map them to a matching price, which the importer can create for you. Each imported subscription is next billed on the date it would have renewed on the old platform. If that date has already passed, it moves to the next cycle.
How long does the switch take?
Moving your paying members is the quick part. The typical import takes under 15 minutes, from uploading your file to running the migration. Rebuilding your content takes longer the more pages, lessons and videos you have.
Does Heartbeat charge for the migration?
No. The subscription importer and migration support are free on every plan. On the Scale plan, a dedicated onboarding rep runs the whole migration with you.