Membership System vs. CRM – What's the Difference?

Membership system, social media concept. Floating user icons connected by lines on a dark red background.

Membership systems and customer relationship management (CRM) tools share similarities – both collect and manage customer data – but key differences determine which one best meets your needs. Understanding these differences and how to best use each tool sets your business up for success.

What Is a Membership System?

Membership systems focus on providing extra benefits to your registered users.

These may include features delivered through a website, such as subscription services, trade accounts on an eCommerce site, or tools to manage members of a club or association. Users can also manage their own accounts, such as editing their bio or changing their account type.

Key Features

User registration & login
Access control
- Members-only content
- Members-only discounts
Subscription and payment management

What Is a CRM?

CRMs focus on storing and managing relationship and interaction data about your customers.

They’re used to keep track of sales, incoming leads, and notes for all kinds of interactions with current and potential customers. They provide a centralised location for standardised data collection across multiple touchpoints.

Key Features

Contact & lead management
Sales pipeline tracking
Communication history
- Emails
- Calls
- Notes

Key Differences and Similarities Between the Two

	Membership System	CRM Software
Goal	Membership System	To manage access & subscriptions and provide extra features to registered users.	CRM Software	To centralise customer and company data and improve relationship management.
Used by	Membership System	Businesses to view and manage the full membership list. Individual users to manage their own accounts.	CRM Software	Used internally to store and track information about customer interactions.
Benefits	Membership System	Automate control of which members have access to content or prices on your website. Can provide an ongoing income through subscriptions. Pass on some of the account management to the users on websites with directories. Provide users with their own dashboard.	CRM Software	Unify all customer interaction data. Increase employee efficiency when interacting with customers. Improve customer experiences.
Similarities	Create and manage a database of customers/users with information about experiences and purchases. Has some level of customisation. (Varies from product to product)

How to Choose the Right Solution for Your Business?

There are three main questions to ask to try and work out if you should have a membership system, a CRM, or a mix of both.

Are you managing members or customers?

The answer may be clear if you’re a club or association where memberships are an important part of your income. But it might be less clear – or an indication that you would benefit from both – if you’re a business with trade discounts, can only sell certain products to registered users, or want to start a subscription.

Do you need payments and gated content?

You don’t need membership software if the only payments are for one-off purchases for products that get sent to the user, either physically or digitally. But if you want to have content that only certain people can access, or collect ongoing subscription payments, you need a membership system in place.

Examples include (but not limited to):

Discounted products
Prescription products
Videos, blogs, and events behind a paywall
Online training

Do you need sales tracking and reporting?

CRMs are designed to track and report on sales data, attributing them to the customer. Membership systems can track purchases made by logged-in users, but this isn’t their primary purpose. If you need in-depth reporting and analysis we recommend having a CRM.

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While membership software and CRMs both manage customer data, their differing goals and features set them apart. Membership systems focus on improving the experience of registered users while CRMs provide your business the tools to better help your full customer base. Deciding which one to go with comes down to your business goals, needs, and budget.