There may be affiliate links in this post which means I may receive a commission if you purchase something through a link. However, please be assured that I only recommend products I have personally used and love!
Update April 2021: I’m not promoting/affiliating for Stu McLaren’s TRIBE this year (2021). Instead I encourage you to join Membership Academy if you’re looking for support to launch or grow your membership.
Exhibit A – TRIBE by Stu McLaren ?
*Doors are currently closed until May 2021*
Exhibit B – Membership Academy by The Membership Guys ?
*Please note that Member Site Academy changed its name to Membership Academy in July 2019.*
I get lots of questions about TRIBE vs. Membership Academy, so in this post I’m going to try and give you a detailed comparison. Please note that everything in this post is my perception of things and it’s mostly my opinion as opposed to fact!
Jump to:
?ββοΈ My Background/Experience
? Structure & Price
?β? Their Background/Experience
?β? Content
? Community
? Personalised Support
? Live Events
? Primary Membership Model
?? Love/Hate Elements
? Overall Experience
β¨ Role Played In My Business
? Final Thoughts
?ββοΈ My Background/Experience
I launched my membership, ConvertKit Club, in August 2016. I bumbled along with it for almost 2 years before signing up for TRIBE in April 2018. I signed up on the day doors closed, having not partaken in any of the (pre-)launch content. In April 2019 I paid (a reduced alumni rate) to partake again in the live TRIBE 2019 Experience.
I joined Membership Academy in October 2018. Iβd been considering joining for a long time, primarily due to enjoyment and respect of their podcast, The Membership Guys Podcast.
I am a proud affiliate for both TRIBE and Membership Academy. I wholeheartedly recommend both for existing and future membership site owners. However, there are a number of significant differences between the two, and I wanted to outline what I perceive to be their unique strengths and value.
? Structure & PriceΒ
This is the most obvious/significant difference.
TRIBE is a $1,997 (or 6 x $397) 9 week course offered once a year around May. (Click here to learn more!)
It consists of 6 core modules covering foundations, content, marketing, retention and growth.
There are also daily Facebook Lives (called β10 in 10sβ), weekly live office hours and an extremely active Facebook group community for the duration of the course.
Membership Academy is an ongoing $49 a month membership which you can join anytime.
It consists of the hefty βMembership Roadmap’ course which covers the process of starting, building and launching your membership. There are also 30+ additional courses covering a huge variety of topics including audience building, gamification, marketing automation, managing a team, tech walkthroughs, and more.
There are also 2 live Q&As a month, and an active off-Facebook forum based community.
?β? Their Background/Experience
TRIBE is created by Stu McLaren, a proud Canadian.
β[TRIBE] leans heavily on my experience being behind the scenes helping over 60K+ membership sites and online communities when I was running WishList Member [a WordPress membership plugin]. Β After selling WishList Member, I took what I learned from the top performing sites and began teaching it to others in high end workshops ($5K+ per person). Β And now, weβve had thousands and thousands of people come through the TRIBE training producing a tremendous amount of success stories with people of all levels and in all kinds of markets. Β Ranging from health and fitness, to religion, pets, music, art, farming, teaching, business and everything in between β the examples are endless but VERY inspiring.
It also leans on my real-world experience of running 6 and 7-figure memberships myself. Β For example, Iβll be showing how Michael Hyatt and I grew our Platform University site from 1,100 members in the first week to 2,500 after the first year, 4,500 after the second year and over 6,000 (@ $30/month) after the third year.β
Membership Academy is created by The Membership Guys (Mike Morrison and Callie Willows), both British.
βWith a combined 20+ years in the online marketing and web development industry, we’ve been the driving force behind a multitude of 6 and 7 figure membership businesses in a diverse range of industries – from weight loss to coaching to executive training to bass guitar – we have a proven track record of helping great clients to achieve fantastic results.
In 2015 we decided to take all of that knowledge and experience and use it to help entrepreneurs and small business owners just like you to achieve success with membership sites on a global scale, and so the Membership Academy was created. This is now our full time business and we seriously love spending our days creating content and supporting our members.β
Both are extremely well respected in the online business/marketing industry. Regardless of if you do TRIBE, Membership Academy or both, youβre in good hands!
?β? ContentΒ
TRIBE is organised into 6 modules, each with 8-12 lessons. Each lesson comprises of a 4-20 min video of Stu, a workbook, the transcript and the downloadable audio. There are also several separate bonus trainings released at various points throughout the course.
TRIBEβs content is incredibly engaging and entertaining, thanks to Stuβs delivery style. Itβs also extremely clear and concise – no fluff, just what you need to understand and do to get results.
Membership Academy has dozens of courses on different membership related topics. They vary in length and structure, but are mostly more presentation-style with audio over slides. Thereβs also a wealth of checklists, swipe files, templates, guest expert trainings, etc. All trainings Iβve explored in Membership Academy are extremely in-depth, but provide clear action steps for implementation in your business.
If TRIBE is a perfectly constructed 6 course meal, Membership Academy is an incredibly diverse buffet. Both leave you feeling extremely well fed, but they go about it in different ways.
? CommunityΒ
TRIBEβs community is a Facebook group for the duration of the live course, through to shortly after the live event, after which itβs archived. Itβs an extremely busy and active group – which is both a good and a bad thing, depending on how you feel about bustling Facebook groups! Stu is very active in the Facebook group, and itβs where his daily Facebook Lives to answer 10 questions take place.
After the course group is archived TRIBE participants are then invited into the TRIBE Alumni Facebook group which is active all year around, although Stu is less active in there once the main course period has ended.
Membership Academyβs community is inside the membership site itself (i.e. not on Facebook) and is structured like forums. Itβs not as active as the TRIBE community, however itβs arguably much more easy to navigate and engage with. There are several sections for different topics, and posts can include an array of formatting – this makes it a much more pleasant experience overall. Both Mike and Callie are extremely active in the community.
? Personalised SupportΒ
For transparency, Iβve never really sought out personalised support in either TRIBE or Membership Academy beyond posting in the respective communities.
TRIBE offers a variety of different options for personalised support including:
- the opportunity to submit a question for Stu to answer on his daily β10 in 10β
- the opportunity to submit a question for Stu to answer in the weekly live office hours
- posting in the Facebook community and getting a huge variety of feedback from other participants
Whilst there are plenty of opportunities to get feedback/advice directly from Stu on your membership, I wouldnβt go into it βexpectingβ it. TRIBE is an extremely large, busy course with thousands of participants. Whilst Stu and his team work hard for the duration of the course to offer as much personalised support as possible, and they do an incredible job considering the scale of the course, logistically itβs not always possible or practical.
For me, the real personalised support in TRIBE comes from the fellow participants who are extremely quick to share their experiences and advice. However, with any course like this, discretion is needed about who is offering support and advice based on their own real-world experiences as participants are at all different stages of business and membership success.
Membership Academy offers personalised support in three main ways:
- During the live Q&A calls twice a month
- In the main community/forums
- Via a special section of the community/forums where you can get private coaching with Mike and Callie.
I have never submitted a question to the live Q&A, or taken advantage of the private coaching available to me, but I very much feel that should I need/want personalised support and feedback from Mike and Callie, they are extremely accessible in a variety of ways.
? Live EventsΒ
TRIBE includes a free ticket to TRIBE Live, a 3 day event in Toronto, Canada (usually in July/August). Unfortunately I’ve never been able to attend TRIBE Live, but people rave about it and itβs very clear to see that a huge number of connections and ideas are created there. Stu also runs a couple more informal TRIBE community meetups around the world a few times a year, often coinciding with other large events in the online marketing calendar.
Membership Academy also runs informal meetups (mostly in USA and UK) a few times a year. In September 2019 they also hosted their first 2 day conference, Retain Live, which featured a full lineup of speakers. Membership Academy members received a discount. They plan to hold another one in 2021.
? Primary Membership Model
One significant difference between TRIBE vs. Membership Academy is the primary membership model taught/favoured.
TRIBE primarily focuses on the closed membership model where you open doors, do a big launch, and welcome in lots of new members a few times a year. Most of the year your membership is closed.
Membership Academy primarily focuses on the open membership model where doors are open to your membership all year around.
The decision to go with the open or closed membership model is only a very small part of what TRIBE and Membership Academy teach, however it is a difference in overall approach/philosophy.
?? Love/Hate ElementsΒ
The things in both TRIBE and Membership Academy that some people will love, are likely to be the exact same things that other people will hate and find really overwhelming.
TRIBE is a really focused, intense, 2-3 month experience. It only launches once a year and you go through the same, super structured, step-by-step content with 1000s of other people. The momentum you get from that is incredible, but you can start to feel a bit behind or overwhelmed with all live elements for the duration of the course. (Please note you do have lifetime access to the version of the course you purchased, as well as the different live elements such as Stuβs β10 in 10βs).
Membership Academy arguably has a much heftier library of in-depth training and content, but itβs not so structured. Itβs a much calmer ongoing, supportive experience, however there is more onus on you to choose courses to work through and implement in your business.
? Overall ExperienceΒ
It feels a little unfair to compare overall experience, as one is a course and one is a membership, but they both are an absolute pleasure to be part of, just in different ways.
Having spent $10,000s on online courses over the past 6 years, TRIBEβs overall experience is the gold standard:
- The thank you page the minute you buy
- The advanced gamification
- Overall structure and delivery
- Perfectly crafted entertaining and engaging content
- Little βwowβ details and bonuses throughout
- Ever building momentum that just carries you through
The TRIBE course had me hanging on Stuβs every word for 8 weeks. Iβve never engaged with a course the way I did with TRIBE, and I put that down to its meticulous construction. The sense of being part of something big (a movement of membership owners – Tribers!) really unites you together, and despite the scale of it all, Stu does an incredible job of ensuring everyone feels seen and heard.
To call it a course doesnβt really do it justice. Itβs an experience, and you have to experience it for yourself to understand. Itβs really quite exquisite, and I donβt say that lightly.
Having been part of over a dozen membership sites, unsurprisingly MembershipΒ Academy is one of the very best in terms of overall experience. They really practice what they preach(/teach!). Onboarding is very slick and youβre immediately directed to tailored courses after filling out a few questions. The weekly Member News email, combined with the monthly Academy Show, allows you to feel very connected with whatβs going on, without getting super overwhelmed. Whilst thereβs not the same sense of collective momentum in Membership Academy, as everyone is at a different point in their membership journey, thereβs a huge sense of comradery amongst members and I think Mike and Callie have created a very enjoyable member experience.
β¨ Role Played In My Business
Spontaneously signing up for TRIBE in April 2018 was a commitment to continuing to include memberships as an income stream in my business. Whilst I was currently largely happy with my membership, I knew that more was possible for it, and for using the membership model in other ways in my business. I loved the whole TRIBE experience and implementing what Iβd learnt, combined with an unexpectedly good business decision (relating to GDPR!), led to me more than quadrupling my membership within 4 months.
After all the energy and momentum from TRIBE had died down a bit, I was still wanting ongoing support, community and mentorship for my membership. Thatβs where MembershipΒ Academy came in. The ongoing, membership model of Membership Academy really helps me to feel connected into the membership site world, and the new courses and weekly Member News emails keep prompting me to set aside time to work on my membership.
? Final ThoughtsΒ
If youβre looking to launch a membership or grow an existing membership, both TRIBE and Membership Academy are fantastic programs to support you to do that. Both will provide you with the world-class training you need to shortcut your results and be the proud owner of a successful membership thatβs a joy to run.
But, youβve got to put in the work. (Unfortunately!) no-one else can do it for you. So, as I see it, the main difference between TRIBE and Membership Academy comes down to you knowing yourself and knowing the style and format of program that best supports you to take action. Do you work better with intense, shorter, focused experiences (TRIBE)? Or do you prefer to take things at your own pace and youβre looking for more ongoing support and accountability (MembershipΒ Academy)? Would you prefer to be taken through a very clear, step-by-step process with 1000s of other people (TRIBE)? Or would you prefer a wider variety of trainings that you can pick and choose your own adventure (MembershipΒ Academy)?
I really hope youβve found this TRIBE vs. Membership Academy comparison helpful. Iβve tried to be as fair as possible to both TRIBE and Membership Academy. To get the full details on whatβs included in both, youβll want to take a look at their respective sales pages (TRIBE / Membership Academy)
If you have any specific questions about either that youβd like my take on, please do catch me on my live chat, leave me a message there, or email me at [email protected].
This is a good comparison of the two options and they are not mutually exclusive. I’ve done the Tribe course, the original Tribe+ on-going mentoring (pre Tribe Connect) and am now a member of MSA. I wish I had known about MSA before signing up to Tribe+. I concur that the Tribe course is very good – though way overpriced now IMO. The on-going mentoring was poor for the price – I felt ripped off TBH. I love MSA and much prefer their way of going about things. I have had incredible 1-1 mentoring from MSA, better than Tribe or Tribe+ and at a fraction of the cost. The intense experience of the Tribe course is compelling but I wish I had known I could access all of that and more with MSA before I got sucked into the Tribe funnel. If I had been more informed I’d have seen that I could actually get it all from MSA. But yes, the onus is then more clearly on you to get the work done.
I agree with your sentiments Rachel. I signed up to the original Tribe on a whim, and while it was a great course, I now feel that it was overpriced. I feel the same way about MSA…if only I’d known about it before, I could have saved myself some serious coin.
I agree! I think this happens when you first jump into the online marketing world. I paid $1997 for an email course and $1000 for a Facebook ads course. 4 years later I have found courses just as good for $197. You live and learn I guess!
A question for both of you, including Elizabeth! – did you have all of your membership course materials ready to go when you launched, or did you create as you went along?
For me, the price I pay for a course is definitely linked to the value I get from it. A $100 course and a $10,000 course may have the same content, but I’m much more likely to take action and get results from a $10,000 course because I’ve got much more skin in the game.
In terms of membership content at the time of launching – I definitely created as I went. Some people may feel more comfortable having a couple of months created in advance, but I just jumped straight in. I also don’t create new content monthly/on a schedule.
If you haven’t already, I talk in detail about my membership journey on my free training, Successful (+ Sustainable) Memberships Without A Team: http://www.elizabethgoddard.co.uk/memberships
Agree; now that I’ve spent lots on courses, I know what to expect so that helps too.
I will check out your course, thank you!
Anne, what other courses would you recommend?
Hi Maryana,
What topic are you looking to study? For me, in general I look for courses that have templates, especially for emails, social media and sales page copy. People have gotten pretty crafty with web forms and spreadsheets to produce it! I really like to “get in the weeds” rather than 100% theory. I’d be happy to share some of my favorites just let me know!
Thanks for sharing this Elizabeth. Very useful and will help many make a decision I’m sure.
Wow – This is fantastic seriously just exactly what I was looking for.
You covered each and every question and concern I had.
Thank you so much!
Awesome comparison! Thank you for creating such an in-depth and unbiased review of both options. It is absolutely perfect for what I was looking for and has really helped me to decide which way to go.
Thank you. This was so helpful.
This was so helpful. It was organized and well-written. Thank-you for posting.
I am a member of MSA but only just started to dig around as i am now starting to put my membership together. I have also been listening to Stu McLaren videos in the lead up to his launch. The videos in themselves are pretty good but i am unlikely to sign up to a mass course for $2000. One big lingering thought i have is that MSA put their money where their mouth is and their product / service is distributed where at TRIBE is delivered via a course. Saying that, if you go to there extreams on either side of the membership / course argument, one can look almost like the other.
Thank you!!!! Ohmygosh, Iβve been losing sleep over this decision. You just helped TREMENDOUSLY!! Iβm gonna think another day or two and then pull the trigger.
Yay! So pleased to hear this was helpful! Please do reach out if you have absolutely any questions!
I joined Tribe this year and regret it. It is highly overpriced and they do not deliver what they promise. When I signed up, it was with the understanding that the Alumni FB group would be dormant during the course, and opened up to those of us from this year. Instead, it was archived – eliminated – and replaced with a high priced ($149/mo) ongoing group. Feels like a total bait and switch. I had debated between Tribe and TMG, and really wished I had skipped Tribe altogether.
Stu has a lot of experience, but he doesn’t listen to or care about what his customers want. Many people were left very disappointed by our recent experience. It’s not to say that he does not have the right to change how he does business – he does. But doing it in a way that is transparent and respectful of your customers seems like a low bar in ethical business practices no matter what format it takes.
I wish I had seen this before I signed up for Tribe. Stu is awesome. But their model is not the kind of a membership site I had in mind. I would have done better with MSA…so I am considering joining it.
Hi Elizabeth! Thank you for taking the time to do this review. Iβm still a little bit confused on your comparison here… Are you saying that MSA pretty much contains the same content? Iβm currently participating in his free training and donβt want to be steered in the wrong direction come the offer. Can I still benefit from MSA if I have a recurring revenue model and want to learn the same strategies from Tribe for retention, etc. ? Are there podcasts in MSA also? Thanks so much in advance.
Hi Tiff! Yes, Membership Academy covers everything in TRIBE (and in a lot more detail), as well as covering many additional topics. You will learn everything in Membership Academy (and then some) that you would learn in TRIBE. I’m not sure what you mean about are there podcasts in MSA? MSA has a podcast: https://www.themembershipguys.com/podcast
Lizzy! You’re the best! I wasn’t sure how quickly I’d get a response, so thank you.
How would you compare Stu’s pricing concepts to those taught in MSA? Are his tips/thoughts similar? I have really been enjoying his free training, but am most definitely not at all into how incredibly busy and crowded the chat is, so I wouldn’t want that same experience in the FB group. But, I am most definitely getting alot from his strategies and advice as I am running my membership as the closed model. (Not open year round)
One more question… one thing I didn’t see here is about the length of the videos/trainings in MSA. I prefer content that is straight to the point, and I know you mentioned 4-20 minute videos in TRIBE.
How does MSA content compare? I definitely need things I can listen to get through in a fair amount of time to get the info I need.
Thank you so much for your time and the info!
Thank you! This was very helpful. I’ve recently found stu and Ive learned a lot. I just don’t think $2k is in the budget right now. I’m grateful to learn there’s another option, at least until I can make tribe happen
This was so great. Thank you very much.
I’m always super conservative on hard sellers and I am such a self-starter DIYer forking over a large investment without some significantly personalized support 1:1 I’m just not willing to do. But I love the MSA formation as a better fit for me. In fact Im willing to let go of a current subscription and join that one! :0
I will definitely save your page and your affiliate like.
Thank you for this comparison review, Iβm also looking for an alternative to Tribe (this is his launching month). No way I can afford the course fee coming from a country where I have to x4 the amount in my local currency. As much as I believe his course could help me, the financial (and mental) burden will be too much to bear. π Great to know that MA is a good, if not better, option. Am considering to sign up, will come back to this page when I do so. Thanks!
OMG. I am so grateful I came across your review! I have been agonizing over signing up for Stu’s course and have been talking with some of his team about what you get with the program. I just learned that it’s only 2 months long (even though it’s advertised over a year) and that after that you get access to a free FB group or a paid one. I asked how much the paid one was but never received an answer. I’m so glad that Chanel commented above about the actual price! I too would feel very robbed after spending 2K for what was promised a year-long program. Thank you so much for giving me some peace of mind and another option to consider at my own pace.
Thank you SO much! This was a great comparison! I just signed up to membership academy through your affiliate link & omg itβs set out so well & exactly what I need!
Canβt wait to hook into your bonuses too! (Iβm assuming will come via email?).
So appreciated ?
Nice post
A great comparison and VERY useful, thanks Lizzy
Thank you so much for this! Very helpful!
Thank you for taking time to provide this comparison. The truth about courses or any form of training experience is that you’ll never know until after the training experience. Typically courses address three levels of audiences – Basic (Foundational), Intermediate and Advanced – and their pricing reflects the audience level. A beginner should go for a low priced Basic course and so on.
Thanks so much Elizabeth for the great review!
Iβve been sent emails regarding Stuβs course and really balked at the price tag.
For $2,000, Iβd expect a way more personalized experience from Stu.
That price isnβt in my budget at this point anyway, and Iβm really grateful for your mentioning a way more reasonable alternative.
(To be honest, Iβm kinda burned out from expensive, intense experiences that die a quick death when theyβre over)
Personally, Membership Academy looks like a way better alternative!
Just a quick question, Iβm currently in the thinking stage about what content I should be working on.
Would it be better to wait until I have significant content before I join, or would membership help at this early stage, too?
Membership Academy will absolutely help with the thinking/planning stage! It starts right at the point of having the thought “hmm, I think I might like to have a membership” π
Lizzy,
Nothing ever happens by accident. Somehow I found myself on this page, reading your thoughts between two different programs. Then I read the readers comments and your replies.
Like you I’ve spent thousands and thousands of dollars on trainings (I’ve gotten something from all of them) however none specifically about memberships. I’m so appreciative to learn of Membership Academy. It sounds like I can learn everything I’m looking for at a price I can be okay with each month.
Thank you again for giving such a clarifying viewpoint of each option.
I am so glad I saw this. Perfect timing! Although I canβt join TRIBE at this point, I didnβt want to lose my momentum. Now, thanks to you Lizzy, I have another option to keeping going with this new idea.
Thank you.