Recur vs ClubExpress: Pricing, Features & Membership Software

ClubExpress combines a membership database, website hosting and administrative tools for clubs and associations. Its active-member pricing is different from Recur's total-contact pricing. Compare your actual membership structure and service needs, not just the advertised rate.

Which platform fits your organization?

Consider Recur when

A lean nonprofit membership team that wants member records, renewals, events and outreach together, with personal help and published contact-based pricing.

Consider ClubExpress when

A club or association seeking an included website, member management, event tools and established multi-tier chapter support, with pricing mainly tied to active members rather than every stored contact.

Compare the workflows that matter

Recur and ClubExpress feature comparison
Workflow	Recur	ClubExpress
Membership & member access	Member records, dues and renewals, with a base self-service member portal included.	Membership database, configurable member types, renewals, directories and member login. Primary, secondary and family/business member roles affect configuration and billing.
Events & registration	Event registration, payments and attendance connected to member records. Test your specific event workflow in a demo.	Built-in event calendar with online registration, payment, attendance, multiple pricing options and multi-activity events.
Website	Optional Website Builder: $25/month. Custom website builds and maintenance are quoted separately.	Website builder, hosting and content management included; setup packages differ in design, configuration and training assistance.
Communications	Email and member outreach; optional Text Messaging: $25/month plus message usage.	Bulk email to members and non-members, saved lists and templates. Text messaging carries additional fees.
Chapters & permissions	Validate your organization relationships, chapter structure and administrative permissions in discovery; do not assume every federation workflow is supported.	Multi-tier clubs with chapters, districts and regions are supported. Ask for a demonstration of your chapter-level permissions, membership and billing structure.
Specialized functions	Website Builder and Text Messaging are optional add-ons at $25/month and $25/month respectively; message usage is charged separately. LMS is $150/month, and Advanced Member Portal is $29/month. The base self-service member portal is included. Custom website builds and maintenance are quoted separately. Validate complex federation structures, specialized accounting and integration requirements in discovery. Optional prepayment is not a required service commitment.	Optional paid functions include Continuing Education & Certification and Ad-Hoc Reports. Verify module scope and recurring fees; not all specialized functions are included in base hosting.
Support & setup	Relationship-led help tailored to your organization's needs. Agree on migration, training, website services and responsibilities before launch.	Official pages describe setup support and unlimited support; specific packages include different training and configuration services. Confirm available channels and service scope.

Pricing considerations

Contact-tier pricing with a website

Illustrative hosting fees assume every listed contact is an active primary member, with no secondary members. ClubExpress bills active memberships, not total contacts; your actual price depends on the membership mix. Non-member mailing-list allowances also apply.

Monthly pricing by contact tier, including Recur's Website Builder
Total contacts	Recur + Website Builder	ClubExpress (assumes all contacts are active members)
500	$130/mo $105 contacts + $25 Website Builder	$170/mo 500 active primary members × $0.34 · website included
1,000	$130/mo $105 contacts + $25 Website Builder	$300/mo 1,000 active primary members × $0.30 · website included
1,500	$155/mo $130 contacts + $25 Website Builder	$390/mo 1,500 active primary members × $0.26 · website included
2,500	$180/mo $155 contacts + $25 Website Builder	$500/mo 2,500 active primary members × $0.20 · website included
5,000	$230/mo $205 contacts + $25 Website Builder	$800/mo 5,000 active primary members × $0.16 · website included
10,000	$355/mo $330 contacts + $25 Website Builder	$1,200/mo 10,000 active primary members × $0.12 · website included

Every Recur total includes the contact tier plus the $25/month Website Builder add-on. Additional contacts are billed in whole 1,000-contact blocks. Custom website builds, maintenance and other optional add-ons are not included.

Calculated from the official primary-member rates: 34¢ at 500, 30¢ at 1,000, 26¢ at 1,500, 20¢ at 2,500, 16¢ at 5,000 and 12¢ at 10,000. Basic setup is $150; other setup packages and optional modules cost extra. No separate minimum hosting fee has been added to these calculated totals.

All amounts are USD per month with monthly billing. Taxes, payment processing and one-time setup are excluded from monthly totals. Optional upfront discounts are not applied.

Pricing checked 2026-10-16. Official ClubExpress pricing · Recur pricing.

The pricing overview lists primary-member monthly rates of $0.42 up to 200 members, $0.38 for 201–300, $0.34 for 301–500 and $0.30 for 501–1,000, with a $24 minimum monthly hosting fee. That minimum is not presented here as an extra fee on top of member charges. The detailed page's calculator displays $35.00, but a calculator output is not evidence of a universal minimum. Its secondary-member rate table differs from the overview by one cent in these bands. Because these current official pages are inconsistent, confirm the applicable minimum, secondary-member rates and exact tier calculation with ClubExpress; no total-cost estimate is calculated here.

Calculate Recur pricing

Strengths, limitations and questions to ask

Recur

Website Builder and Text Messaging are optional add-ons at $25/month and $25/month respectively; message usage is charged separately. LMS is $150/month, and Advanced Member Portal is $29/month. The base self-service member portal is included. Custom website builds and maintenance are quoted separately. Validate complex federation structures, specialized accounting and integration requirements in discovery. Optional prepayment is not a required service commitment.

ClubExpress

Request confirmation of the applicable minimum and differing published secondary-member rates, exact tier calculation, optional functions and import limits. Payment processing and non-member convenience fees can affect the cost. Do not assume active-member pricing is always cheaper than total-contact pricing.

Plan your migration

Export primary, secondary, household and business relationships separately; retain member status, expiration dates, chapter assignments and consent.
Inventory contact records, membership types, renewal dates, consent preferences and documents. Confirm what your current vendor can export.
Map fields and relationships with your new provider. Test a sample import and reconcile member, contact and payment totals before the full move.
Review recurring payment permissions, open invoices, accounting mappings, website URLs and email-domain settings. Payment credentials may need a separate transition.
Agree on staff training, member communications and a cutover date. Keep access to historical records and confirm your existing notice and renewal terms.

How to compare your actual costs

ClubExpress primarily bills active members. Its detailed page excludes expired members and describes a non-member mailing list up to five times the active-member count without a charge, with a small fee above that allowance. Additional people who need login access can be billable; family members without login are treated differently. Recur counts the total contacts in your database, including members and non-members.

The detailed setup page lists Basic Setup at $150, Starter Pack at $1,150, Starter Pack Plus at $1,850 and Builder Pack at $2,900, with additional packages and optional paid modules. Those packages buy different assistance, not a universal required build. Basic Setup includes a single database upload; corrected or additional imports can cost extra.

For a first-year budget, combine the vendor-confirmed monthly hosting charge across 12 months with your chosen setup services, optional modules and expected processing charges. Include your own staff time. Do not apply a per-member band or add a minimum hosting fee twice without confirmation; the official pages currently leave the exact applicable calculation unresolved.

Count active primary memberships and secondary, household, family or business users needing login.
Count all member and non-member contacts for Recur, and check ClubExpress's non-member mailing allowance.
List paid modules, website/design assistance, database import work and training.
Model credit-card/ACH fees and any non-member event or donation convenience charges using the selected processor.
Request a written monthly and first-year quote using the same membership and service assumptions.

Test the work your administrators actually do

ClubExpress is a substantial competitor, not a stripped-down database. Demonstrate one renewal, member-directory change, event refund and chapter handover with each provider. Ease of administration is specific to your team; this guide does not assign a usability score or claim that one support team is better.

Ask a volunteer to update a website page, limit another administrator's permissions and manage an organization or household membership. Compare the included website tools and design assistance with Recur's optional website services, rather than assuming the website costs are equivalent.

Frequently asked questions

Does ClubExpress charge for every contact?

Its official pages primarily charge for active members rather than every stored contact. Secondary users with login can be billable, and the detailed page describes a non-member mailing allowance up to five times the active-member count. Confirm your member types and any excess-list charge with ClubExpress.

Is the $24 minimum an extra hosting charge?

The overview calls it a minimum monthly hosting fee, not an automatic additional charge. The detailed calculator displays $35.00 and differs on secondary rates, so this guide does not calculate a total or assert a universal minimum. Ask ClubExpress for the exact rule applicable to your organization.

Does ClubExpress support chapters, education and reporting?

Yes. Its feature page describes multi-tier chapter support. Its pricing detail also lists Continuing Education & Certification and Ad-Hoc Reports as extra-cost functions. Confirm the modules and fees your workflows require using the official sources below.

Which platform will cost less?

There is no universal answer. Compare active members, secondary logins, total contacts, non-member allowances, optional tools, setup assistance and payment processing using matched written quotes.

Sources and scope

Explore member management, events and communications.

Compare your membership needs

Explore all software comparisons

Written by Recur. Official product and pricing sources reviewed October 16, 2026. Fit assessments are our editorial perspective. Confirm current details with each provider. See official sources.