You want to charge for access to your online community. Before you can pick a membership bot, you need to pick a platform — because the right bot for Discord is completely different from the right one for Telegram or Skool. This guide covers each platform's best options with real costs, setup complexity, and a decision framework so you know exactly which path to take.
What a Membership Bot Actually Does
A membership bot connects your payment processor (almost always Stripe) to your community platform. When someone pays, the bot grants access. When they cancel or a payment fails, the bot removes access. Everything in between — renewals, upgrades, dunning sequences, welcome messages — a good membership bot handles automatically without you touching it.
The core jobs every membership bot needs to handle:
- Grant access on successful payment
- Remove access on cancellation or failed payment
- Handle subscription renewals without re-adding the member each time
- Support multiple tiers if you have them
- Recover failed payments before removing access
Platform Comparison at a Glance
| Platform | Best membership bot | Platform fee | Setup time | Multi-tier support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discord | LaunchPass or custom n8n | 3–3.5% or $0 | 30 min or 4–6 hrs | Yes |
| Telegram | InviteMember or custom n8n | 4–5% or $0 | 30 min or 4–6 hrs | Yes |
| Skool | Native + Zapier or custom n8n | $99/mo flat or $0 | 1–2 hrs or 4–6 hrs | Limited |
| Circle | Native payments or custom n8n | 4% or $0 | 30 min or 4–6 hrs | Yes |
Discord Membership Bots
Discord has no built-in payment system, so every paid Discord community uses a third-party membership bot or a custom webhook integration.
LaunchPass — Best Pre-Built Option for Discord
LaunchPass is purpose-built for paid Discord communities. Connect your Stripe account, link your server, create a subscription plan, and share the payment link. The bot assigns your chosen Discord role on payment and removes it on cancellation. Supports trials, one-time payments, multiple tiers, and Apple Pay alongside Stripe.
Fee: 3.5% of revenue + Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30
Setup time: under 30 minutes
Limits: you're on LaunchPass's platform — their rules, their uptime, their feature roadmap
Whop — Best for Discord + Marketplace Discovery
Whop handles Discord role management the same way as LaunchPass but also runs a marketplace where people browse and buy community memberships. If you want inbound traffic from Whop's directory, this is the one.
Fee: 3% of revenue + Stripe fees
Setup time: 30–45 minutes
Custom n8n — Best for Scale and Control
A custom n8n webhook connects Stripe directly to Discord's API. No platform fee — you keep everything beyond Stripe's standard 2.9% + $0.30. Full control over every edge case: multi-tier role swaps, dunning sequences, welcome DMs, re-engagement triggers.
Cost: ~$7/month VPS hosting
Setup time: 4–6 hours or hire an agency
Best for: over $2k MRR where platform fees compound significantly
Discord Membership Bot Cost Comparison
| MRR | LaunchPass (3.5%) | Whop (3%) | Custom n8n |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | $35/mo | $30/mo | $7/mo |
| $2,500 | $87.50/mo | $75/mo | $7/mo |
| $5,000 | $175/mo | $150/mo | $7/mo |
| $10,000 | $350/mo | $300/mo | $7/mo |
Telegram Membership Bots
Telegram also has no native subscription billing. The options are similar to Discord — pre-built bots or a custom webhook — but the Telegram-specific ecosystem is more fragmented.
InviteMember — Most Established Telegram Bot
InviteMember is the most widely used paid Telegram channel bot. Connect your Stripe account, create subscription plans, and share your payment link. Members pay via a Stripe-hosted page and get added to your private channel or group automatically. Handles renewals, cancellations, and failed payment removal.
Fee: 5% of revenue
Setup time: 30–45 minutes
Supports: recurring subscriptions, one-time access, multiple channels per plan
Subly — Slightly Cheaper Telegram Alternative
Subly operates similarly to InviteMember with a 4% fee. Cleaner UI, slightly lower cost. Both are solid choices — the 1% fee difference matters more as you scale.
Fee: 4% of revenue
Setup time: 30–45 minutes
Custom n8n for Telegram — Best for Scale
The custom approach uses Stripe webhooks connected to Telegram's Bot API via n8n. On payment, your workflow generates a single-use invite link (via createChatInviteLink with member_limit: 1) and sends it directly to the subscriber. On cancellation, it calls banChatMember then immediately unbanChatMember so the member can re-join if they resubscribe.
Cost: ~$7/month
Best for: over $2k MRR, multiple channels, or operators who want to own their infrastructure
Telegram Membership Bot Cost Comparison
| MRR | InviteMember (5%) | Subly (4%) | Custom n8n |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | $50/mo | $40/mo | $7/mo |
| $2,500 | $125/mo | $100/mo | $7/mo |
| $5,000 | $250/mo | $200/mo | $7/mo |
| $10,000 | $500/mo | $400/mo | $7/mo |
Telegram bots take a higher cut than Discord options (4–5% vs 3–3.5%), which makes the custom n8n breakeven point arrive faster.
Skool Membership Bots
Skool is different from Discord and Telegram — it has a built-in payment and membership system. Skool itself is the membership bot. You don't need a third-party tool to charge for access.
Skool Native Payments
Skool handles subscriptions, one-time access, and free communities natively. Set a price on your community and Skool manages the entire payment and access lifecycle. No additional bot needed.
Cost: Skool charges a flat $99/month platform fee (no percentage cut on revenue). Stripe's standard 2.9% + $0.30 applies on top.
Limits: Skool's native system has limited automation compared to custom setups. Welcome sequences, re-engagement triggers, and complex member journeys require Zapier or n8n on top.
Skool + Zapier / n8n for Automation
Skool's Zapier integration exposes member join and cancel triggers. Connect these to your CRM, email platform, or other tools to build proper onboarding and retention automation. For more complex flows — multi-step welcome sequences, cohort-based access, integration with external tools — n8n gives you more control than Zapier.
Full Skool automation guide: Skool API Integration.
Which Platform Should You Build On?
| If you want... | Best platform |
|---|---|
| Real-time discussion, voice, screen share | Discord |
| High-value niche signals, crypto/trading community | Telegram |
| Courses + community in one place | Skool |
| Maximum automation control and data ownership | Discord or Telegram + custom n8n |
| Fastest launch with no tech setup | Skool (native) or LaunchPass for Discord |
| Over $5k MRR and want to minimise fees | Custom n8n on any platform |
The Decision Framework
Step 1 — Pick your platform first. Discord if your audience lives there or you want rich community features. Telegram if it's a high-value signals or insider content business. Skool if you're combining courses with community.
Step 2 — Pick pre-built vs custom. Under $2k MRR: use a pre-built bot (LaunchPass, InviteMember, Skool native). It's faster and the fees are manageable. Over $2k MRR: build the custom n8n integration. The fee savings pay back the build cost within 1–2 months.
Step 3 — Add the automation layer. Whichever platform and bot you choose, the automation layer — welcome sequences, failed payment recovery, re-engagement triggers — has the biggest impact on retention and is worth building regardless of scale.
ShipWorkflow Builds the Full Stack
ShipWorkflow builds membership bot setups for Discord, Telegram, and Skool communities — payment integration, access automation, welcome sequences, and dunning flows. Get in touch if you want the full setup without building it yourself.