What is Restrict Content Pro plugin?
Restrict Content Pro (RCP) is a membership and content restriction plugin with roots in the Pippin Williamson / Sandhills Development ecosystem. It was acquired by iThemes (now SolidWP) and is maintained alongside their security and backup tools. RCP handles content restriction, subscription levels, payment gateways, discount codes, and member management from a single plugin.
The plugin is known for being straightforward to configure: membership levels are created with flat settings rather than a wizard-driven process, and restriction rules apply cleanly to posts, pages, and custom post types. Stripe, PayPal, Braintree, and Authorize.net are supported as payment gateways. The full feature set is available on all paid plans — the tiers differ by number of sites rather than features, which is a notable difference from MemberPress where content dripping and some gateway support is gated behind higher plans.
RCP has a documented issue with Stripe webhook handling: some users report that subscription cancellations on the WordPress side do not correctly communicate with Stripe, resulting in continued charges even after a user cancels. This is a known complaint in user reviews and worth testing carefully in a staging environment before deploying on a live site. The SolidWP transition has also drawn mixed reviews on support responsiveness compared to the original Sandhills team.
Pricing is $99/year for a single site and $249/year for unlimited sites, with a lifetime license also available. All features including content dripping are included at both tiers. For teams that want a clean, no-frills membership plugin without feature gating by price tier, RCP is a viable option — but verify the Stripe webhook behavior on your specific setup before committing.
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Get Restrict Content Pro Expert HelpKey Features
- Content restriction by membership level
- Membership level management with free and paid tiers
- Stripe, PayPal, Braintree, and Authorize.net payment gateways
- Discount codes
- Content dripping by days after signup (included in all plans)
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Full features available on all paid plans — no feature gating by tier
- Clean, straightforward interface without unnecessary complexity
- Lifetime license option available
Cons
- Stripe webhook/cancellation synchronization issues reported by users
- Support quality has declined since acquisition by SolidWP
Free vs Premium
RCP does not have a meaningful free version. Paid plans start at $99/year for a single site with all features included. Unlimited site licenses are $249/year. A lifetime license is available for teams building on multiple client sites long-term.
Common Problems & Fixes
Why do cancelled subscriptions continue charging in Stripe after cancellation in RCP?
This is the most documented RCP issue. When a user cancels a subscription in WordPress, RCP should communicate the cancellation to Stripe via its webhook. If the Stripe webhook endpoint is not correctly configured, Stripe continues billing on its own schedule without receiving the cancellation instruction. Go to RCP Settings → Payment Gateways → Stripe and verify that the Stripe webhook URL is entered correctly in your Stripe dashboard under Developers → Webhooks. The webhook should point to your site URL plus the RCP webhook endpoint. After verifying, test a full subscription creation and cancellation cycle in Stripe test mode before going live.
Why is RCP content restriction not working on certain pages?
RCP restriction relies on permalink-based rules. If you are using plain permalinks, restriction may not work correctly. Switch to any structured permalink format (Post name is most common) and flush permalinks under Settings → Permalinks. Also check whether a caching plugin is serving a cached version of restricted content to logged-out users — disable caching temporarily and test to confirm whether caching is the source of the issue.
Why is a free RCP membership level not giving correct access?
Free membership levels in RCP require the same access rules as paid levels — a user must be assigned the membership level for restriction rules to grant access. If free members are not seeing content, check whether the free level is correctly configured as “free” in the membership level settings and whether users who registered for the free level actually have an active subscription record in RCP → Members. Some free level configurations require the user to explicitly “subscribe” even though no payment is charged.
Customization & Developer Notes
How do I configure content dripping in Restrict Content Pro?
Content dripping in RCP works through the Drip Content add-on. After installing it, you can configure drip rules per membership level that release content on a schedule after the member’s subscription start date. Open any post or page and look for the RCP Drip Content meta box in the editor to set the unlock delay in days. Note that content drip only begins counting from when the current subscription cycle started, not the original signup date for recurring subscribers who have renewed.
Can I customize the restricted content message shown to non-members?
Yes. Go to RCP Settings → Restrictions to customize the message displayed when unauthorized users try to access restricted content. The message supports basic HTML. You can also configure whether to show an excerpt of the restricted content before the restriction message, which is useful for giving non-members a preview to encourage subscriptions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Restrict Content Pro include email marketing integrations?
Yes, through add-ons. RCP has integrations with Mailchimp, ConvertKit, AWeber, ActiveCampaign, and other email platforms available as add-ons bundled with paid plans. These integrations automatically add or remove users from email lists based on their membership status.
Is there a lifetime license for Restrict Content Pro?
Yes. RCP offers a lifetime license option for unlimited sites at a higher one-time cost. For agencies building multiple client sites, this can be significantly more cost-effective than annual renewal over multiple years.
Does Restrict Content Pro work with WooCommerce?
Yes, through the WooCommerce add-on. This allows membership access to be granted through WooCommerce product purchases rather than through RCP’s own checkout flow. This is useful if you want to keep product management in WooCommerce while using RCP for access control.
How does Restrict Content Pro compare with MemberPress in pricing?
At comparable plan levels, RCP is generally less expensive. RCP includes content dripping on all paid plans; MemberPress gates dripping behind higher tiers. MemberPress has a more polished interface and includes a built-in LMS (course builder). The right choice depends on whether the LMS integration and user experience improvements justify MemberPress’s higher price for your use case.