Recently, a reader came to us with an interesting problem: they wanted to show ads to free users while giving paid subscribers an ad-free experience on their WordPress site.
As WordPress developers who’ve been building sites for over a decade, we knew this was a common challenge many site owners face.
The good news is, you can set up this two-tier experience in WordPress without slowing down your site or writing custom code. We’ve helped many users do this and tested a few different methods ourselves.
In this guide, we’ll show you exactly how to set up an ad-free experience for your subscribers while still monetizing your content for free users.
We’ve broken down the process into simple steps that anyone can follow, regardless of their technical expertise.
Why Create an Ad-Free Version of Your WordPress Site for Subscribers?
Ads are a proven way to make money online, but many readers will pay extra for a cleaner experience — and this model lets you earn from both groups at once.
- Keep ad revenue from casual visitors while charging subscribers for an ad-free feed (the same model YouTube Premium and Hulu use)
- Turn your site into a Patreon-style platform, offering perks like ad-free access and pay-per-view content
| What You Need | Plugin | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Manage memberships and subscriptions | MemberPress | Create plans, collect payments, assign user roles |
| Insert and display ads | AdSanity | Place banner ads anywhere on your site |
| Hide ads from paying members | AdSanity User Role Addon | Block ads for specific WordPress user roles |
Creating Ad-Free Subscription Plans in WordPress
The easiest way to offer ad-free content is by using MemberPress — a WordPress membership plugin with over 300,000 active users that makes it simple to manage subscriptions. It lets you control content access based on user roles.
We’ve used MemberPress across multiple sites to manage memberships, and it works well for this exact setup. You don’t need to touch any code — just install the plugin and start building your subscription plans.
Why we recommend MemberPress:
- Easy Setup: You can create subscription plans for ad-free content in minutes, no technical background needed.
- Recurring Payments: It works with popular payment services and handles automatic recurring billing for you.
- Smoothly Integrated with WordPress: No theme conflicts or plugin issues — it fits right in.
- Clear Analytics: You can easily track how your ad-free subscriptions are performing.
We use MemberPress on our WordPress Video Courses site to manage access and sell courses.
For a full breakdown of what it offers, check out our MemberPress review.
To get started, install and activate the MemberPress plugin. If you’re new to this, see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Tip 💡: If you’re building a membership site from scratch, don’t miss our ultimate guide to creating a WordPress membership site.
Once the plugin is active, head to MemberPress » Settings and add your payment gateway under the ‘Payments’ tab.
Click the ‘+ Add Payment method’ button and follow the instructions for your preferred payment service.
MemberPress supports PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.net, and even offline payments. We usually go with Stripe because it’s quick to set up and reliable.
Next, go to MemberPress » Memberships and click ‘Add New’ to create your first plan.
Give your plan a name and a short description. Then, choose a price and how long the subscription should last — one-time or recurring.
For recurring billing help, check our guide on how to accept recurring payments in WordPress.
Scroll down to the Membership Options area to adjust settings like permissions and pricing display.
In the ‘Advanced’ tab, enable ‘User Roles for this Membership’ to control who gets access.
You can pick any WordPress user role you want — for this guide, we’ll use the Subscriber role.
Click ‘Publish’ to save your changes. You can repeat this to create as many plans as you need — for example, a basic plan that hides in-content ads and a premium plan that removes all ads entirely.
Create a Pricing Page to Show Subscription Plans
Now let’s build a pricing page that shows your subscription plans side by side. Go to MemberPress » Groups and click ‘Add New’.
Give the page a title — this will also become the page URL.
In the ‘Group Options’ section, choose which membership plans to feature on the page.
Click the ‘+’ button to add plans and use drag and drop to arrange the order.
MemberPress includes ready-made templates for your pricing table. You can tweak the design or add custom CSS to match your branding.
When you’re done, hit ‘Publish’ and visit the page to see your pricing table in action.
Once your pricing page is live, you can promote it to free visitors. A plugin like OptinMonster lets you show a targeted popup or sticky bar to readers who’ve been on your site long enough to see the value of going ad-free.
Inserting Ads in Your WordPress Website
The easiest way to manage ads on your website is to use the AdSanity plugin. It is the best ad management plugin for WordPress.
Using the plugin, you can easily insert and manage your banner ads in WordPress. Plus, it offers a ‘User Role Ad Visibility’ addon that lets you hide ads from specific WordPress user roles.
First, install and activate the AdSanity plugin. For more details, see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Once the plugin is active, go to AdSanity » Settings and switch to the ‘Licenses’ tab.
Enter the key and click the ‘Activate License’ button. You can find the license key in your account area.
Don’t forget to click the ‘Save Changes’ button when you’re done.
After that, go to AdSanity » Create Ad from your WordPress dashboard and set up an ad.
AdSanity lets you create all types of ads. You can set up a self-hosted ad and manually add banners and graphics.
You can also add ads from external networks like Google AdSense. The plugin also lets you schedule ads, set a specific time frame to display them, or run them indefinitely.
When you’re done, click the ‘Publish’ button.
You can now insert your ads anywhere on your website using the AdSanity widget block or shortcodes.
The website sidebar is one of the best places to show banner ads — it increases visibility and helps you get more clicks.
Go to Appearance » Widgets from the WordPress admin panel. Then click the ‘+’ button and add the ‘AdSanity Single Ad’ widget block.
Click the ‘Update’ button to show ads in your website sidebar or another widget-ready area.
For more details, see our guide on how to sell ads on your WordPress blog.
How to Hide Ads for Members in WordPress
Next, you can hide your ads for subscribers using the AdSanity User Role Ad Visibility addon.
First, go to AdSanity » Add-Ons from your WordPress admin.
Scroll down to the User Role Ad Visibility addon and click the ‘More Info’ button.
You can now subscribe to the addon on the AdSanity website. Click the ‘Checkout’ button to purchase it.
Download and install the addon on your website. If you need help, see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Once the add-on is active, go to AdSanity » Settings from your WordPress dashboard and open the Licenses tab.
Enter the key under the ‘AdSanity User Role Ad Visibility’ headline and click ‘Activate License’.
You can find the license key in your AdSanity account area. When you’re done, click ‘Save Changes’.
Next, switch to the ‘Add-Ons’ tab in AdSanity Settings.
Here, you can hide ads from different user roles on your website.
Select the ‘Subscriber’ role. This way, users who subscribe to a paid membership plan will not see ads on your website.
Once you’re done, click ‘Save Changes’.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I add subscribers on WordPress?
With MemberPress, subscribers are added automatically when someone purchases a membership plan. You can also add members manually by going to MemberPress » Members and clicking ‘Add New’.
Can I monetize a free WordPress site?
Yes. You can run ads for free visitors while selling an ad-free subscription to loyal readers. Other options include affiliate marketing, selling digital products, and accepting donations through a WordPress fundraising plugin.
Can I use Advanced Ads instead of AdSanity to hide ads from subscribers?
Yes. Advanced Ads has a free Roles & Capabilities addon that lets you hide ads by WordPress user role. It works well alongside MemberPress since MemberPress assigns subscriber roles automatically on checkout.
How much should I charge for an ad-free subscription?
Most WordPress sites charge between $3 and $10 per month for ad-free access. Start on the lower end and adjust based on how many readers convert. A yearly plan at a discount can improve long-term retention.
Can I create different ad tiers for different membership levels?
Yes. With MemberPress you can create multiple plans — for example, a basic plan that hides in-content ads and a premium plan that removes all ads. AdSanity’s User Role addon lets you assign different ad visibility rules to different user roles.
Bonus Resources
We are often asked about different ways to monetize WordPress content. Here are some useful resources for diversifying your website’s revenue streams:
- The Ultimate Affiliate Marketing Guide for Beginners
- How to Build Trust and Make Money With Ethical Affiliate Marketing
- Best Blogging Niche – 7 That Will Make Money (Easily)
- How to Raise Money with Crowdfunding in WordPress (2 Easy Ways)
We hope this article helped you learn how to create an ad-free version of your WordPress site for subscribers. You may also want to see our guide on how to start an online store or our expert pick of must-have WordPress plugins for business.
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Jiří Vaněk
I’ve had AdSense prepared and approved for my website for about a year now. I haven’t implemented it on the website yet because I’m waiting until I achieve better traffic. It’s slowly approaching, and currently, it’s on the rise. This is a very good way to ‘monetize’ visitors who consume free content and users who, for instance, donate or might pay for membership in the future. A very good alternative for everyone.