Taking this to your board
Most executive directors don't choose membership software alone — the board approves the budget line. This page is the short version of what a board asks: what it costs, when to decide, what happens to your data, and what the software does not do. Print it or send the link.
1.What it costs, next to a typical chamber’s revenue
MemberIQ is $4,500 a year, all in: the website, member portal, iOS app, events, dues and email. No setup fee, no migration fee, and no surcharge for taking payments through your own Stripe account.
The median US chamber that e-files a Form 990 or 990-EZ reported $220,258 in total revenue (4,635 chambers, newest return each, mostly tax year 2024; the smallest chambers, which file the 990-N postcard, are not included).1 MemberIQ is 2.0% of that. For chambers large enough to file the full Form 990, the median is $365,540, and MemberIQ is 1.2% of it.1
MemberIQ's 2026 chamber software report gives a different median, $240,861, for a different group: the 4,038 chambers it matched to a Form 990, in a separate pass over the IRS filings. Each figure is right for the chambers it covers; this page uses every chamber that e-files.
2.When to decide
78% of active chambers of commerce close their fiscal year in December (4,700 of 6,025).2 If yours is one of them, next year's budget is being drafted now. Getting the line into that budget may save a separate vote later — your bylaws say how spending authority works in your chamber.
3.Can it pay for itself?
That depends on your prices, so we don't promise it. One example: MemberIQ lets you feature a member's directory listing so it appears first, and you set the price and invoice it. At $250 a listing, 18 featured listings cover $4,500. $250 is an example, not a benchmark — use what your members would pay.
4.What the alternatives publish
Some are cheaper than MemberIQ, some cost more, and one publishes no price. Each links to a comparison with its sources.
| Product | Basis | Published price |
|---|---|---|
| ClubExpress | 734 members, per-member pricing | About $2,642 a year, plus a one-time setup fee |
| MemberClicks (MC Trade) | Published starting price | From $3,500 a year |
| WildApricot | 500 contacts, billed monthly | $1,848 a year; $2,217.60 with its 20% fee for taking payments through your own Stripe, PayPal or Authorize.net |
| GrowthZone (ChamberMaster) | — | Not published on its website |
| Novi AMS (Core) | Revenue up to $400K | $13,548 in the first year, including $3,600 onboarding |
| MemberIQ | Any size | $4,500 a year, all in |
5.What happens to our data
Migration is included. We import your member records from your current system's export, and before you sign we'll look at that export with you and say exactly what comes across and what doesn't.
Plan on members setting a new password the first time they sign in: most systems don't export passwords, and we won't promise what we can't check in advance.
6.What MemberIQ does not do yet
- An Android app. Members get the iOS app or the web portal, which works in any phone’s browser.
- A custom report builder. Standard reports (revenue and expenses by category, retention by cohort, a period summary) and CSV export are included.
- Accounting sync with QuickBooks or anything else.
If any of these is essential to your chamber, you should know before the vote, not after.
Sources
- 1. Internal Revenue Service, Form 990 Series downloads (e-filed returns, XML); MemberIQ’s analysis of the newest return for each chamber (downloaded September 18, 2026; mostly tax year 2024)
- 2. Internal Revenue Service, Exempt Organizations Business Master File Extract (downloaded September 18, 2026)
Competitor prices are from each vendor's own website, checked September 18, 2026; the sources are on each comparison page.