Digitally ‑ Digital Products vs. Conjured Memberships Comparison

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Digitally ‑ Digital Products vs. Conjured Memberships: At a Glance
3. Deep Dive Comparison
4. The Alternative: Unifying Commerce, Content, and Community Natively
5. Conclusion
6. FAQ

Introduction

Selecting the right infrastructure for digital commerce often determines the trajectory of a brand's long-term growth. Shopify merchants face a significant decision when deciding how to deliver value beyond physical goods. Some require a straightforward way to send a file or a license key after a purchase, while others aim to build a recurring revenue stream through exclusive perks and gated content. The choice between a file delivery tool and a membership management platform is not merely a technical one; it is a strategic decision that affects customer retention and operational overhead.

Short answer: Digitally ‑ Digital Products is an excellent choice for merchants focusing on secure, one-time file delivery and license key management. Conjured Memberships serves brands looking to foster loyalty through recurring subscriptions and exclusive member perks. For those seeking to unify these functions into a single, cohesive experience, a native platform that manages courses, communities, and digital goods without external redirects is often the most efficient path forward.

This comparison provides a feature-by-feature analysis of Digitally ‑ Digital Products and Conjured Memberships. By examining their workflows, pricing structures, and technical capabilities, merchants can determine which tool aligns with their specific business model and customer experience goals.

Digitally ‑ Digital Products vs. Conjured Memberships: At a Glance

The following summary provides a high-level overview of how these two applications compare across several critical performance indicators and use cases.

Deep Dive Comparison

To understand which application fits a specific store, it is necessary to look past the surface-level descriptions and analyze how these tools function in a live retail environment. While both handle "digital" assets, the way they interact with the Shopify checkout and the customer account differs significantly.

Core Workflows and Delivery Mechanics

The primary difference between these two applications lies in the "event" that triggers their value. Digitally ‑ Digital Products is reactive, while Conjured Memberships is relationship-based.

Digitally ‑ Digital Products: Transactional Excellence

Digitally ‑ Digital Products focuses on the moment of the sale. When a customer purchases a digital item, the app ensures that the file or license key reaches the buyer immediately and securely. This is a linear workflow: purchase, delivery, and consumption.

The app is built to handle specific digital asset types that require protection. For example, it offers PDF stamping, which adds customer-specific information to a file to discourage unauthorized sharing. It also manages license keys, vouchers, and promo codes. For a merchant selling software licenses or unique access codes, this automation removes the need for manual fulfillment.

Conjured Memberships: Recurring Engagement

Conjured Memberships operates on a different logic. It is designed to create a "member" status for the customer. This status persists across multiple sessions and purchases. Instead of just delivering a file, this app manages a suite of benefits that might include free shipping, member-only discounts, or access to restricted pages on the Shopify store.

The workflow here is about ongoing access. A customer might pay a monthly fee (though the app supports memberships even for products not traditionally suited to subscriptions) to maintain their status. This is ideal for brands emulating models like Amazon Prime or Patreon, where the value is found in the "bundle" of perks rather than a single downloadable file.

Feature Sets and Functionality

When comparing features, merchants must decide whether they need "security" or "exclusivity."

Assets and Security in Digitally

Digitally ‑ Digital Products provides robust tools for file protection.

• Download Limits: Merchants can restrict how many times a customer can download a file, preventing link sharing.
• Expiration Dates: Access can be set to expire after a certain period, which is useful for time-sensitive materials.
• License Tracking: Built-in analytics allow merchants to see which keys have been used and how files are being accessed.
• QR Codes: The app can deliver unique QR codes via email or the checkout page, bridging the gap between digital delivery and physical utility.

Perks and Gating in Conjured Memberships

Conjured Memberships focuses on the "portal" experience and the application of logic across the store.

• Content Gating: Merchants can hide specific pages, products, or blog posts from regular visitors, making them visible only to active members.
• Member Pricing: The app allows for automatic price adjustments based on the customer’s membership status.
• Seamless Portal: It provides a space where customers can manage their own memberships, which reduces the number of support tickets related to billing or status changes.
• Integrations: It works with tools like Klaviyo and Mailchimp to trigger specific marketing flows based on membership activity.

Customization and Branding

Both apps recognize that the delivery experience should feel like an extension of the merchant's brand. However, they approach customization through different lenses.

Digitally ‑ Digital Products allows for the customization of delivery emails and download pages. This ensures that when a customer receives their link, the design matches the store’s aesthetic. The focus is on the "delivery moment."

Conjured Memberships offers a more integrated portal experience. Because memberships involve ongoing interaction, the app provides fully customizable HTML for the membership portal and emails. This allows the merchant to keep the entire loyalty experience on-brand, building trust by ensuring the transition between the store and the membership area is indistinguishable.

Pricing Structure and Total Value

The cost of these applications varies based on the scale of the business and the specific requirements for storage or member volume.

Digitally ‑ Digital Products Pricing Plans

Digitally offers a tiered structure based primarily on order volume and storage needs.

• Free Plan: This is suitable for new stores, offering 50 orders per month, 5GB of storage, and 20 digital products.
• Pro Plan ($7.99/month): Increases limits to 200 orders, 15GB of storage, and 50 products, adding email templates and auto-fulfillment.
• Plus Plan ($12.99/month): Supports 500 orders and 30GB of storage for up to 100 products.
• Unlimited Plan ($24.99/month): Removes order and storage limits, which is essential for high-volume stores selling many small digital items.

Conjured Memberships Pricing Plans

Conjured uses a structure that scales with the complexity of the membership program.

• Free Development: Available for Shopify Partner and Plus development stores to test features before going live.
• Limited Special ($9.99/month): A lower-cost entry point for merchants starting their first membership program.
• Starter ($19/month): Offers unlimited members and revenue with fully customizable HTML and 24/7 support.
• Growth ($69/month): Designed for scaling programs, this plan often includes lower transaction fees (where applicable) and enterprise-level support.

When evaluating these costs, merchants should consider the long-term ROI. Digitally is a low-cost utility for file delivery, while Conjured is an investment in a recurring revenue model.

User Experience: The Customer Journey

The friction in the customer journey is a major factor in conversion rates.

In the Digitally ‑ Digital Products workflow, the customer buys a product and is immediately presented with a download button or receives an email. This is highly efficient for "instant gratification" purchases. If a merchant is selling a digital planner or a music file, this speed is exactly what the customer expects.

In the Conjured Memberships workflow, the customer signs up and then gains access to a "member area." This requires the customer to log in to their Shopify account. While Conjured integrates with Shopify accounts, any friction in the login process can lead to customer frustration. However, once logged in, the experience of seeing "member-only" prices or special content provides a high-value feeling that can justify the extra step.

Integration and Ecosystem Fit

Neither app exists in a vacuum. They must play well with the rest of the Shopify ecosystem.

Digitally ‑ Digital Products "Works With" list includes Checkout Extensions and customer accounts, focusing heavily on the delivery phase. It is a specialized tool that does one thing very well: moving a file from a server to a customer's device.

Conjured Memberships has a broader integration profile, working with Shopify Flow, Klaviyo, Sendgrid, Mailchimp, and Churnbuster. This indicates that Conjured is meant to be a central part of a store's marketing and retention stack. It feeds data into other tools to help merchants recover churned members or target active members with specific promotions.

The Alternative: Unifying Commerce, Content, and Community Natively

While Digitally ‑ Digital Products and Conjured Memberships are excellent tools for their respective niches, many merchants eventually face a challenge known as platform fragmentation. This occurs when a store uses one app for file delivery, another for memberships, and perhaps a third-party platform for hosting video courses or a community forum. This "duct-taped" approach often leads to a disjointed customer experience, where users have to manage multiple logins or navigate away from the store to access their content.

By keeping customers at home on the brand website, merchants can eliminate the friction that usually kills conversion rates. When digital products, courses, and communities live natively inside Shopify, the customer data remains unified. This allows for a much more powerful "All-in-One" approach where physical goods and digital education are bundled seamlessly.

Fixing a fragmented system is not just about convenience; it is a proven growth strategy. For instance, one brand doubled its store's conversion rate by fixing a fragmented system that previously confused customers with separate logins. By bringing everything under one roof, they removed the "is this the right site?" anxiety that many customers feel when redirected to external delivery platforms. This native philosophy ensures that the brand remains the hero, not the software.

Furthermore, the financial benefits of a unified, native platform are significant. Instead of paying per-user fees that eat into margins as a community grows, merchants can look for predictable pricing without hidden transaction fees. This transparency is vital for scaling. We see the power of this model in strategies for selling over 4,000 digital courses natively, where the merchant was able to generate over $112,000 in revenue by simply making the purchase-to-consumption flow invisible.

For merchants who want all the key features for courses and communities without the technical overhead, a native Shopify solution provides the most stable foundation. It leverages the existing Shopify checkout, meaning all sales are tracked in one place and all customer accounts are unified. This creates a "single source of truth" for the business, which is essential for accurate analytics and simplified customer support.

The outcome of this approach is often a dramatic achieving a 100% improvement in conversion rate for digital products. When a customer can buy a physical kit and find their instructional videos waiting for them in their existing store account, the perceived value of the purchase increases. This hybrid model is how modern brands are how one brand sold $112K+ by bundling courses alongside their traditional inventory.

If unifying your stack is a priority, start by securing a fixed cost structure for digital products. Moving to a platform that supports unlimited growth without penalizing success allows you to focus on content creation rather than managing technical debt. By checking merchant feedback and app-store performance signals, it becomes clear that the trend in e-commerce is moving toward deep integration and away from external redirections.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between Digitally ‑ Digital Products and Conjured Memberships, the decision comes down to the intended relationship with the customer. If the goal is a secure, efficient delivery of individual files like e-books or license keys with a focus on protection against unauthorized sharing, Digitally ‑ Digital Products offers a streamlined and cost-effective solution. Conversely, if the strategy focuses on building long-term loyalty through a membership program that offers recurring perks, gated content, and a dedicated portal, Conjured Memberships provides the necessary tools to manage those complex interactions.

However, as a brand matures, the need to unify these functions becomes more pressing. Managing separate apps for downloads and memberships can lead to "app bloat" and a fractured user experience. Choosing a native, integrated platform can significantly amplify sales by keeping the entire customer journey within the familiar environment of the Shopify store. This unified approach reduces support tickets by solving login issues before they happen and increases lifetime value by making it easy to bundle physical products with digital content.

Before making a final choice, it is worth reviewing the Shopify App Store listing merchants install from to see how modern brands are consolidating their digital offerings. By seeing how the app natively integrates with Shopify, you can ensure that your technology stack supports your growth rather than creating barriers for your customers. To build your community without leaving Shopify, start by reviewing the Shopify App Store listing merchants install from.

FAQ

What is the difference between a digital product app and a membership app?

A digital product app, like Digitally, is primarily designed for the one-time delivery of a specific file or code after a purchase. Its features focus on security, such as download limits and PDF stamping. A membership app, like Conjured Memberships, focuses on the customer's "status." It provides ongoing benefits, such as access to gated content or special pricing, often as part of a recurring subscription or loyalty program.

Can Digitally ‑ Digital Products handle subscriptions?

Not natively. Digitally is optimized for transactional delivery. While you might be able to use it alongside a subscription app to deliver a new file every month, it does not have the built-in logic to manage member portals, recurring billing, or tiered access levels based on subscription status.

How does a native, all-in-one platform compare to specialized external apps?

Specialized external apps often provide deep features for a specific task but can create a fragmented experience where customers must use separate logins or leave your store. A native, all-in-one platform unifies courses, digital downloads, and communities directly within the Shopify ecosystem. This simplifies the customer journey, keeps all data in one place for the merchant, and typically offers a simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses rather than charging per user or per file.

Is PDF stamping necessary for my digital products?

If you are selling high-value informational products like e-books or whitepapers, PDF stamping is a useful deterrent against piracy. It places the customer's name or email on the file, making them less likely to share it publicly. If you are selling license keys or software, other methods like unique key delivery are more relevant.