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Two Australian Platforms
It is worth celebrating that both TidyHQ and Membes are Australian-built. Both teams understand ACNC compliance, BPay payments, and the realities of running membership organisations in Australia. Both integrate with Xero.
That is where the similarity ends.
The Size Question
Membes is built for larger, more complex organisations. Professional associations with paid executive staff, industry bodies with sophisticated CPD tracking, and peak bodies managing complex hierarchies. Their pricing reflects this — significantly higher than TidyHQ, typically starting in the tens of thousands per year.
TidyHQ is built for the volunteer-run club. The football club with a committee of seven people who all have day jobs. The arts society with 200 members and a treasurer who reconciles accounts once a month. The community group that needs professional tools without the enterprise price tag.
Pricing Reality
TidyHQ is $99-249 per month AUD depending on contact volume. All features included at every tier. No per-user licensing. No implementation fee.
Membes operates at a significantly higher price point. This is not a criticism — Membes serves organisations that need and can afford enterprise-grade features. But for a volunteer-run club, the maths does not work.
A local tennis club with 150 members and annual revenue of $30,000 cannot justify enterprise pricing. That is TidyHQ's audience.
A professional engineers association with 5,000 members, paid staff, and complex CPD requirements might justify the investment. That is Membes' audience.
Feature Differences
Membes has stronger CPD and continuing education tracking. If your members need to log professional development hours, maintain credentials, and meet industry compliance requirements, Membes has purpose-built tools for this.
TidyHQ has stronger committee and governance tools for volunteer-run organisations. Meeting management, task assignment, role-based communication, and the simplicity that volunteer committees need.
Both handle memberships, events, and payments. The difference is in the edges — CPD versus governance, enterprise complexity versus volunteer simplicity.
The Federation Layer
TidyConnect is TidyHQ's federation product. It handles the governing body to club relationship — task assignment, compliance tracking, communication architecture. This is where TidyHQ addresses larger structures without requiring enterprise pricing at every club level.
Membes handles federation through its enterprise tier, typically involving customisation and professional services.
The Decision
If your organisation has paid executive staff, complex CPD requirements, and a budget that supports enterprise pricing, evaluate Membes. It is a capable Australian platform built for that market.
If your organisation is volunteer-run, needs professional tools at a sensible price, and values simplicity alongside Xero integration and governance features, TidyHQ is the fit.
Both are good Australian products. They serve different segments of the market.
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