Skip to content

Map WordPress roles to subscription plans

Make your whole stack tier-aware — assign a role when a plan activates and strip it when it ends, automatically.

  • Auto role on activate
  • Strip on cancel
  • Fallback role
No credit card required
FreeRestrict & gate

Roles are the shared language of WordPress plugins. Role Mapping assigns a WordPress role when a subscription is active/trial and removes it when the subscription ends — so forums, LMSs, and other tools honor your tiers automatically. You control on-hold behavior and a fallback role. This recipe maps roles to a plan.

What you get
  • Active/trial subscribers get the mapped role automatically.
  • Roles are stripped when the subscription ends.
  • Choose whether on-hold members keep their role.
  • A fallback role prevents role-less accounts.
Copy these settings

The exact configuration

Enter these values and you have the setup live. Every field maps to a real ArraySubs setting.

SettingValue
Rule tabMember AccessMember Access → Role Mapping
Add Roles / Remove RolesRule actionRoles to grant / strip when the rule matches
On Hold BehaviorRule actionKeep roles (default) / Remove roles
Fallback RoleRule actionAssigned only if the user has no roles left
Best for

When to use this setup

Integrating forums, LMSs, and role-aware plugins
Tier-based access across the stack
Clean role lifecycle automation
Set up

Set it up in 2 steps

A step-by-step guide drawn from the ArraySubs user manual. Open the linked page for the full walkthrough and screenshots.

  1. Create a Role Mapping rule

    In Member Access → Role Mapping, add a rule with the condition Has Active Subscription to the plan.

    Access Rules
  2. Set add/remove roles

    Choose the role(s) to Add when active and any to Remove; set On Hold Behavior and a Fallback Role.

    Access Rules
From the manual

This recipe is built from these ArraySubs user-manual guides:

Good to know

Notes & edge cases

On cancel/expire, mapped roles are removed only if no other active subscription still grants them; the fallback role applies if the user would be left with none.
Role Mapping rules don’t support content dripping schedules.
Plan switching re-syncs roles — old-plan roles removed, new-plan roles added.
Built with

Modules behind this recipe

The ArraySubs modules this setup relies on.

Free + Pro

Member Access

Control who can see, download, and purchase content using flexible rules tied to subscriptions and roles.

Free + Pro

Subscription Products

Create and manage simple or variable subscription products with trials, signup fees, plan logic, and lifecycle behavior.

FAQ

Questions, answered

You decide: On Hold Behavior = Keep roles retains them during a hold, or Remove roles strips them until reactivation.

Yes — roles are standard WordPress roles, so any role-aware plugin (forums, LMS, etc.) honors them automatically.
Paid Pro plans

Unlock the complete Pro stack

Start on the free-forever core today, then choose a paid Pro plan when you need the advanced Pro feature set.

No credit card required · Annual and lifetime options available