Membership platforms like Glue Up charge hundreds of dollars a month — around $1,500 a year — to host what is, at its core, a searchable list of your members. Roster is $19 once, runs on a $5 VPS or your own desktop, and your member data never leaves a machine you control.
If you've searched for a Glue Up alternative, Roster is the pay-once option worth putting at the top of the list: Roster is $19, one time, and covers the same core job Glue Up charges ~$125+/mo for.
What makes Roster the pick for 2026
- Member profiles — Photo, contact info, bio, status (active / pending / lapsed), and join and renewal dates.
- Custom fields per organization — Text, select or URL fields that appear on cards, in the table, in search and in CSV round-trips.
- Real search and filtering — Full-text search across names, emails, bios and every custom field, with filters by status, chapter or exact value.
- Chapters — Sub-listings for multi-chapter orgs with member counts, auto-created on CSV import.
- Bulk CSV import/export — A quoted-field-safe parser where unknown columns become custom fields and existing emails update instead of duplicating.
Roster vs Glue Up, at a glance
| Roster | Glue Up | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $19 once | ~$125+/mo |
| Member data | Your SQLite file | Their cloud |
| Custom fields | Unlimited, free | Plan-gated |
| Members | Unlimited | Priced per contact tier |
| Self-serve profile edits | Yes | Yes |
| CSV import/export | Yes | Yes |
| Works offline / desktop | Yes | No |
| Source code | MIT, yours | Proprietary |
One year of Glue Up runs past $1,500 — Roster pays for itself before lunch.
Common questions
Is it really free on GitHub?
Yes — Roster is MIT-licensed at github.com/bensblueprints/member-directory-mvp. The $19 buys the packaged installer and 1-click setup; building from source is free.
Where does my member data live?
In a SQLite file you can copy, on your own server or in your user profile in desktop mode. Zero telemetry, zero external auth providers.
Is this a subscription in disguise?
No. $19 once, unlimited members and custom fields, no renewal.
The bottom line
Roster won't out-feature Glue Up on every axis — no subscription tool with a bigger team and a bigger roadmap loses on everything. But for the core job, $19 once against ~$125+/mo forever is a trade most people should at least look at. Roster is part of OneTimeSuite, a catalog of pay-once apps that replace subscription SaaS.
Try Roster — $19, once
Self-hosted searchable directory with custom fields, chapters, CSV round-trips, renewal tracking and magic-link editing.