This post was written by Leslie Day

Welcome to Ask AP529 where YOU get to utilize OUR brain wrinkles to find answers to your most burning BTS questions. This question comes from Stefne of the AP529 Admin team. She asks:

Can you do a deep dive on Weverse memberships?

Answer: Absolutely!

Update August 2025: So, changes have been made since I originally wrote this post in November 2024. Let’s start with what currently exists as if you became ARMY yesterday and you’re wanting to sign up as a new member.

There are two types of memberships to consider purchasing: ARMY Membership and Weverse Digital Membership.

ARMY Membership (aka BTS Global Official Fanclub)

Where to Find: Weverse Shop
Types: Global, US, Japan (more on this below)
Price: 22 USD per year
Benefits:
- Special media drops in Weverse
- Entry into special raffles and events (signed posters, pop-ups, fan calls, music showcases, etc.)
- Raffles for pre-sale concert tickets
- And a ‘free’ membership kit (you have to pay for shipping)

Digital Membership

Where to Find: Weverse
Types: Per Fandom (must buy one for each Weverse artist, i.e. BTS, TXT, Enhypen, etc.)
Price: 2.49 USD per month
Benefits:
- Unlimited Fan Letter Vouchers
- Remove Video Ads
- Exclusive Badge
- Download VODs offline
- Additional Features for Watching Videos
- View Membership Only Content
- Auto-generated Subtitles
- Change App Icon
- Host Listening Party
- Upgraded Video Upload

Let’s talk about the Digital Membership first:

When you log into Weverse and choose your fandom, you should see something that asks you if you want to buy a digital membership. This is NOT an ARMY Membership. This is simply giving you the benefits listed above under “Digital Membership” for the fandom you choose. Click the “Membership” button under the artist name (see Image 1 below) and it will give you an overview of the benefits (see Image 2 below).

Digital Membership is 2.49 USD per month.

I bought this just for the auto-generated subtitles so I could have a rough idea of what the members are saying during their livestreams. The AI subtitles are not perfect, but they are better than nothing. I have also used the unlimited Fan Letters to send members uplifting notes when the media gets a little crazy.

After you purchase the Digital Membership, your screen will look like Image 3 below.

What about ARMY Membership?

If you log into Weverse, click the Shop button and it should open in a new tab. Once you’re in the BTS shop, click on “Products” and then “(Global/US/Japan) Membership”. (Note: I am showing this on a laptop in Image 4 below, but it works the same on the mobile app. The placement is just different.)

After you click “(Global/US/Japan) Membership”, you will see other options as shown in Image 5 below. These include Membership, Merch Box, Kit, and Merch. These are relatively new. And this is where it can get confusing for new ARMY.

For new ARMY you are only concerned with Membership and Kit. When you purchase an ARMY Membership, you are also eligible for a “free” kit. I put that in quotation marks because you need to pay for the shipping which is typically about 20 USD, or the equivalent in your local currency.

So, if you're a new ARMY, purchasing a membership is an easy endeavor. Pay 22 USD per year (or the equivalent in your currency) and you get access to:

Special media drops in Weverse (which you find under “Media”, see Image 6 below)
Entry into special raffles and events (signed posters, pop-ups, fan calls, music showcases, etc,)
Raffles for presale concert tickets
And a membership kit (though you have to pay for shipping).

I have utilized and enjoyed all these benefits—including a presale code to get D-Day Concert tickets.

If you’d like the Membership Kit, you’ll need to order it separately. Click the “Kit” tab to see your options (see Image 7 below). Sometimes they are sold out. And it is up to you to check back to see when they have restocked. You need to order like any other merch, and it will say $0, but it will add the shipping fees at checkout.

Image 6: Weverse BTS Community Media tab showing Membership subcategory for member-only media drops.

Which ARMY Membership should I buy? Global, US, or Japan?

For the past two solo tours (j-hope and Jin), ARMY Membership type (Global, US, or Japan) determined which ticket presales you could participate in.

Presale tickets for concert venues in the US were limited to US ARMY Membership holders. Presale tickets for concert venues outside the US (Europe and Mexico) were limited to Global ARMY Membership holders. (Note: Japan and South Korea have separate ticketing processes.) Bottom line: we recommend purchasing the membership type for wherever you may want to purchase presale concert tickets in the next year.

Seems straightforward, right? Well, kind of.

There used to be a membership option for 150 USD that included four Merch Boxes per year. These were special release merchandise that could only be obtained through the Merch Box membership.

There have been 20 Merch Boxes released since the inception of the Merch Box membership in 2021. Merch Boxes 1-11 were different themes of OT7, Merch Boxes 12-18 the members’ solo projects, and Merch Boxes 19-20 were commemorative OT7 boxes. (All Merch Boxes shown at the bottom of this article for reference.)

Story Time: I accidentally bought both a US and a Global membership when the yearly renewal notifications came out in 2022 and got confused as a baby ARMY. When I figured out that there were three different “stores”, I didn’t mind, because I was able to obtain the older Merch Boxes that were released before I became ARMY. (I wanted the Merch Box 1 poncho so much and I checked and waited, and checked, and waited and I was finally successful!). This isn’t just a tangent, I’ll show you how confusing this can be, and I don’t want anyone to feel silly like I did.

NOTE: Notifications will go out in June (Festa!) to renew no matter when you purchased your ARMY Membership. You only have to renew when your membership is about to expire.

Between June and October of 2024, there were a series of Weverse notifications stating that the Merch Box membership was going to be discontinued. There was a scramble for some membership holders to figure out how they wanted to use their remaining Merch Box credits and many of us had to make a decision between 19 and 20. (I chose 19 if you’re interested. It came with a retro desk calendar that I forget to change all the time, and a bunch of magnets with the members’ information on them.)

Is that it?

No.

On June 22, 2025 we got this announcement from the BTS Community on Weverse:

What I think this means (but I’m not sure) is that Merch Boxes will be returning (now called “membership gifts”), but they will be purchased separately rather than prepaid as part of an annual membership fee. We’ll have to wait and see what information is announced in September!

My head hurts. Is there anything else?

Well… just a little bit. On June 8, 2025, the BTS Weverse Community also announced a new Gold Membership that you can only obtain by renewing your ARMY Membership (Global/US/Japan) in a timely manner for three years or more. You’ll also receive a digital badge on your Weverse profile for each year you’ve been an ARMY fanclub member.

What BTS lore is tickling your brain? Ask us! Keep our brain wrinkles busy!

Go to the contact page on the AP529 website to submit your own question.

CREDITS

Weverse, my brain wrinkles, Doc of AP529 Admin

Ask AP529 | Episode 7: Weverse/ARMY Memberships (UPDATED)