WooCommerce is the industry standard for any WordPress online store. It’s not only easy to set up and maintain product inventory, even if the product isn’t a physical one such as a download or subscriptions. But how about the most important part of your business… getting paid? At first glance it appears that WooCommerce is limited to a few options for receiving payment. The great news is that just like most anything with WordPress, there are a nearly limitless number of plugins available that offer free and premium WooCommerce payment plugins to make purchases easy for your customers. Let’s face it, the User Experience when it comes to making an online purchase is one of the most important elements in completing the process of a sale.
Believe me when I say that any type of payment gateway you require, whether it’s checks, credit cards, or even cryptocurrencies, there’s a WooCommerce plugin that will make it happen on your Ecommerce site.
Below is what I think are some of the best plugins available, and although it’s pretty comprehensive, it’s not even close to listing every available plugin. My hope is that you’ll find what you need from my list below.
Stripe is a very popular plugin, with the versatility to allow payment from all major credit/debit cards from every country using over 135 different currencies. Apple Pay, Google Pay and even local options such as Alipay, iDeal or SEPA Direct Debit. One point of mention for Stripe is that during the checkout process, customers actually stay on your site, rather than being redirected to an external site for payment. This likely means a higher conversion rate.
This payment gateway is one of the most popular payment processors. It’s super reliable and secure, while offering lots of cool features for your customers, such as Subscriptions, WooCommerce Pre-Orders and the ability to save their credit card and bank accounts to their WooCommerce account which, for returning customers, makes checking out fast and easy. Authorize.net allows you to receive payment from customers worldwide which is nice to have that option. Another feature is that it can accept all major credit/debit cards such as: Visa®, MasterCard®, American Express®, Discover®, Diner’s Club, and JCB.
Also, consider how your payment gateway looks on mobile devices, and this one has that detail covered as well. On mobile devices, the interface displays numerical inputs for the card type and entering the security code. This plugin costs $79.00 and is billed annually. If you’re unsure, test it out for 30 days, and if you don’t like it, they’ll refund your money.
With so many people using PayPal, having the PayPal Checkout plugin is a great option, and it’s very secure and includes 24/7 fraud detection. One thing I really like about PayPay Checkout is that the plugin updates are automatic. Most plugins require the administrator to manually update but this one is automatic so you’ll always have the latest features. PayPal also offers the ability for someone to break their payments into 4 interest free payments, which is great for the buyer for a large purchase, but even better for the seller that they get paid up front. The PayPal Checkout plugin also does not require the buyer to have a PayPal account and it accepts all of the major credit and debit cards I’ve mentioned before. For new accounts though, PayPal puts a 21-day hold on your first sale, so keep that in mind. The PayPal Checkout is a free plugin.
This is a free plugin, but it does require the seller to set up an account with Square. There are no monthly fees to have a Square account, you only pay when you make a sale. Accepts all major credit and debit cards. Using the Square plugin might be a good option for shop owners that have both an online as well as a traditional brick and mortar business, as it syncs your inventory automatically.
If your company is selling a digital product, look into WP SmartPay Pro. With this plugin you can accept one-time and recurring payments using most any payment method, including: Visa, Discover, Apple Pay, PayPal Paddle, wire transfers and more! One cool feature to mention is that you can allow your user to pay what they want, which might come in handy for a donation request. This is a paid plugin that has annual license fees that start at $99 per year for a single website.
The Braintree plugin has options for customers to pay with credit card, PayPal, Google Pay and even ApplePay. Includes express checkout options to speed up the buying process by adding “Buy Now” buttons on each product page. When pressed it takes the buyer directly to the checkout page for a speedy purchase. Also, there’s a “PayPal Connect” button that appears in the cart to connect the buyer directly to their PayPal account. Again, this speeds up the buying process. All of your inventory management is controlled directly in WooCommerce. Braintree is a partnership with PayPal if that isn’t already obvious, and this plugin is completely free.
If your business performs transactions in cryptocurrencies, look into this powerful plugin that currently accepts Bitcoin, Etherum, LiteCoin & Dodge. Cryptonic doesn’t use a third-party service so there’s no middle man, you just add your wallet addresses to the plugin option panel and the user sends the money directly to you. This plug costs $24 and includes 6 months of support.
The Intuit Payment Gateway extension provides an advanced payment integration for WooCommerce while providing the security and reliability that comes with using Intuit for payment processing. The plugin accepts all major credit/debit cards, and allows customers to save their card information without having to go through the checkout process to do so. This means they don’t have to necessarily make a purchase in order to store their payment information. Also Intuit has great customer service so if you run into issues, they’re quick to get it resolved. That alone is worth the $79 annual fee to use this plugin.
This $79 per year plugin not only supports all major credits cards, but also eCheck/ACH payments and also handles subscriptions. With TrustCommerce, customers can manage their payment profiles securely, and can even delete them if desired. One point of mention for this plugin is that they validate the credit cards in real time, so mistakes are corrected before the order is even placed. As far as the mobile experience, I am super impressed with how the forms seamlessly adapt to the field the user is typing in… for instance, when typing in the card number field the number keyboard is displayed. With so much of most website’s traffic coming from mobile devices this is a hugely beneficial feature.
This is also a free plugin with lots to offer, which is great, right? The Amazon Pay plugin accepts all of the major credit and debit cards, and is another plugin that keeps the buyer on your site during the checkout process. Being that it’s Amazon, your buyers can simply sign into their Amazon account, and all of their payment options are available to purchase items on your site. The Amazon plugin also offers the ability to pay in their currency of choice, so they don’t have to worry about conversion rates when shopping on your site. The one drawback is that the seller is required to set up an Amazon Seller Central account, so there might be fees associated with that process. But if you’re already an Amazon seller this might be a no-brainer.
Final Thoughts on WooCommerce Gateway Plugins
So with all of these options I’ve listed hopefully, if nothing else, I have helped to narrow down the field a little. The bottom line is that all businesses are unique so you need to find a plugin that works for your specific needs. Don’t be afraid to pay for a Payment Gateway plugin. There are instances where it’s more than worth it, especially if it is the perfect for your business. If you have a simple Ecommerce site a free plugin might be more than sufficient, for super complex sites, you’re likely going to have to pay to get what you want. I have found that the customer support for the paid plugins is way better than the free ones. Finally, keep in mind that most of the paid plugins offer a free trial period, and will refund your money if the plugin doesn’t do exactly what they claim.
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