PayPal Express Checkout Payment Gateway for WooCommerce vs PayPal Buy Now Button
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| Feature | PayPal Express Checkout Payment Gateway for WooCommerce v1.9.5 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 4.2/5 Visit Details | PayPal Buy Now Button v2.0.6 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 4.5/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 6,000+ | 10,000+ |
| Last updated | October 8, 2026 | September 23, 2026 |
| Editions | Payment Gateway of PayPal for WooCommerce (Free) · Payment Gateway of PayPal for WooCommerce (Premium) ($) | Easy PayPal & Stripe Button · Easy PayPal & Stripe Button Pro ($) |
| Pros | Express and Smart buttons on cart and checkout pages; Pay Later and Venmo offered where PayPal makes them available; Sandbox and live modes | Buy Now buttons placed anywhere with a shortcode; PayPal and Stripe checkout without a full store; Setup helpers for PayPal and Stripe accounts; Simple button manager in the admin |
| Cons | Product-page buttons and mini-cart need the paid version; Refunds from the order screen need the paid version; Requires a PayPal developer account with API credentials | No catalogue, cart or stock management in the free edition; PayPal and Stripe connection goes through the vendor's wpplugin.org relay; Pro features are sold separately |
| Mentioned in our posts | 1 | 1 |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Smart Payment Buttons on checkout, Express Checkout button on the cart page, Pay Later and Venmo payment methods, Sandbox and live API environments | Buy Now button shortcode, Button manager (custom post type), Insert button from the editor media toolbar, PayPal account connection (PPCP onboarding), Stripe Connect checkout session |
| Integrations | ||
| Payment | PayPal | PayPal, Stripe |
| E-commerce | WooCommerce | — |
| Other | — | wpplugin.org connection relay |
| Requires WordPress | 5.6 | 4.7 |
| Requires PHP | 7.0 | 5.4 |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 7.1 |
| Phones home | No | Only if you agree |
| External services | api-m.paypal.com, api-m.sandbox.paypal.com, www.paypal.com | wpplugin.org, www.paypalobjects.com, js.stripe.com |
| Shortcodes | — | 1 |