PayPal Donations vs WooCommerce PayPal Pro (Classic and PayFlow Editions) Gateway
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| Feature | PayPal Donations v1.9.11 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 4.7/5 Visit Details | WooCommerce PayPal Pro (Classic and PayFlow Editions) Gateway v4.5.1 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Paid Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 20,000+ | — |
| Last updated | August 17, 2026 | — |
| Editions | Donations via PayPal | WooCommerce PayPal Pro (Classic and PayFlow Editions) Gateway ($) |
| Pros | Donate button through a shortcode or widget; Choose standard or custom button images; Sandbox mode for testing | Card payments on the store page through PayPal Pro or Payflow; Optional 3D Secure through Cardinal Commerce; Capture and cancel driven by order status changes |
| Cons | Donations go straight to PayPal with no on-site records; Shows admin notices when PHP or WordPress is too old; Only a donate button, no recurring or tiered donations | Last tested with WooCommerce 4.0 and WordPress 5.3; Shows a Cardinal Commerce upgrade notice for 3D Secure; Needs a PayPal Pro or Payflow merchant account and SSL |
| Mentioned in our posts | 1 | — |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Donate button shortcode, Sidebar donate widget, Standard or custom button image, PayPal sandbox switch for testing, Return page and purpose defaults | PayPal Pro classic card payments ($), PayPal Payflow card payments ($), 3D Secure through Cardinal Commerce ($), Capture when an on-hold order is processed or completed ($), Cancel when an on-hold order is cancelled or refunded ($), Pay for order page support ($), SSL check notice ($), Personal data export hooks ($) |
| Integrations | ||
| Payment | PayPal | PayPal Pro ($), PayPal Payflow ($), Cardinal Commerce ($) |
| E-commerce | — | WooCommerce ($) |
| Requires WordPress | 5.5 | — |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 5.3 |
| Phones home | No | No |
| External services | www.paypalobjects.com | api-3t.paypal.com, api-3t.sandbox.paypal.com, payflowpro.paypal.com, pilot-payflowpro.paypal.com, payflowlink.paypal.com, pilot-payflowlink.paypal.com, songbird.cardinalcommerce.com, songbirdstag.cardinalcommerce.com, paypal3dsregistration.cardinalcommerce.com |
| Shortcodes | 1 | — |