WooCommerce PayPal Payments vs WooCommerce Subscriptions
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | WooCommerce PayPal Payments v4.2.0 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 2.9/5 Visit Details | WooCommerce Subscriptions v9.3.0 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Paid Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 800,000+ | — |
| Last updated | October 21, 2026 | — |
| Editions | WooCommerce PayPal Payments | WooCommerce Subscriptions ($) |
| Pros | Official PayPal gateway with smart buttons on product and checkout pages; Pay Later, card fields and Apple Pay or Google Pay wallets; Subscriptions, saved payment methods and ShipStation order tracking | Recurring products with renewals and payment tokens; Subscription management in WooCommerce admin |
| Cons | Available payment methods depend on PayPal account and country eligibility; Many modules are switched on in settings, so the setup has several steps | Commercial product with no free edition; Renewals depend on a working payment gateway |
| More features | ||
| Other features | PayPal smart buttons on product, mini-cart and checkout, Pay Later messages on product, cart and checkout blocks, Apple Pay gateway, Google Pay gateway, Card fields module, Pay upon invoice alternative payment method, PayPal subscriptions and renewals, Saved payment methods, Fraud protection module, Order tracking through the ShipStation plugin | Subscription products ($), Renewal orders ($), Payment tokens for renewals ($), Stock handling for renewals ($), PayPal recurring payments ($) |
| Integrations | ||
| Payment | PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay | PayPal ($) |
| E-commerce | — | WooCommerce |
| Plugins | ShipStation | — |
| Requires WordPress | 6.5 | 7.0 |
| Requires PHP | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 7.1 |
| Phones home | No | Only if you agree |
| External services | api-m.paypal.com, www.paypal.com, api-m.sandbox.paypal.com, www.sandbox.paypal.com, api.woocommerce.com, www.paypal.ai, d.joinhoney.com, www.google.com | api-3t.paypal.com, api-3t.sandbox.paypal.com |
| Blocks | 6 | — |
| Shortcodes | — | 1 |
| Custom tables | — | 1 |