WooCommerce vs WP Simple Pay
Updated 11 Oct 2026. 23 features compared side by side.
Free, open-source WordPress store plugin from Automattic for physical and digital products, extended with free and paid extensions from the Woo Marketplace.
Stripe payment-form plugin for one-off and recurring payments without a cart. The free version adds a 3% fee; paid plans remove it.
Choose WooCommerce if…
- You need digital downloads and shipping rates
- You also want extension ecosystem and software licensing
- You want the more complete feature set (98/100 vs 54/100)
- You prefer the more widely used option
Choose WP Simple Pay if…
- You want the lower entry price ($99/yr vs $159/yr)
WooCommerce includes 6 features that WP Simple Pay lacks, including Digital downloads, Software licensing and Upsells & order bumps. Both include 17 of the 23 features we track.
At a glance
Feature comparison
Click a screenshot to see both plugins side by side.
WooCommerce WP Simple PayProducts6/64/6
Core supports shippable products with weight, dimensions and stock.
Can collect shipping addresses and limit purchases, but there are no weights, shipping rates or stock control.
Downloadable products in core with optional download limits and link expiry.
No file delivery or secure download links; it only takes the payment.
Variable products with attribute-based variations, each with its own price, SKU and stock.
A form can offer several price options with quantities, but there are no attribute-based variants with their own stock.
Requires the paid WooCommerce Subscriptions extension ($279/year).
Recurring Stripe subscriptions in free; trials, setup fees and installments need Professional.
Core stock tracking per product or variation with low and out-of-stock notifications.
Purchase restrictions cap how often a form or price can be bought; this is a usage limit, not stock tracking.
Needs a paid Marketplace extension such as Software Add-on by Kestrel ($179/year).
No licence-key generation.
Checkout & payments7/75/7
Free official WooPayments, Stripe and PayPal extensions; installed separately but no extra cost.
Stripe is built in and free (with a 3% fee); no PayPal or other gateways.
Apple Pay and Google Pay through the free WooPayments (or Stripe) extension.
Apple Pay and Google Pay on Stripe Checkout in free; on custom on-site forms with a paid plan.
Block-based checkout layout is editable; advanced field editors are paid extensions.
Drag-and-drop custom fields and on-site embedded or overlay forms; free uses Stripe-hosted Checkout.
Core coupons with fixed or percentage discounts, usage limits and product restrictions.
Percentage or fixed coupons with expiry and redemption limits; repeating durations need Professional.
Checkout order bumps and upsell funnels need a Marketplace extension such as Order Bump.
No order bumps or post-purchase upsells.
Abandoned-cart reminder emails via the paid AutomateWoo extension ($159/year).
No abandoned checkout recovery emails.
Core uses one store currency; WooPayments adds 135+ currencies in supported countries.
Each form charges in a chosen currency (135+ supported), but there is no currency switcher; one currency per checkout.
Tax, shipping & orders5/54/5
Core tax rates and classes; automated US sales tax via the WooCommerce Tax service.
Fixed tax rates on all paid plans; location-based automatic rates need Professional.
Core shipping zones, flat rate and free shipping; live carrier rates and labels via extensions.
Addresses can be collected, but no shipping zones, rates or labels.
View, edit, refund and update order status in admin and the mobile app.
Free Transactions page to search and export payments; refunds from WordPress need a paid plan.
My Account area with orders, downloads, addresses and saved payment methods.
Customers can manage their own subscriptions; there is no full account area with order history.
Built-in analytics for revenue, orders, products, customers and coupons.
Activity & Reports shows payment volume and recent payments, not product or customer analytics.
Platform5/54/5
WooCommerce adds no platform fee; only the payment processor's fees apply.
Free version adds a 3% fee per payment; all paid plans charge 0% extra.
Products, orders and customers are stored in your own WordPress database and exportable.
Payments, customers and subscriptions live in Stripe; WordPress keeps a transaction list.
Woo Marketplace lists hundreds of free and paid vetted extensions, plus many third-party plugins.
A few integrations (AffiliateWP, Zapier, Elementor, Divi) but no extension library.
Product, collection, cart and checkout blocks for the block editor.
Payment forms can be inserted with a block, but there are no product, cart or checkout blocks.
REST API, webhooks, hooks/filters and a CLI are part of core.
Hooks and filters for developers; webhooks and Zapier are included on paid plans.
Statuses: Yes Pro Add-on Partial 3rd-party No ?
Pricing compared
WooCommerce Freemium
| Free | $0 |
|---|---|
| WooCommerce core | Free per year, Unlimited |
| WooCommerce Subscriptions (extension) | $279 per year, 1 site |
| AutomateWoo (extension) | $159 per year, 1 site |
| Software Add-on (extension) | $179 per year, 1 site |
WP Simple Pay Freemium
| Free | $0 |
|---|---|
| Lite (free) | Free per year, Unlimited |
| Personal | $99 per year, 1 site |
| Plus | $199 per year, 3 sites |
| Professional | $399 per year, 10 sites |
| Elite | $599 per year, Unlimited |
Downloads trend
WooCommerce
750,150 downloads last week
WP Simple Pay
2,184 downloads last week
Verdict
WooCommerce scores higher on our feature checklist (98/100 against 54/100) and includes digital downloads, shipping rates and extension ecosystem that WP Simple Pay does not. Paid plans start at $159/yr for WooCommerce and $99/yr for WP Simple Pay. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Biggest differences
WooCommerce: included. WP Simple Pay: not included. Downloadable products in core with optional download limits and link expiry.
WooCommerce: included. WP Simple Pay: not included. Core shipping zones, flat rate and free shipping; live carrier rates and labels via extensions.
WooCommerce: included. WP Simple Pay: not included. Woo Marketplace lists hundreds of free and paid vetted extensions, plus many third-party plugins.
WooCommerce: via add-on. WP Simple Pay: not included. Needs a paid Marketplace extension such as Software Add-on by Kestrel ($179/year).
WooCommerce: via add-on. WP Simple Pay: not included. Checkout order bumps and upsell funnels need a Marketplace extension such as Order Bump.
WooCommerce: via add-on. WP Simple Pay: not included. Abandoned-cart reminder emails via the paid AutomateWoo extension ($159/year).
Written from the feature, pricing and install data on this page, not from hands-on testing. How we compare.
Which would you choose?
0 votes so far. Vote to see the results.
Compare something else
FAQ
Which is better, WooCommerce or WP Simple Pay?
WooCommerce scores higher on our feature checklist (98/100 against 54/100) and includes digital downloads, shipping rates and extension ecosystem that WP Simple Pay does not. Paid plans start at $159/yr for WooCommerce and $99/yr for WP Simple Pay. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Which has more features?
WooCommerce includes 23 of the 23 features we track, against 17 for WP Simple Pay. Feature count is only part of the picture; check which of the differences matter to you.
Is WooCommerce free?
WooCommerce has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $159/yr.
Is WP Simple Pay free?
WP Simple Pay has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $99/yr.
Feature data last changed 11 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit to WooCommerce or WP Simple Pay. Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no cost to you; it never affects our data or rankings.