Easy Digital Downloads
WordPress plugin built for selling digital products such as ebooks, software and music, with paid passes adding subscriptions, licensing and more.
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WooCommerce
Free, open-source WordPress store plugin from Automattic for physical and digital products, extended with free and paid extensions from the Woo Marketplace.
Free installs7M+WordPress.org, active
Vendor claims4M+Vendor's own figure
Rating4.5/54,833 reviews
Price from$159/yrFreemium
Last updated9 Oct 2026Version 11.2.1
Overview
WooCommerce is the open-source eCommerce plugin maintained by Automattic, and it turns a WordPress site into a full store. Products, orders, customers and settings live in your own database, and the core plugin is free with no platform fee on sales.
How it works
The core plugin covers the essentials: simple, variable, grouped, external and downloadable products, stock management, coupons, tax rates, shipping zones with flat-rate and free shipping, order management, customer accounts and an analytics dashboard. Product, cart and checkout are available as blocks, and there is a REST API, webhooks, hooks and WP-CLI for developers. Payments are added through free official extensions such as WooPayments, Stripe and PayPal Payments, and WooPayments adds Apple Pay, Google Pay and multi-currency in the countries it supports.
Free vs paid
There is no “Pro” version. Instead, more specialised features come from the Woo Marketplace, where Woo and vetted third-party developers sell extensions. Typical paid purchases include WooCommerce Subscriptions for recurring billing, AutomateWoo for abandoned-cart and follow-up emails, order-bump and upsell tools, and licence-key extensions for software sellers. Many of these are billed yearly per extension, so the running cost of a feature-rich store can add up.
Strengths
- The largest extension and theme ecosystem of any WordPress commerce plugin.
- Handles physical, digital and mixed catalogues with stock and variations in core.
- Self-hosted data with full export and a mature developer API.
- Broad hosting, agency and developer familiarity.
Limitations
The admin can feel heavy, and stores with many extensions need decent hosting and careful update testing. Subscriptions, abandoned-cart recovery and order bumps are not in core, and WooPayments availability (and its multi-currency) depends on your country.
WooCommerce suits merchants who want maximum flexibility and are comfortable assembling a store from core plus extensions, from small shops to large catalogues.
Best for: Merchants selling physical or mixed products who want the most flexible, extensible self-hosted store on WordPress.
WooCommerce remains the default choice for serious WordPress stores thanks to its core feature set and unmatched ecosystem. The catch is that advanced features arrive as separately billed extensions, so budget for them and for hosting that can carry the load.
Pros
- Free core with no platform fee on sales
- Physical, digital and variable products with stock management built in
- Huge Marketplace of official and third-party extensions plus themes
- Cart and checkout blocks with an extensible, block-based checkout
- REST API, webhooks, hooks and WP-CLI for custom work
- Store data stays in your WordPress database and can be exported
Cons
- Subscriptions, abandoned-cart emails and order bumps need paid extensions
- Yearly per-extension pricing can make a full-featured store costly
- WooPayments (and its built-in multi-currency) is only available in some countries
- Heavier admin and more update testing than lighter store plugins
Key features
What WooCommerce highlights on its WordPress.org page and its own website, split by version.
Free version WordPress.org
- Physical, digital and variable products
- Built-in stock management
- Coupons and discount rules
- Tax rates and automated US tax option
- Shipping zones, flat rate and free shipping
- Product, cart and checkout blocks
- Order management and refunds
- Customer My Account area
- Analytics dashboard and reports
- Free WooPayments, Stripe and PayPal extensions
- Apple Pay and Google Pay via WooPayments
- REST API, webhooks and WP-CLI
- Free iOS and Android store app
Pro / paid adds From $159/yr
- WooCommerce Subscriptions for recurring billing
- AutomateWoo abandoned-cart and follow-up emails
- Bookings and Memberships extensions
- Order bump and upsell extensions
- Licence keys via Software Add-on
- Live carrier rates and label extensions
- Product Bundles and Add-Ons extensions
- Hundreds of vetted Marketplace extensions
Feature checklist
23 of 23 features we track in eCommerce Plugins, feature score 98/100
Products 6/6
Physical products Key
Sell shippable goods with stock and weights.
Core supports shippable products with weight, dimensions and stock.
Included
Digital downloads Key
Sell files with secure, expiring download links.
Downloadable products in core with optional download limits and link expiry.
Included
Product variations Key
Sizes, colours and other variants with their own price and stock.
Variable products with attribute-based variations, each with its own price, SKU and stock.
Included
Subscriptions & recurring payments Key
Sell products or services that renew automatically.
Requires the paid WooCommerce Subscriptions extension ($279/year).
Via add-on
Inventory management
Track stock levels and low-stock alerts.
Core stock tracking per product or variation with low and out-of-stock notifications.
Included
Software licensing
Issue licence keys for software or plugins.
Needs a paid Marketplace extension such as Software Add-on by Kestrel ($179/year).
Via add-on
Checkout & payments 7/7
Stripe & PayPal included Key
Major payment gateways work without paid add-ons.
Free official WooPayments, Stripe and PayPal extensions; installed separately but no extra cost.
Included
Apple Pay & Google Pay
One-tap wallet payments at checkout.
Apple Pay and Google Pay through the free WooPayments (or Stripe) extension.
Included
Checkout customisation
Change checkout fields and layout, or build custom checkout pages.
Block-based checkout layout is editable; advanced field editors are paid extensions.
Included
Coupons & discounts
Discount codes and automatic discounts.
Core coupons with fixed or percentage discounts, usage limits and product restrictions.
Included
Upsells & order bumps
Offer extra products at checkout or after purchase.
Checkout order bumps and upsell funnels need a Marketplace extension such as Order Bump.
Via add-on
Abandoned cart recovery
Email shoppers who leave without paying.
Abandoned-cart reminder emails via the paid AutomateWoo extension ($159/year).
Via add-on
Multi-currency
Show prices and take payments in several currencies.
Core uses one store currency; WooPayments adds 135+ currencies in supported countries.
Via add-on
Tax, shipping & orders 5/5
Tax calculation Key
VAT and sales tax rules or automated tax calculation.
Core tax rates and classes; automated US sales tax via the WooCommerce Tax service.
Included
Shipping rates Key
Zones, flat rates, live carrier rates or labels.
Core shipping zones, flat rate and free shipping; live carrier rates and labels via extensions.
Included
Order management
View, edit, refund and fulfil orders in WordPress.
View, edit, refund and update order status in admin and the mobile app.
Included
Customer accounts
Customer area with orders, downloads and subscriptions.
My Account area with orders, downloads, addresses and saved payment methods.
Included
Sales reports Key
Revenue, product and customer reports.
Built-in analytics for revenue, orders, products, customers and coupons.
Included
Platform 5/5
No platform transaction fees Key
No extra fee on sales beyond the payment processor's.
WooCommerce adds no platform fee; only the payment processor's fees apply.
Included
Store data in WordPress
Products, orders and customers stored in your own database.
Products, orders and customers are stored in your own WordPress database and exportable.
Included
Extension ecosystem
Large library of official and third-party extensions.
Woo Marketplace lists hundreds of free and paid vetted extensions, plus many third-party plugins.
Included
Block editor support
Product, cart and checkout blocks for the block editor.
Product, collection, cart and checkout blocks for the block editor.
Included
REST API & webhooks
API and webhooks for custom integrations.
REST API, webhooks, hooks/filters and a CLI are part of core.
Included
Pricing
Free
$0On WordPress.org
WooCommerce core
Freeper yearUnlimited
Core plugin is free and open source; payment extensions such as WooPayments, Stripe and PayPal are free (processor fees apply).
WooCommerce Subscriptions (extension)
$279per year1 site
Representative paid extension for recurring billing; 2-year plan is discounted 20%. 30-day money-back guarantee.
AutomateWoo (extension)
$159per year1 site
Representative paid extension for abandoned-cart, follow-up and win-back emails.
Software Add-on (extension)
$179per year1 site
Third-party (Kestrel) Marketplace extension for licence keys and an activation API.
Prices are list prices from the vendor's site, checked 14 Oct 2026. Many vendors discount the first year.
How many sites use WooCommerce?
Free installs from WordPress.org, the vendor's own claim, and our estimate of paid installs.
Free version (WordPress.org)
7M+
Active installations reported by WordPress.org.
Vendor claim
4M+
Sites/users claimed on the vendor's website. source
Estimated Pro / paid installs
—
Not enough data to estimate.
Stats & health
Weekly downloads
751,551 downloads last week, 471.3M all time
Rating breakdown
| Version | 11.2.1 |
|---|---|
| Last updated | 9 Oct 2026 (25 days ago) |
| Tested up to | WordPress 7.1.4 |
| Requires | WordPress 7.0+, PHP 7.4+ |
| Support threads (2 months) | 98 of 119 resolved |
| On WordPress.org since | 27 Sep 2011 |
Company & policy
| Founded | 2011 (source, 11 Oct 2026) Plugin launched by WooThemes in 2011; Automattic acquired WooThemes in 2015. |
|---|---|
| Refund policy | 30-day money-back (Marketplace extensions) (source, 11 Oct 2026) Applies to paid extensions bought on WooCommerce.com; the core plugin is free. |
WooCommerce compared
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Paymattic
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61
FAQ
Is WooCommerce free?
Yes. WooCommerce has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $159/yr.
How many sites use WooCommerce?
WordPress.org reports 7M+ active installations of the free version. The vendor claims 4M+ sites in total.
Does WooCommerce have physical products?
Yes: included. Core supports shippable products with weight, dimensions and stock.
Does WooCommerce have digital downloads?
Yes: included. Downloadable products in core with optional download limits and link expiry.
Does WooCommerce have product variations?
Yes: included. Variable products with attribute-based variations, each with its own price, SKU and stock.
Does WooCommerce have subscriptions & recurring payments?
Yes: via add-on. Requires the paid WooCommerce Subscriptions extension ($279/year).
Does WooCommerce have stripe & paypal included?
Yes: included. Free official WooPayments, Stripe and PayPal extensions; installed separately but no extra cost.
Does WooCommerce have tax calculation?
Yes: included. Core tax rates and classes; automated US sales tax via the WooCommerce Tax service.
Does WooCommerce have shipping rates?
Yes: included. Core shipping zones, flat rate and free shipping; live carrier rates and labels via extensions.
Does WooCommerce have sales reports?
Yes: included. Built-in analytics for revenue, orders, products, customers and coupons.
Does WooCommerce have no platform transaction fees?
Yes: included. WooCommerce adds no platform fee; only the payment processor's fees apply.
Is WooCommerce really free?
Yes. The core plugin is free and open source, and the main payment extensions are free too. You pay processor fees, hosting and any paid Marketplace extensions you choose.
Does WooCommerce support subscriptions?
Not in core. Recurring billing needs the paid WooCommerce Subscriptions extension ($279/year) or a third-party alternative.
Can I sell digital downloads with WooCommerce?
Yes. Downloadable products are built in, with optional download limits and expiry dates per product.
Does WooCommerce charge transaction fees?
WooCommerce adds no platform fee. WooPayments, Stripe and PayPal charge their own processing fees.
Can I take Apple Pay and Google Pay?
Yes, through the free WooPayments or Stripe extensions, subject to country availability.
Last updated 11 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit.