If you run an e-commerce shop on WordPress, having the best WordPress payment plugin is not an option or luxury, it's a necessity.
As an online merchant, your customers deserve simple, secure, state-of-the-art payment form solutions to make their shopping cart experience a memorable one.
But looking at the numbers of available WordPress payments plugins today, it could be overwhelming going through each plugin to know which is the best online payment processing services?
That's why I created this page to walk you through some of the best-known WordPress payment form options so you can make informed decisions based on your business needs.
The plugins I discussed on this page either use the Stripe or PayPal payments gateway or both. Depending on your customer's location and your country of operations, one payment gateway service might be better than the other for your business.
But first, let's see why you'd need a payment processor plugin on your WordPress blog.
Why do You Need a Payment Processor on Your Blog?
Every online business has one common goal, to generate revenue. That is the primary objective of most business owners.
To effectively carry out your operation and collect money from your customers, you need a way to process the payment on your website. Without this, running the business could be a futile exercise.
Your customers will request to make payment in different options; Credit card payment, Bank transfers, USSD code, barcode, Bitcoin, etc. The best payment gateway you take will depend on a lot of factors.
However, processing payment is just one part of your task, making sure customers' sensitive information is secured, safe, and encrypted is of greater importance. Your customers need to be sure that their payment data are not exposed to an unauthorized institution or individual.
Therefore, you need a secure payment gateway with a state-of-the-art security system. A payment processor that can be trusted with user's information.
What Should You Look for in a WordPress Payment Plugin?
Aside from the monetary side of running an online e-commerce shop, you're also dealing with sensitive information. So, it became necessary that you take your time to carefully look through your options.
You wouldn't want a payment method that makes it harder for your customers to complete the payment process on your website? You will be losing money in the process and getting lots of cart abandonment.
At the same time, you want to provide a seamless and secure users experience for your customers. Therefore, here are some of the things you should look out for in any WordPress payment plugin.
#1. Security
The number one feature to look out for in any payment processing tool is the security features. With lots of cyber security breaches existing today, you need to be certain of the security measures protection used by the payments gateway.
#2. Tracking
Payment tracking is important in the event of a dispute or for an in-house audit. A good payment tool will provide an easy-to-use payment tracking feature.
This is one of the features of the payment solution plugin you shouldn't overlook.
#3. Multiple Gateway Option
A good payment system will provide multiple gateway options for customers to choose from.
Look for a WordPress payment plugin that gives customers access to make their choice such as accept credit card payments, online bank transfer, USSD, Pos, PayPal, Google Pay, etc.
#4. Refund Policy
When customers request refunds, you want a payment platform that makes the process easy and without the high cost.
#5. Ease of Use
Not everyone running an online business is a tech guru, your payment system of choice should be easy to set up, use, and manage.
#6. Set up Process
This is an addition to the above point.
The setup process should be easy to follow through and requires no complicated configuration process. At the barest minimum, there should be a walkthrough documentation guide to help users navigate the process without hiccups.
#7. Support
This is important and one you should not overlook even if you're a tech guru that knows it all.
Your payment gateway providers should be on the ground to provide support when the need arises. There should be the availability of multiple support channels to answer your query and provide timely solutions.
Stripe or PayPal Payment Gateway?
For an eCommerce shop that does business internationally, you need a payment system that allows you to process payment globally.
PayPal and Stripe are the two most widely used payment gateways today.
But don't just assume that one is the best option for your business, both have their pros and cons. Here is what the data says about PayPal and Stripe.
PayPal is used in more countries than Stripe, over 200 countries used and accept PayPal payment. But PayPal processes fewer currencies than Stripe. PayPal only supports payment from 25 currencies of the world.
On the other hand, Stripe is used in over 47 countries and supports over 135 currencies of the world. This allows you to charge a customer in his or her native currency while you receive it in your own country's currency.
So, before you make the decision, it's important you analyze your audience database and know which option works best for your business.
This is not hard to figure out.
Log in to your Google Analytics account and click on; User ===>> Demographics Overview. You will see the countries your site users are coming from.
Depending on your business target market, if the currency is what matters to you, Stripe might be a better option. But if your customers are residing all over the world, it makes sense to go for PayPal.
Now that we've walked through the knowledge of choosing the best WordPress Payment plugin, let's dive in to see what's on the list.
5 Best WordPress Payment Plugins in 2022
#1. WPForms
The most beginner-friendly WordPress drag and drop form builder on the list. WPForms allows you to create any type of online form in minutes without knowing a thing about coding.
Whatever your contact form needs, you can do it with WPForms. You can create any type of online form including booking, registration, payments, accidentals, poll, survey, etc. But the payment features are only available in the Pro and Elite plan.
So, if you want the payment features in the WPForm you need to purchase the Pro or Elite plan.
The plugin comes with hundreds of in-built form templates to make form creation easier even for a newbie.
For a WordPress e-commerce site and small business owners, this is one of the suitable WordPress payment plugins that are worth the investment.
WPForms supports multiple payment gateways options including PayPal, Stripe, Square, and Authorize.net.
Authorize.NET payment add-on is only available in the WPForms Elite plan. PayPal, Square, and Stripe payment features are available in both Pro and the Elite WPForm plan.
There are plenty of add-ons to make WPForm completely your own. The available add-on depends on your license.
WPForm key Features
- Instant payment notification.
- PayPal payment integration.
- Stripe payment integration.
- Square payment.
- Authorised.net.
- Smart conditional logic.
- Save and Resume functionality.
- Online signature.
- Engage cart abandonment users.
- User registration.
- 100% mobile responsive.
- Hundreds of templates...And more.
There is a free version of WPForm for simple contact form needs. The payment features are only available in the Pro and Elite plan that cost $299 and $399, respectively.
For more details on how to use WPForm for your business growth, read the extensive review here.
WPForm Pricing
All the WPForms pricing below comes at a 50% discount offer. But your license will be renewed at a regular price next year.
#2. Ninja Form
Ninja Form is another popular WordPress contact form builder on the market today. However, unlike WPForm, Ninja form is not beginners friendly as such.
The user interface required time to get used to it and a bit of workaround knowledge.
Ninja Form integrates with the following payment gateways Elavon, PayPal Express, Stripe, and Authrize.net. Also, it works seemly with Recurly if you run a monthly subscription business model that needs users to make recurring billing.
This is a helpful feature for membership sites and businesses that work on recurring payment systems.
The PayPal Express add-on is available in the Ninja Form Agency, Professional, and Personal plan when you purchase the full membership license.
While Authrize.net add-on is only available in the Ninja Form Agency plan. You will have to purchase it at a 40% and 20% discount on professional and personal plans, respectively.
The core Ninja Form plugin offers basic web form features compared to what's available in the core WPForm basic plugin.
If you want more from the Ninja form other than a simple contact form, you need to purchase the feature as a separate add-on or subscribe to a membership plan which gives you access to all available Ninja form premium features.
Ninja Form key features
- Multiple payment gateways.
- Developer friendly.
- Smart conditional logic.
- Shareable public link.
- Save and progress.
- CRM integration.
- Form usage Analytics.
- Support over 16 languages.
Ninja Form pricing
- À La Carte - $29 - $129
- Personal - $49.50
- Professional - $99.50
- Agency - $249.50
#3. Gravity Form
Gravity form is WCAG AA 2.1 compliance which is the recommended conformance for most web-based content.
This means your web-based WordPress forms are accessible to physically challenged people. People living with one form of disability issue or another.
For an e-commerce shop that sells to the international community, processes payment from several currencies, Gravity form is an ideal option.
It integrates with more payment gateways than many of its competitors. Gravity Form works seamlessly with PayPal, Mollie, Authorize.net, 2checkout, Stripe, and Square.
These options make it a perfect WordPress payment plugin for many businesses. It is a powerful drag and drops form builder that is feature-rich, secured, and easy to use.
Gravity form key features
- WACG 2.1 AA compliance.
- Export and import your form data.
- Multi-column layout.
- Mobile responsive.
- Form pagination - break longer form into several pages.
- GDPR compliance.
- Google reCAPTCHA v2 and v3 to protect against spam entries.
- And more.
Gravity form pricing
#4. Stripe Payment
The Stripe payment plugin offers a simple intuitive way to process credit or debit card payments on your website.
This is a free WordPress plugin that offers a simple and secure Stripe payment gateway. If you're an NGO, humanitarian organization, this plugin makes a perfect choice.
The plugin provides a shortcode to make the Stripe buy now button on your website for accepting online payments.
As a free WordPress payment plugin, you should expect limited payment features and add-ons.
Stripe Payment key Features
- Simple setup process.
- Managed payment orders inside the WordPress admin dashboard.
- Add shipping and tax details.
- Simple payment button.
Stripe Payment pricing
Free
#5. PayPal Plus
Another free WordPress payment plugin is on the list.
PayPal plus offers a simple and straightforward setup process to add the PayPal payment gateway to your WooCommerce store.
You can process payment via multiple ways, credit card, PayPal Express checkout, debit card, and payment upon invoice.
The express checkout allows you to add the payment to your PayPal account directly.
As you will expect from a free plugin, it comes with limited features and functionalities. But an exceptionally good and reliable option if all you need is just to process PayPal payment on your WooCommerce website.
PayPal plus key Features.
- PCI protection.
- PayPal vendor protection.
- Process payment in four ways.
- No hidden charges.
- PayPal Express checkout option.
PayPal plus Pricing
Free.
Conclusion...
If your business needs robust, advanced security, multiple gateways WordPress payment plugin, the list above is enough to give you the answer.
Though it might still be hard to make the choice, that's why I suggest you give one of the first three options a try.
WPForm, Ninja form, and Gravity form are premium WordPress plugins that offer more than basic web form features.
The free version offers basic contact form needs, if you want the payment functionality, you need to purchase one of the premium licenses.
Whatever your web-based contact form needs, one of these three options will make a perfect choice.
