WP Simple Pay has been an interesting player in the payment processor plugin space for many years now. While I can admire its longevity, it’s certainly not without some faults:
- Its free version carries one of the highest transaction fees on the market at 3% on top of Stripe’s standard fees.
- The lack of payment gateway options beyond Stripe limits your customers’ payment choices, and being restricted to just Stripe Checkout in the free version means your customers have to leave your site to complete their payment.
- Even basic features like custom amount fields (essential for donations or variable pricing) or the ability to collect taxes require a premium purchase.
But there’s no need for me to preach to the choir here. You’re likely aware of WP Simple Pay’s drawbacks already. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here looking for alternatives. Well, let me not keep you waiting any longer. Below are my five favorite payment processors for WordPress users that I like better than WP Simple Pay – and why.
Five better alternatives to WP Simple Pay 💳
1. WP Full Pay (Best direct alternative to WP Simple Pay)
Author(s): Themeisle
Current Version: 8.2.2
Last Updated: April 22, 2025
84%Ratings 5,000+Installs WP 5.3+Requires
2. Payment Page (Good direct alternative that also includes PayPal)
Author(s): Brandon Ernst
Current Version: 1.4.4
Last Updated: April 21, 2025
100%Ratings 300+Installs WP 5.1+Requires
Check out the 5 #best WP Simple Pay alternatives for #WordPress 💸
3. Forminator (Better for websites who need multi-use forms)
Author(s): WPMU DEV - Your All-in-One WordPress Platform
Current Version: 1.42.2
Last Updated: April 21, 2025
96%Ratings 500,000+Installs WP 6.4+Requires
4. GiveWP (Better for non-profits who need a donation system)
Author(s): GiveWP
Current Version: 4.1.1
Last Updated: April 24, 2025
94%Ratings 100,000+Installs WP 6.5+Requires
5. Stripe Payments by Checkout Plugins (Simpler alternative for WooCommerce users)
Author(s): Brainstorm Force
Current Version: 1.10.1
Last Updated: December 13, 2024
checkout-plugins-stripe-woo.1.10.1.zip
88%Ratings 200,000+Installs WP 5.4+Requires
Final thoughts 💭
WP Simple Pay has been around since 2014. While it’s managed to amass more than 10,000 active installs – which is decent for a plugin of this kind – it falls short in many ways. Probably its biggest drawback is that its free version is significantly limited, and most of its features are only available on the highest paid plan.
I understand hiding features behind a paywall, but typically the distribution is a bit more balanced than WP Simple Pay’s business model. You can see a portion of their plans comparison in the screenshot below:
Need I say more? 🤔
But the good news is that there are other alternatives out there – and better ones at that. To recap, my five favorite ones are:
- WP Full Pay: In my opinion, this is the best overall direct alternative to WP Simple Pay. It’s got a lot of the same features but is much more generous across all versions. Plus the user interface is easier to navigate.
- Payment Page: This one is a close second. It has the big advantage of also including PayPal as a payment gateway (which neither WP Full Pay nor WP Simple Pay do), and it has a nice set of templates to choose from.
- Forminator: A great choice if you want a solution that not only gives you payment forms, but also a variety of other form types (e.g., contact forms, newsletter subscription forms, etc). Plus you can add a payment method to any of the forms.
- GiveWP: The best option for charities and non-profits. It’s a bit pricier than the other plugins, but it’s absolutely worth it if your organization relies on donations. Plus it’s the only one that lets you edit the payment form directly inside the block editor.
- Stripe Payments by Checkout Plugins: If you already use WooCommerce but are just looking to expand your payment options, then this 100% free, open-source plugin is a solid way to do it.
What about you? What are your favorite payment plugins? Were you already familiar with mine before you read this post? Let me know in the comments. I’ll see you there.
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