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5 Best Payment Plugins for PayPal Alternatives in 2026 (Free & Paid)

5 Best Payment Plugins for PayPal Alternatives in 2026 (Free & Paid)

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The strongest Payment Plugins for PayPal alternative for most stores is WooCommerce Stripe, WooCommerce’s official Stripe gateway with broad card and wallet support and reliable maintenance. For PayPal specifically, WooCommerce PayPal Payments is the official option, while WooPayments keeps payments inside the WooCommerce dashboard. We ranked these from our index of 55,000+ WordPress plugins.

Plugin WPS Score Active installs Price Best for
WooCommerce Stripe 7.28 700k+ Free Overall card payments
WooCommerce PayPal Payments 7.25 800k+ Free Official PayPal
WooPayments 7.23 900k+ Free All-in-one WooCommerce
Payment Plugins for Stripe 6.81 100k+ Free Feature-rich Stripe
Mollie Payments for WooCommerce 6.66 100k+ Free European payment methods

Why people switch from Payment Plugins for PayPal

WooCommerce Stripe – Overall card payments

WooCommerce Stripe is the official Stripe integration, supporting cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and many local methods. Against Payment Plugins for PayPal, it covers card processing that PayPal-focused plugins do not, with first-party maintenance. What it does not do: it processes Stripe only, so offering PayPal as well means adding a second plugin, and Stripe’s transaction fees still apply.

Choose WooCommerce Stripe if you want the official Stripe gateway for cards and wallets.

WooCommerce PayPal Payments – Official PayPal

WooCommerce PayPal Payments is the official PayPal plugin from WooCommerce, supporting PayPal, Pay Later, and card processing through PayPal. Against Payment Plugins for PayPal, it is first-party and maintained alongside WooCommerce core. What it does not do: some merchants find its checkout flow and settings less flexible than third-party PayPal plugins, and support can be slow.

Choose WooCommerce PayPal Payments if you want the official first-party PayPal integration.

WooPayments – All-in-one WooCommerce

WooPayments, built by Woo itself, lets you accept cards and manage payouts, refunds, and disputes directly in the WooCommerce dashboard. Against Payment Plugins for PayPal, it keeps the entire payment workflow inside your store admin. What it does not do: it is only available in supported countries and is powered by Stripe behind the scenes, so availability is more restricted than standalone gateways.

Choose WooPayments if you want to manage payments and payouts inside WooCommerce.

Payment Plugins for Stripe – Feature-rich Stripe

Payment Plugins for Stripe, from the same developer as the subject plugin, adds Stripe support with express checkouts, wallets, and local payment methods. Against Payment Plugins for PayPal, it brings the same developer’s polish to card and wallet payments. What it does not do: as with any Stripe plugin, it covers Stripe methods only, so PayPal needs a separate integration.

Choose Payment Plugins for Stripe if you want a feature-rich Stripe gateway from a familiar developer.

Mollie Payments for WooCommerce – European payment methods

Mollie Payments for WooCommerce connects your store to Mollie, which supports European methods like iDEAL, Bancontact, SEPA, and credit cards. Against Payment Plugins for PayPal, it is the stronger choice for European local payments. What it does not do: Mollie’s method coverage is centred on Europe, so it is less useful for stores selling mainly outside that region.

Choose Mollie Payments for WooCommerce if you sell in Europe and need local methods like iDEAL and SEPA.

When to stay on Payment Plugins for PayPal

Stay on Payment Plugins for PayPal if it already handles your PayPal payments smoothly and you like its express checkout and developer support. It is well built and actively maintained, and if PayPal is your main method and everything works, switching gateways means reconfiguring payments and re-testing checkout for little gain. Change only if you need card processing or methods it does not cover.

How we ranked these

Every plugin here is scored by the WPS Score, a single 0 to 10 rating built from 21 signals covering maintenance, support responsiveness, compatibility, performance, and ratings quality across our index of 55,000+ plugins. Rankings are derived from that data, not editorial preference, and no plugin author can pay to change a score. How the WPS Score works.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free alternative to Payment Plugins for PayPal?

For card payments, the official WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway is the strongest free option, while WooCommerce PayPal Payments is the official free choice if you want to stay with PayPal. Both are maintained alongside WooCommerce itself.

Can I offer both PayPal and Stripe in WooCommerce?

Yes. Most stores run two gateways together, such as WooCommerce PayPal Payments for PayPal and WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway for cards. WooCommerce shows each enabled method at checkout, so customers can pick their preferred option.

Is WooPayments better than a standalone gateway?

WooPayments keeps payments, payouts, and disputes inside the WooCommerce dashboard, which is convenient, but it is only available in supported countries and runs on Stripe underneath. Standalone gateways like the Stripe or PayPal plugins work in more regions and give you a direct account with the processor.

The verdict

For most stores the best replacement is WooCommerce Stripe for reliable card processing, with WooCommerce PayPal Payments the official PayPal route and WooPayments the all-in-one dashboard option. If Payment Plugins for PayPal already handles your checkout well, staying on Payment Plugins for PayPal is a valid choice.

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Sep 22, 2026

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