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/ Recurring PayPal Donations

Recurring PayPal Donations

By wpecommerce

Payments & Financial / Donation & Fundraising

Reviewed by Omar Dabbas

Trusted WordPress expert with 20+ years of experience evaluating plugins for the WP ecosystem.

Recurring PayPal Donations Review - In-Depth Analysis

Easily accept recurring donations via PayPal on your WordPress site. Create donation buttons and widgets with simple shortcodes. Users can choose subscription amounts or make one-time donations.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.87/10

User Rating

3.4/5 (based on 10+ reviews)

Active Installations

800+

Update Frequency

Below Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

5 / 10 (Medium Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

The Recurring Donations plugin allows you to accept recurring donations via PayPal from your website.

It has a user-friendly and simple shortcode that lets you place a donate button anywhere on your WordPress site. You can add the subscription donation widget to your sidebar, posts, pages etc.

The recurring donations widget this plugin creates is nice looking and user-friendly.

Your users will be able to select a subscription or recurring donation amount and pay you monthly.

This plugin allows you to accept one time donations also. So if some users prefer to pay a one-off donation, they can click on the 'Donate Once' tab and make a one-time donation payment.

Quick installation and setup is provided. Easily take recurring donations via PayPal and accept ongoing subscription donations on your site.

The ultimate plugin to create PayPal recurring donations buttons, allowing you to create them on the fly and embed them anywhere on your site using a shortcode.

Ability to add multiple recurring donation widgets on your site for different causes, accepting subscription donations for various purposes.

Allow your users to specify a donation amount that they wish to pay. Accept recurring payments in any PayPal supported currency.

Send your users to a custom thank you page after the payment, and also to a custom cancel return page from PayPal.

The setup is very simple and easy. Once you have installed the plugin, all you need to do is enter your PayPal Email address in the plugin settings and your site will be ready to accept recurring donations from users.

For detailed instructions, please check the documentation page.

Comparing to Alternatives

Recurring PayPal Donations offers a straightforward solution for recurring donations via PayPal, but there are several other plugins that provide similar or enhanced functionalities.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Simple and easy to use interface
Supports both one-time and recurring donations
No need for a pro version to access core features
Allows customization through shortcode editing
Positive user feedback on basic functionality

Weaknesses

Limited currency support, primarily USD
Requires Business or Premier PayPal accounts for recurring payments
Recurring payments depend on PayPal's Enhanced Recurring Payments add-on which costs extra
Interface lacks clarity on currency and payment terms

User Sentiment Analysis

User reviews show a mixed sentiment with half of the ratings being 5 stars, but a significant 40% of ratings are 1 or 2 stars, indicating notable dissatisfaction among some users.

Positive highlights

'Super easy to use and does exactly what it promises.' — astaara
'Great, still functional plugin that worked well out of the box.' — copyjosh
'No trouble with this plugin, it is working fine.' — barrygen
'Does what it says but can be a bit better.' — yurone

Common complaints

Only supports payments in USD and lacks other major currencies
Recurring payments require costly PayPal Enhanced Recurring Payments add-on
Limited customization options with fixed parameters
Users experience issues returning to site after PayPal donation

Weaknesses

Medium security risk with two stored XSS vulnerabilities fixed in recent updates
Requires technical knowledge to modify shortcode for customization
Lacks clear information about PayPal account requirements and currency support

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Small to medium non-profits or individuals needing a simple, no-cost plugin for accepting recurring PayPal donations who have Business or Premier PayPal accounts.

Not ideal for

Users seeking multi-currency support, advanced customization without coding, or those unwilling to pay for PayPal's Enhanced Recurring Payments add-on should consider other options.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version includes core functionality for accepting one-time and recurring PayPal donations without additional cost.

Final Verdict

Recurring PayPal Donations is a functional and straightforward plugin that meets basic needs for recurring donations via PayPal, especially for users with the required PayPal account types. However, it has limitations in currency support, customization, and requires users to handle some technical aspects themselves. The plugin has addressed past security vulnerabilities but still carries a moderate risk score.

Given the availability of several alternatives with broader features and better currency support, users should carefully consider their specific needs and PayPal account capabilities before choosing this plugin. It remains a viable option for those prioritizing simplicity and cost-free solutions within its constraints.