WooPayments vs. Stripe for WooCommerce: Fees, Payouts and Features

On this page 8 sections

1. WooPayments vs. Stripe: How the Two Plugins Are Related
2. WooPayments Fees vs. Stripe for WooCommerce Fees
3. WooPayments Payout Schedule, Stripe Payouts and Account Holds
4. Dispute Handling and Chargeback Fees in Each Plugin
5. Subscriptions, Saved Cards and In-Person Support
6. Switching Plugins Without Losing Saved Customer Cards
7. When a Merchant Account With a Separate Gateway Beats Both
8. How to Decide Between WooPayments and Stripe

Key takeaways

• WooPayments and the Stripe plugin share similar processing technology but differ in account ownership, dashboards and portability.
• Both use flat-rate pricing with extra charges for international cards and currency conversion, so confirm current rates on each provider's pricing page.
• Both approve you quickly and review your risk later, so payout holds and reserves can appear after you're live. Plan your cash flow for that.
• Switching plugins later can strand saved customer cards, so choose based on where your store will be in two years, not just today.

Most WooCommerce store owners pick a card plugin in their first week, connect it and forget about it until something goes wrong. A payout is delayed, a chargeback fee appears, or a subscription customer's card won't carry over. Weigh WooPayments vs. Stripe before you build recurring billing, saved cards and in-person sales around one of them. This guide covers fees, payout timing, account holds, disputes, subscriptions, in-person payments and what happens if you switch later.

The guide doesn't quote specific rates because both providers update their pricing. Use it as a checklist of questions to answer on each provider's current pricing and documentation pages.

WooPayments vs. Stripe: How the Two Plugins Are Related

Both are free plugins you install from the WordPress plugin directory. Both let customers pay by card at checkout without leaving your store. WooPayments is WooCommerce's own payments product, and its card processing runs on Stripe's infrastructure. That shared foundation is why the checkout experience and many features look alike.

Where WooCommerce Payments and the Stripe Plugin Differ

The real differences are ownership and control:

• WooPayments is built and supported by the WooCommerce team. You sign up through WooCommerce and manage payments, deposits and disputes inside your WordPress dashboard. The account is tied to that store.
• The Stripe plugin (often listed as "WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway") connects a Stripe account that you open and control directly. You manage most payment activity in Stripe's own dashboard, and you can use the same Stripe account for other sites, invoicing or other Stripe products.

Both setups involve agreements with Stripe. Read each provider's terms of service at signup to see exactly which parties you're contracting with. Account terms and supported countries also change, so confirm current details in each provider's documentation before you decide.

WooPayments Fees vs. Stripe for WooCommerce Fees

Both plugins use flat-rate pricing: a percentage of each sale plus a fixed per-transaction fee. On top of that base rate, expect separate charges in a few situations:

• International cards. Cards issued outside your country usually cost more to process.
• Currency conversion. If you price in multiple currencies or pay out in a different currency than you charge, a conversion fee typically applies.
• Optional features. Instant deposits, certain fraud tools and some alternative payment methods can carry their own fees.

WooPayments fees and Stripe for WooCommerce fees on standard U.S. card transactions have historically been similar. The bigger cost differences usually come from your sales mix:

• How many international buyers you have
• Whether you sell in multiple currencies
• Your average order size
• Whether your volume qualifies you for custom pricing

Stripe advertises custom pricing for larger businesses, which can include interchange-plus arrangements. If your volume is growing, ask about it.

Why the Fixed Per-Transaction Fee Matters

The fixed fee matters more than most owners expect. The illustrative example below uses a hypothetical fixed fee of $0.25. It was chosen for easy math and is not taken from either provider's price list.

Those figures come before the percentage fee is added. Stores selling low-priced accessories or digital downloads feel flat-rate pricing much more than stores selling furniture or equipment.

If you're starting to question whether a flat-rate plugin is still the right model, our guide to payment gateways vs. merchant accounts for online stores explains how the alternatives fit together.

WooPayments Payout Schedule, Stripe Payouts and Account Holds

Payout timing affects cash flow as much as rates do, especially if you buy inventory ahead of busy seasons.

WooPayments payout schedule. WooPayments deposits funds automatically to your bank account. You can typically choose a daily, weekly or monthly deposit schedule. New accounts usually wait longer for the first deposit while the account is established. Eligible merchants can request instant deposits for a fee.

Stripe payouts. Stripe also pays out on an automatic schedule you can adjust, with an initial delay for new accounts. In supported regions, Instant Payouts to an eligible debit card or bank account are available for a fee.

Exact timing depends on your country, account history and risk profile. Check the current schedule in each dashboard rather than relying on a number you read elsewhere.

Account-Hold Risk Applies to Both

Both plugins use an aggregator model. You're approved quickly, often in minutes, and the provider reviews your risk more closely as transactions come in. That's convenient at launch. It also means a sudden jump in volume, a run of refunds or disputes, or a product the provider doesn't support can trigger any of the following after you're already selling:

• Delayed payouts
• A reserve on your funds
• An account review
• Account closure

These risks aren't unique to either plugin. They're how payment facilitation works. To reduce them:

• Read each provider's prohibited and restricted business lists before launch.
• Give advance notice if you expect a large sale, a preorder campaign or a seasonal spike.
• Keep product descriptions, shipping times and refund policies clear on your site.
• Respond quickly to any verification requests.

If you've hit a hold before, our article on why Shopify Payments payouts go on hold walks through the same aggregator dynamics and how merchants resolve them.

Dispute Handling and Chargeback Fees in Each Plugin

Both providers charge a fee when a customer disputes a charge. The difference is where you respond:

• WooPayments lets you view disputes, upload evidence and respond from inside WooCommerce, with the relevant order details next to the dispute.
• The Stripe plugin sends disputes to your Stripe dashboard, where you submit evidence through Stripe's tools. Order data still lives in WooCommerce, so you'll pull details from both places.

Before choosing, confirm three things with each provider:

1. The current dispute fee
2. Whether the fee is returned if you win
3. Whether any extra fees apply when you submit a response

Policies on these points have changed over time, so check the current terms.

With either plugin, these habits do the most to prevent disputes:

• Use a recognizable billing descriptor.
• Send shipping confirmations with tracking.
• Make refunds easy to request.
• Keep clear records of customer communication.

Subscriptions, Saved Cards and In-Person Support

Subscriptions and Saved Cards

Both plugins can save customer cards for faster repeat checkout, and both work with the WooCommerce Subscriptions extension for recurring billing. WooPayments has also offered some built-in subscription functionality. Check whether it covers your needs, such as trials, prorations and plan switching, or whether you still need the full extension.

For recurring revenue, look at how each plugin handles:

• Failed payments and retries. How many attempts, and on what schedule?
• Card updates. Can the card be refreshed automatically when it's reissued?
• Customer self-service. Can subscribers update their payment method without contacting you?

These details affect churn more than the processing rate does. Our guide to subscription payment processing and failed payments covers retry logic and dunning in more depth. If you bill on a recurring basis, also review our map of automatic renewal laws by state and confirm your obligations with a qualified professional.

In-Person Payments

If you sell at markets, pop-ups or a physical shop, in-person support matters:

• WooPayments connects to WooCommerce's mobile app for in-person payments in supported countries. It supports compatible card readers and, on some devices, tap-to-pay on the phone itself. In-person sales sync with WooCommerce orders and inventory.
• Stripe offers in-person hardware through Stripe Terminal. Confirm whether your plugin version and the WooCommerce app connect those payments to WooCommerce orders the way you need, or whether you'd be reconciling two systems.

If in-person sales are a big part of your business, a full POS that syncs with WooCommerce may serve you better than an app-based reader, especially if you need staff permissions, tipping or detailed inventory.

Switching Plugins Without Losing Saved Customer Cards

Many owners learn this the hard way: saved cards aren't stored in WooCommerce. They're stored as tokens in the processor account that created them. A WooPayments account and a Stripe account you opened directly are separate accounts, so switching plugins doesn't automatically carry tokens over.

What this means in practice:

• Moving between WooPayments and the Stripe plugin usually requires a payment data migration handled through support. Ask both sides about the current process before you switch, and expect it to take time.
• Moving to a different processor entirely means requesting a card data export to the new processor. Stripe has a process for transferring card data to another PCI-compliant processor on request. Confirm current requirements and timelines with Stripe and your new provider.
• If you skip migration, subscription customers will need to re-enter their cards. Expect some of them to cancel instead.

Before switching, count your active subscriptions and saved cards, and test the migration on a staging site. Keep the old plugin installed but inactive at checkout until you've confirmed renewals work on the new one.

When a Merchant Account With a Separate Gateway Beats Both

WooPayments and the Stripe plugin are strong choices for new and small stores that want to launch fast with minimal paperwork. A dedicated merchant account paired with a gateway can be a better fit in these situations:

• Your volume has grown. Once you process consistent monthly volume, interchange-plus pricing can be more transparent than a flat rate. Compare the two, especially if your average ticket is large or you sell B2B.
• You want stability up front. A merchant account is underwritten before you start processing. That means more paperwork at the beginning, but your terms are defined from day one.
• You want to manage processing costs. Programs like cash discount, dual pricing or surcharging where it's permitted aren't typically available through flat-rate plugins. Card network rules and state laws govern how these programs are disclosed and used, so confirm compliance with a qualified professional.
• You sell online and in person. Using one processor for your website and a countertop or mobile POS system can simplify reconciliation.
• Your products are restricted. If you sell something either provider prohibits, look for a processor that openly underwrites your category. MannyPay offers high-risk merchant accounts for regulated businesses. Disclose exactly what you sell. Miscoding or masking products to get approved puts your account and your business at risk.

MannyPay supports WooCommerce payment integration and gateways including Authorize.net and NMI. Merchants can also ask about zero cost processing programs, which help eligible businesses offset most or all card-processing fees. Results depend on your business and how the program is set up. For a broader look at setting up online payments, see our e-commerce payment processing guide.

How to Decide Between WooPayments and Stripe

• Choose WooPayments if you want everything in your WordPress dashboard, plan to use WooCommerce's mobile app for occasional in-person sales, and don't need your payment account outside this store.
• Choose the Stripe plugin if you want a payment account you control directly, may use Stripe for other channels or sites, or expect to ask about custom pricing as you grow.
• Consider a merchant account and gateway if your volume, ticket size, product category or in-person sales have outgrown flat-rate pricing.

If you're weighing that third option, request a free processing quote and compare it against your current statements before you commit.

ME

About the author

MannyPay Editorial Team

Beyond the Swipe's editorial desk researches the publication's guides and news and cites its sources in every article. Articles reviewed by a named MannyPay editor carry that editor's byline.

This article is for general educational purposes and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Card network rules and state laws change; confirm current requirements for your business.