Quick answer: For most WooCommerce stores, the best setup is Stripe for card payments plus PayPal as a second option. Stripe keeps customers on your checkout page, supports Apple Pay and Google Pay, handles subscriptions well and has a free official extension. PayPal adds buyers who prefer not to enter card details. Square suits businesses that also sell in person, Authorize.Net fits merchants who already have a merchant account, and Amazon Pay can help stores with many Amazon shoppers. Compare fees in your country, supported currencies, payout times and Strong Customer Authentication support before you choose.
What a payment gateway does
A payment gateway securely passes card or wallet details from your checkout to the payment network, gets approval and sends the money to your account. In WooCommerce, each gateway is added as a plugin, either built in or as an extension.
The gateway affects:
- Fees on every sale
- Checkout experience, including whether customers leave your site to pay
- Which payment methods you can offer
- Payout speed to your bank account
- Support for subscriptions, refunds and saved cards
- Security and compliance responsibilities
Our guide to payment gateway integration explains the technical side in more depth.
Key things to compare
Fees
Most gateways charge a percentage of each transaction plus a fixed fee. In the United States, standard online card rates for Stripe, PayPal and Square have been around 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction, with lower rates in some countries and extra fees for international cards or currency conversion. Always check the current pricing page for your country. Some gateways, such as Authorize.Net, also charge a monthly fee, and you may need a separate merchant account.
On-site or off-site checkout
With an on-site gateway, customers enter payment details on your checkout page, which usually feels smoother. With an off-site gateway, customers are sent to another site to pay and then return. Off-site payment can add friction but some customers trust it more.
Strong Customer Authentication
In Europe, new rules under PSD2 require extra verification for many online card payments, usually through 3D Secure 2. The rules began to apply in September 2019, with regulators allowing extra time for full enforcement. If you sell to European customers, choose a gateway whose WooCommerce extension supports SCA, or some payments will fail.
Subscriptions and saved cards
If you use WooCommerce Subscriptions, check that the gateway supports automatic recurring payments, card updates and payment retries. Our guide to WooCommerce Subscriptions covers this in more detail.
Payouts
Payout times vary from about two business days to a week, depending on the gateway, country and account history. New accounts often have longer holding periods.
The main gateways compared
Stripe
Stripe’s free official extension, WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway, accepts cards directly on your checkout page.
- Strengths: clean on-site checkout, Apple Pay and Google Pay through payment request buttons, strong subscription support, good developer tools, SCA support, a clear dashboard and many supported countries and currencies
- Weaknesses: account holds or closures for high-risk businesses, and support is mostly by email or chat
- Best for: most online stores, especially those selling subscriptions or wanting a smooth mobile checkout
PayPal Checkout
The WooCommerce PayPal Checkout extension adds PayPal buttons that open a PayPal window, so customers can pay with their PayPal balance, bank or saved cards. WooCommerce also includes the older PayPal Standard, which sends customers off to PayPal’s site.
- Strengths: widely recognised, trusted by many buyers, no card details to type for existing PayPal users, express checkout from product and cart pages
- Weaknesses: customers interact with PayPal’s interface, disputes and account holds can be frustrating, fees can be higher for international sales
- Best for: almost every store as a second payment option alongside cards
Square
Square for WooCommerce connects your online store with Square’s point-of-sale system.
- Strengths: inventory and sales sync between your shop counter and your website, simple pricing, on-site card payments
- Weaknesses: available in fewer countries than Stripe or PayPal, fewer advanced features for complex stores
- Best for: businesses with a physical shop, market stall or café that also sell online
Braintree
Braintree, owned by PayPal, is available through the PayPal Powered by Braintree extension.
- Strengths: cards and PayPal handled through one account, on-site checkout, subscription support
- Weaknesses: setup is a bit more involved, and account approval can take longer
- Best for: stores that want cards and PayPal under one provider
Authorize.Net
One of the oldest gateways, used with a separate merchant account. WooCommerce offers an official paid extension.
- Strengths: works with many banks and merchant account providers, familiar to accountants and established businesses, can be suitable for some higher-risk industries through the right merchant account
- Weaknesses: monthly fees, more setup, the extension costs money, and the interface feels dated
- Best for: established businesses that already have a merchant account or negotiated rates
Amazon Pay
Lets customers pay using the details stored in their Amazon account.
- Strengths: quick checkout for Amazon customers, familiar and trusted
- Weaknesses: not every shopper uses it, and it adds another dashboard to manage
- Best for: stores whose customers are heavy Amazon shoppers
Quick comparison
| Gateway | Checkout | Monthly fee | Subscriptions | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stripe | On-site | No | Yes | Most stores |
| PayPal Checkout | Pop-up or off-site | No | Yes | Second option for nearly all |
| Square | On-site | No | Limited | Online plus in-person sales |
| Braintree | On-site | No | Yes | Cards and PayPal together |
| Authorize.Net | On-site | Yes | Yes | Existing merchant accounts |
| Amazon Pay | Pop-up | No | Limited | Amazon-heavy customer base |
Check the details for your country, since features and pricing differ.
Regional and alternative options
Depending on where you sell, local methods may matter more than cards:
- India: gateways such as Razorpay, PayU and CCAvenue support UPI, net banking and wallets
- Europe: iDEAL in the Netherlands, Bancontact in Belgium, SOFORT and giropay in Germany, often available through Stripe or Mollie
- Buy now, pay later: Klarna, Afterpay and similar services have WooCommerce extensions and can suit fashion and higher-value items
If you sell in several currencies, check how each gateway handles conversion. Our guide to WooCommerce multi-currency covers the options.
How many gateways should you offer?
Two or three is usually right. Cards plus PayPal covers most shoppers. Too many options clutter the checkout and make testing harder. Add a regional method if a large share of your customers expect it.
Checkout experience matters as much as fees
A small difference in fees matters less than a checkout that loses sales. To keep checkout smooth:
- Offer guest checkout
- Make card fields simple and mobile friendly. See our guide to mobile checkout.
- Show accepted payment methods early
- Use express buttons such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal for returning buyers
- Give clear error messages when a card is declined
Our article on cart abandonment covers other reasons customers leave at checkout.
Security and PCI compliance
On-site gateways like Stripe use hosted fields or tokenisation, so card numbers go straight to the gateway and never touch your server. This keeps your PCI compliance burden low. You still need HTTPS, up-to-date plugins and strong admin security. Never store card numbers yourself.
FAQ
Which WooCommerce payment gateway has the lowest fees?
It depends on your country, sales volume and customer mix. For small stores, Stripe, PayPal and Square are usually similar. High-volume stores may get lower rates through a merchant account or by negotiating.
Can I use Stripe and PayPal together?
Yes. Many stores offer both, and WooCommerce lets customers choose at checkout.
Do I need SSL for payment gateways?
Yes. HTTPS is required for on-site card payments and expected by customers on any checkout.
What happens if my gateway account is frozen?
Payments stop until the issue is resolved. Having a second gateway set up gives you a fallback.
Pick for your customers first
The right gateway is the one your customers trust and find easy, at fees that make sense for your margins. For most stores that means Stripe plus PayPal, with regional options where needed. If you want a WooCommerce store with a checkout built to convert, see our Turn visitors into customers service.
