Choosing a payment gateway for WooCommerce isn’t just picking which logo appears at checkout. The gateway you choose affects checkout conversion rate, fraud liability, PCI DSS compliance scope, and monthly operating costs — sometimes significantly. The original question is usually “which one?”; the better question is “which one for what kind of store?”
This guide covers the gateways that actually matter for UK, US, and EU WooCommerce stores — with real fee numbers, PCI scope explained, and a decision framework at the end.
Stripe — the recommended default for most WooCommerce stores
Stripe is the right starting point for most WooCommerce stores. No monthly fees, transparent pricing, and a single integration that handles cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Link (Stripe’s accelerated checkout for returning customers), and regional European payment methods (SEPA Direct Debit, iDEAL, Bancontact, Przelewy24) — without a separate gateway for each.
Fees: UK: 1.5% + 20p (UK-issued cards), 2.5% + 20p (EEA cards), 3.25% + 20p (non-EEA). US: 2.9% + 30¢ (domestic), add 1.5% for international cards. No setup fees, no monthly fees.
Stripe Radar — ML-based fraud detection built into every Stripe account at no extra charge. Blocks cards based on velocity, IP risk, and patterns shared across the Stripe network. Configurable rules (e.g. “block cards from countries where you don’t ship”) are available on all plans; the advanced rule editor with custom machine learning models requires Radar for Teams (+5¢/transaction).
3D Secure and SCA — Stripe automatically requests 3D Secure authentication where required by EU PSD2 Strong Customer Authentication regulation. When a transaction is authenticated via 3DS and later disputed as unauthorised, liability shifts from you to the issuing bank. For EU-facing stores and high-ticket UK orders, this liability shift is material — see the WooCommerce fraud prevention guide for the full mechanics.
Subscriptions and recurring billing — Stripe’s billing API is what MemberPress, Restrict Content Pro, and Paid Memberships Pro all use under the hood for recurring membership charges. If you’re building a subscription product, Stripe’s subscription management (pause, resume, prorate, retry logic on failed payments) is more capable than any alternative gateway’s recurring billing. For the full membership site setup, see building a membership site with WordPress.
Stripe Chargeback Protection (US only, +0.4% per transaction) — Stripe fights the dispute on your behalf and covers the disputed amount if you lose. Worth calculating against your current dispute rate; it becomes cost-effective when your chargeback rate approaches 0.3%.
WooCommerce integration: The official “Stripe Payment Gateway for WooCommerce” extension (free on WordPress.org) handles the full integration including 3DS, Apple Pay/Google Pay, and saved payment methods.
PayPal — strong brand, understand the checkout UX trade-off
PayPal has strong brand recognition, particularly among older demographics and customers who are uncomfortable entering card details into unfamiliar sites. The trust signal is real, and the “Pay with PayPal” button converts well for that segment.
The friction point: standard PayPal Checkout redirects customers to PayPal.com during the payment step, then returns them to your store. This context switch is a measurable source of drop-off for customers who don’t have an active PayPal session or forget their password at checkout.
WooCommerce PayPal Payments (free official extension) covers three integration modes: Standard (redirect), Advanced (hosted card fields embedded in your checkout — no redirect, accepts cards without a PayPal account), and Pay Later (BNPL, available in US, UK, Germany, Australia).
PayPal Braintree — PayPal’s developer-first gateway, kept separate from the consumer PayPal product. Braintree uses an embedded card form with no redirect, and also surfaces PayPal and Venmo as in-page payment options. At higher transaction volumes (above roughly £40k/month in the UK), Braintree fees become negotiable. The technical integration is more complex than standard PayPal but closer to Stripe in checkout UX quality.
The honest take: most stores on Stripe don’t need PayPal as a primary gateway. But if your analytics show a high proportion of customers abandoning at the card entry step, or if your target audience skews toward demographics that prefer PayPal, adding PayPal as a secondary option via WooCommerce PayPal Payments often pays for the added gateway management overhead.
WooPayments — simplest dashboard, same rates as Stripe
WooPayments is Automattic’s official WooCommerce gateway, powered by Stripe under the hood. Transaction fees are identical to Stripe’s standard rates (1.5% + 20p in the UK, 2.9% + 30¢ in the US). No monthly fees.
The key advantage over a direct Stripe integration: disputes, payments, subscriptions, and reporting all live inside the WooCommerce dashboard. You don’t need a separate Stripe.com login. For store owners who want to manage everything in one place and don’t need Stripe’s advanced configuration options, WooPayments is the path of least friction.
The trade-off: less flexibility. WooPayments doesn’t expose Stripe Radar’s advanced rule editor, Stripe Connect (for marketplace builds), or some of the more granular subscription controls available via direct Stripe integration. Available in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and a growing list of additional markets — check the WooPayments country availability page before assuming it’s available in your target market.
Square — the right choice for POS and online together
Square is the clear choice if your store has both a physical retail presence and a WooCommerce online store. Square POS handles in-person card and contactless payments; the WooCommerce Square plugin syncs inventory bi-directionally between your Square account and WooCommerce, so stock levels stay accurate across channels without manual reconciliation.
Fees: UK online: 1.4% + 25p (UK-issued cards). US online: 2.9% + 30¢. In-person (UK): 1.75% for contactless/chip and PIN. No monthly fees on the free Square plan.
Available in UK, US, Canada, Australia, Japan, Ireland, France, and Spain. If you don’t have a physical retail location, Stripe or WooPayments is a simpler setup without the Square account overhead.
Authorize.Net — for US B2B and high-ticket merchants
Authorize.Net is a US-market gateway used heavily in B2B and high-ticket retail. It requires a separate merchant bank account (unlike Stripe, which acts as a payment facilitator with its own merchant account). Fees: $25/month gateway fee + 10¢ per transaction + your merchant account’s card-present rate (typically 2.2–2.9% for card-not-present transactions).
The $25/month gateway fee means Authorize.Net only makes economic sense above roughly $2,000/month in revenue, where a lower per-transaction rate on a merchant account relationship offsets the fixed monthly cost. Below that threshold, Stripe is cheaper despite its higher percentage rate.
Where Authorize.Net earns its place: the Advanced Fraud Detection Suite (AFDS) is more configurable out of the box than Stripe Radar — IP velocity filters, enhanced transaction filters, and per-transaction manual review queues that integrate with existing B2B workflows. For merchants already running a merchant bank account relationship who need fine-grained fraud controls on large orders, it’s a strong fit. For stores starting from scratch, Stripe’s Radar is sufficient and the simpler setup is worth more than the marginal fraud rule flexibility.
Buy Now Pay Later — Klarna and what it actually does for conversion
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) options — Klarna, Afterpay/Clearpay, and Affirm — typically lift conversion rate on orders above £50–75 and increase average order value for stores in fashion, electronics, furniture, and other higher-ticket non-consumable categories. The mechanics: merchants get paid immediately at full order value; the BNPL provider handles the customer’s installment collection and takes on the collection risk.
Two integration paths for WooCommerce:
- Via Stripe: if you’re already on Stripe, Klarna, Afterpay/Clearpay, and Affirm are available as payment method options in the Stripe Payment Element — no separate plugin. Enable them from your Stripe dashboard under Payment Methods.
- Klarna direct: Klarna’s own WooCommerce extension (free) integrates directly without a Stripe dependency. Available in UK, US, Germany, Netherlands, and most EU markets.
Merchant fees vary by provider and volume — Klarna’s merchant rate is not publicly listed and is negotiated above minimum volume thresholds. Clearpay’s rate is approximately 6% per transaction for standard merchants, which requires measurable AOV uplift to justify. Calculate whether your average order value increase on BNPL-influenced transactions offsets the higher per-transaction cost before committing. For a broader look at checkout conversion, the WooCommerce conversion optimisation guide covers the checkout flow changes that deliver the most consistent lift.
Fee comparison at a glance
| Gateway | Monthly fee | UK online rate | US online rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stripe | None | 1.5% + 20p (UK cards) | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| WooPayments | None | 1.5% + 20p | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| PayPal | None | ~2.3–2.9% + 30p | ~3.49% + $0.49 |
| Square | None | 1.4% + 25p (UK cards) | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| Authorize.Net | $25 | N/A (US market) | 10¢ + merchant rate |
PCI DSS scope — the factor most guides skip
PCI DSS compliance isn’t just a checkbox — which gateway integration method you use determines which Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) you complete, and that affects what security controls you’re required to maintain.
SAQ A (the simplest, ~20 questions): all card data capture handled by the gateway’s hosted form — either a redirect (PayPal Standard) or an embedded iframe/hosted fields setup (Stripe Elements, PayPal Advanced, Authorize.Net Accept.js). Card data never reaches your server. This is where most WooCommerce stores should aim to be.
SAQ A-EP (more questions, more controls): you host your payment page and use JavaScript to capture card data client-side before forwarding it. This applies if you build a fully custom payment form that sits on your domain and touches card data before tokenising it. Most WooCommerce stores using official gateway plugins never reach SAQ A-EP.
SAQ D (the most complex): you store, process, or transmit card data yourself. Don’t do this — there is no reason for a WooCommerce store to store raw card numbers, and doing so creates serious liability exposure under GDPR and PCI DSS simultaneously.
Practical implication: use Stripe Elements, WooPayments, or PayPal’s hosted fields, and you’re in SAQ A territory. Your hosting provider’s SSL certificate, a current PCI attestation, and a completed SAQ A is all that’s required for most WooCommerce stores.
Which gateway to use
- Most WooCommerce stores: Stripe as primary. Consider PayPal as a secondary option if your customer demographics favour it or your analytics show cart abandonment at the card entry step.
- Physical retail + online: Square. The inventory sync with Square POS is the deciding factor.
- Subscription or membership site: Stripe. Its subscription API is what all major membership plugins use internally for recurring billing. See the WordPress membership site guide for plugin-specific payment configuration.
- Simplest WooCommerce dashboard: WooPayments. Same underlying rates and infrastructure as Stripe, all managed from inside WooCommerce admin.
- US B2B / high-ticket with existing merchant account: Authorize.Net. The $25/month gateway fee and advanced fraud rule editor make sense at scale.
- Higher-ticket items (£50+): Add Klarna or Afterpay via Stripe’s payment element. Calculate the fee against expected AOV uplift before activating.
Gateway choice is also one of the cost inputs to the overall build budget — for a full picture of what a WooCommerce store costs to build and operate, the WordPress website cost breakdown covers hosting, plugins, and ongoing maintenance alongside payment processing fees.
If you need help configuring Stripe, WooPayments, or a multi-gateway setup for your store — including subscriptions, 3D Secure, BNPL activation, or fraud configuration — get in touch. Most payment gateway integrations can be completed and tested remotely without disrupting your live checkout.
