What if your website could collect payments automatically—month after month—without you lifting a finger?

If you’re running an online store, course, or membership site, you already know how stressful it can be to chase invoices, send payment reminders, or lose customers because of failed renewals. Recurring payments solve that — but only if you choose the right WordPress plugin.

In this guide, you’ll discover the 10 best WordPress recurring payments plugins that make subscription billing effortless, secure, and profitable. Whether you sell digital products, offer memberships, or manage donations, these plugins will help you save time, reduce churn, and grow consistent revenue.

We’ve done the research, tested the top options, and ranked them based on performance, features, and real-world usability — with StoreEngine taking the #1 spot for its all-in-one simplicity and powerful subscription features.

Let’s find the perfect recurring payments plugin that fits your business — and finally make your income predictable.

Quick summary for WordPress Recurring Payments Plugins (spoiler)

• StoreEngine—best overall, native subscriptions and memberships, great for course creators and SaaS. 
• WooCommerce Subscriptions—best for stores that already use WooCommerce. 
• MemberPress—the best full-featured membership and subscription management. 
• Paid Memberships Pro (PMPro) is the best flexible, developer-friendly membership platform. 
• Easy Digital Downloads (Recurring Payments)—best for digital products & licenses. 
• WP Simple Pay—the best Stripe-first simple subscription forms. 
• YITH WooCommerce Subscription is an alternative WooCommerce subscription plugin with coupon & trial features. 
• Paid Member Subscriptions—lightweight membership + recurring payments plugin (good for smaller sites). 
• GiveWP (Recurring Donations add-on)—best for nonprofits and recurring donor management. 
• Restrict Content Pro—a great value membership plugin with subscription management

Why these plugins made the list?

I evaluated each option on: recurring-billing features (trial, proration, upgrade/downgrade), payment gateway support, ease of setup, dunning/failure handling, reporting, integrations (LMS, CRM, email), performance, and pricing/value. 

WordPress Recurring Payments Plugin Comparison (At a Glance)

In-depth: The 10 best recurring payments plugins

1) StoreEngine—Best overall (native subscriptions + membership)

Why pick it: StoreEngine is an all-in-one WordPress eCommerce solution with built-in subscriptions, memberships, invoicing, and integrations (Stripe, PayPal, Paddle, and Razorpay)—designed to handle course sales, SaaS-like plans, and recurring billing without dozens of add-ons. It’s especially handy if you run courses (Academy LMS) or want a lightweight alternative to WooCommerce with first-class native subscription features. 

Key features:

• Native subscriptions and membership management (plans, trials, sign-up fees)
• Proration, upgrade/downgrade flows
• Built-in checkout, invoices, customer portal and order management
• Stripe & PayPal support and webhook handling
• LMS integration (Academy LMS) and affiliate support

Pros:

• All-in-one solution—avoids heavy multi-plugin stacks
• Lightweight and optimized for subscriptions + courses
• Modern UI and faster setup for recurring flows

Cons:

• Smaller third-party ecosystem compared with legacy players
• Some niche integrations may require add-ons or custom work

Best for:

• Course creators, small SaaS projects, membership sites and stores that want native subscription features without assembling many plugins.

Pricing:

• For current pricing and plans, check the official StoreEngine website.

2) WooCommerce Subscriptions—Best if you use WooCommerce

Why pick it: If your store runs on WooCommerce and you want robust subscription products (physical/digital), this is the industry standard. Supports trials, sign-up fees, synchronized payments, and integrates with the whole WooCommerce ecosystem. 

Key features: 

• Subscription product types for physical & digital goods
• Flexible billing schedules, trials, sign-up fees and synchronized renewals
• Wide payment gateway compatibility via WooCommerce ecosystem
• Integrates with shipping, taxes, and reporting extensions

Pros:

• Extremely flexible and extensible via WooCommerce add-ons
• Handles complex subscription models (boxes, shipments, mixed carts)

Cons:

Requires more extensions for advanced features — can grow heavy

Potentially higher total cost and maintenance overhead

Best for:

• Existing WooCommerce stores needing robust, enterprise-ready subscription capabilities.

Pricing:

• For current pricing, visit the official WooCommerce Subscriptions page.

3) MemberPress—Full-featured membership + subscription management

Why pick it: MemberPress focuses on memberships with strong access control, subscription billing, and integrations for courses, email tools and more. It’s polished and widely used for membership businesses. 

Key features

• Advanced content restriction and access rules
• Recurring billing, coupons, trial and renewal handling
• Integrations with LMS, email marketing and affiliate tools
• Membership reports and member management dashboard

Pros

• Polished membership workflows and support
• Strong access control for tiered content

Cons

• More membership-focused than product-oriented
• Certain advanced integrations may need higher tiers

Best for:

• Dedicated membership businesses, course platforms and community sites.

Pricing:

• For current pricing, visit the MemberPress website.

4) Paid Memberships Pro—Flexible & developer-friendly

Why pick it: PMPro is very flexible for membership setups, supports recurring billing, and offers many gateway integrations. The core is free; paid add-ons expand gateway and integration options. 

Key features:

• Unlimited membership levels and flexible billing rules
• Free core plugin with many paid add-ons for gateways and integrations
• Extensive hooks & filters for custom workflows

Pros:

• Highly extensible and developer-friendly
• Free core to start quickly

Cons:

• Advanced capabilities often require paid add-ons and configuration
• Non-technical users may find setup more challenging

Best for:

• Sites that require bespoke membership logic and dev teams who want fine control.

Pricing:

• For the latest plan options, check the Paid Memberships Pro website.

5) Easy Digital Downloads (Recurring Payments extension)—Best for digital products, licenses & passes

Why pick it: EDD is built for digital goods. Its Recurring Payments extension makes selling subscriptions, software licences and “all-access” passes straightforward. Ideal if you sell downloads or SaaS-style licenses. 

Key features

• Recurring billing built for digital downloads and license renewals
• Customer subscription portal and license management
• Integrates with EDD checkout and licensing add-ons

Pros

• Optimized for software, plugins, themes and downloadable subscriptions
• Clean checkout experience for digital customers

Cons

• Not designed for physical product subscriptions
• Recurring requires the paid extension (core is free)

Best for:

• Software vendors, plugin/theme shops and businesses selling downloadable subscriptions or licenses.

Pricing:

• For current extension and bundle options, check Easy Digital Downloads’ pricing page.

6) WP Simple Pay — Best Stripe-first quick subscription forms

Why pick it: WP Simple Pay focuses on Stripe payment forms and subscriptions without a full cart. Great when you want simple recurring payments or donation/subscription forms without building a store. 

Key features

• Stripe subscriptions, Apple/Google Pay and one-page payment forms
• Quick form builder and minimal setup
• Webhooks for subscription events and receipts

Pros

• Lightweight — no full cart required
• Fast to implement for simple recurring payments

Cons

• Limited gateway support (Stripe-focused)
• Not a full membership/access control system

Best for

• Freelancers, consultants, small services and donation/recurring forms that need quick Stripe billing.

Pricing:

• For current tiers, view the WP Simple Pay website.

7) YITH WooCommerce Subscription—WooCommerce alternative

Why pick it: Another solid WooCommerce-compatible subscription solution with coupon controls, trial options and subscription management. Good if you want options outside the official WooCommerce Subscriptions extension.

Key features

• Creates subscription products inside WooCommerce
• Trial periods, coupon compatibility, and user subscription area
• Works seamlessly with other YITH tools

Pros

• Alternative feature set and pricing to the official WooCommerce extension
• Familiar UI for WooCommerce stores

Cons

• Still dependent on the WooCommerce stack (performance caveats apply)
• May offer different feature parity than the official extension

Best for

• WooCommerce merchants wanting an alternate subscription plugin with YITH integrations.

Pricing

Check YITH’s product page for the latest premium options.

8) Paid Member Subscriptions—Best lightweight membership + subscriptions

Key features

• Membership levels, recurring payments, and shortcodes for content restriction
• Stripe and PayPal integration, member dashboard and coupons
• Add-ons for email, WooCommerce bridge and integrations

Pros

• Affordable and easy to set up
• Clean UX for small-to-medium membership sites

Cons

• Fewer enterprise-level features (dunning, advanced reporting)
• Less appropriate for very large membership operations

• Best for

Bloggers, creators and small businesses wanting simple content restriction and recurring billing on a budget.

Pricing

• See the plugin author’s site for the latest premium bundles and add-ons.

9) GiveWP (Recurring Donations add-on) — Best for nonprofits

Why pick it: GiveWP is purpose-built for donations. Its Recurring Donations add-on handles donor subscriptions, receipts, and donor management — ideal for nonprofits and fundraising.

Key features:

• Donor-focused recurring donation scheduling and management
• Donor dashboards, receipts and exportable reports
• Integrations with Stripe, PayPal and other gateways

Pros:

• Built specifically for fundraising workflows and donor experience
• Excellent reporting and donor management tools

Cons:

• Not built for product subscriptions or memberships
• Recurring functionality requires premium add-on or bundle

Best for:

• Nonprofits, charities and fundraising sites that need regular donor billing and stewardship features.

Pricing:

• For current add-ons and bundle pricing, visit GiveWP’s website.

10) Restrict Content Pro—Best value membership + subscriptions

Why pick it: Restrict Content Pro offers a clean membership experience, built-in subscription management and an attractive price point for small-to-medium sites. Good balance of features and affordability.

Key features:

Membership levels, subscription billing, discounts and member management

Developer hooks, gateway integrations and reporting tools

Compatible with common LMS and email tools via add-ons

Pros

• Focused, reliable membership plugin with clean UI
• Good balance of features and simplicity

Cons:

• Not as full-featured for eCommerce product subscriptions
• Some integrations require paid add-ons

Best for:

• Small-to-medium blogs, publishers and content sites that need content restriction with subscriptions.

Pricing

• Check Restrict Content Pro’s official site for current licensing options.

How to choose the right recurring payments plugin (quick checklist)?

• Use case first: Are you selling physical subscriptions, digital licences, memberships, courses or accepting donations?
• Gateway support: Does it support Stripe, PayPal, or local gateways you need (Razorpay, etc.)?
• Subscription features: Trials, proration, upgrade/downgrade, quantity-based recurring, and bundled plans.
• Dunning & failed payment handling: Important to reduce churn.
• Integrations: LMS (Academy LMS, LearnDash/Tutor), email (Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign), CRM, and Zapier.
• Performance & footprint: WooCommerce + subscription stack can be heavy; simpler plugins (StoreEngine, WP Simple Pay) may be lighter.
• Legal & invoicing needs: VAT handling, invoicing and receipt support.
• Support & security: Vendor reputation, update cadence, CVE history for plugins you consider. (Example: check plugin advisories before deploying.)

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right WordPress recurring payments plugin depends on your business model. If you want a complete eCommerce solution with built-in subscriptions, StoreEngine is your best bet.

It eliminates the need for multiple add-ons, keeps your site fast, and gives you the flexibility to grow — whether you’re selling digital products, memberships, or services.

But if you already rely on WooCommerce or run a membership site, options like WooCommerce Subscriptions, MemberPress, or Paid Memberships Pro might fit better.

No matter which plugin you pick, automating your recurring payments is the smartest move you can make to build stable, predictable income — and free up time to grow your business.