Are PayPal
by are79 · Payments
This plugin is used to monetize wordpress blog content using PayPal. It is designed to sell your knowledge.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
D 40/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
10+
≈17 estimated
Momentum
0%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “monetize”, “pay to read” and “pay to register” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
40 health vs 68 average across 1,680 Payments plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.0%
of downloads still active
At least 10 of 27K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Payments plugin keeps 1.0%, across 1,042 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Payments plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
High removal-risk signals
63/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 12+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 3.7.41, well behind 6.8.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 4681 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 3.7.41; the current branch is 6.8
1.0★ over 2 reviews, smoothed to 3.98★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 4681 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| monetize your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| pay to read your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| pay to register your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| paypal your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| subscriptions your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “monetize”, “pay to read” and “pay to register” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 7 Oct 2022 · 1,485 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 91 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #30,100 to #45,000, alongside the other plugins at 10+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 21 Oct 2026.
Update activity
Downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites.
Not enough installs to measure. This needs at least 100 active sites; below that, a handful of downloads reads as tens of thousands.
Release cadence
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
12.8y ago
latest release · v1.9.2.4 · 6 Jan 2014
53
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “10+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Modeled within the band wp.org reports; tightens as we track daily.
Install history since 6 Oct 2022
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Anonymous12.6y ago
after installation and activation of the plugin i have a lot of errors in the wp-admin area and on the website too. deinstalled it. no idea how to fix the errors.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ pnovotnak13.1y ago
To start: the IPN script is NOT functional. It does record some parameters in the database, but it doesn’t post back to the IPN service correctly, and a multitude of attempts are made by the IPN system, for the same transaction. The plugin doesn’t really provide anything for donation-based sites. It inserts a message on pages “This site is being monetized by the are paypal plugin” or something to that effect when wp_footer() is called, which is obnoxious.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.4
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
4 of 8 pass · checked 31 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "This plugin is used to monetize wordpress blog content using PayPal. It is designed to sell your knowledge."
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions PayPal.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 3 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,721 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "pay to read", "subscriptions" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
No tier crossings observed yet.
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
Accept PayPal & Stripe with Subscriptions for WooCommerce 2K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A -
Payment Gateway for PayPal Pro, PayPal Checkout & Subscriptions for WooCommerce 1K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B -
Subscriptions & Memberships for PayPal 900+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags B -
Chargely Free Subscriptions For Woocommernce — installs · 3.7★ · 2 shared tags D -
PREMIUUM Content Monetization — installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags -
WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ installs · 2.9★ · 1 shared tag B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Are PayPal into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/are-paypal" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Are PayPal — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Are PayPal: 10+ active installs, 1.0★ (2 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/are-paypal
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