PayPal For Easy Digital Downloads (EDD)
by gmexsoftware · eCommerce
PayPal for Easy Digital Downloads. Develop by Official PayPal Partner.
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Health
D 44/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
100+
≈150 estimated
Momentum
+54%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “ecommerce”, “express checkout” and “gateway” 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.
44 health vs 71 average across 9,767 eCommerce plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.7%
of downloads still active
At least 100 of 15K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median eCommerce plugin keeps 1.4%, across 5,153 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other eCommerce 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 10+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.6.30, 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 3728 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.6.30; the current branch is 6.8
3.7★ over 3 reviews, smoothed to 4.08★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 3728 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| doexpresscheckoutpayment your tag | #2 | #2 | — |
| getexpresscheckoutdetails your tag | #2 | #2 | — |
| ecommerce your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| express checkout your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| gateway your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
5 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 2 listed. 3 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 3 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “ecommerce”, “express checkout” and “gateway” 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 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 97 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #13,300 to #16,400, alongside the other plugins at 100+ 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 1 Nov 2026.
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
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
10.2y ago
latest release · v1.0.6 · 17 Aug 2016
7
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 “100+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 2.6 years ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 27 Feb 2017
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Basilis Kanonidis9.5y ago
Developers are nowhere to be found, they do not reply support tickets they do not take care of their plugin and it is also trhroughing errors on it IPN that makes issues with paypal.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ jj.parejiya10.4y ago
A very easy plugin that even people without any knowledge of EDD can make use of and edit as they wish! Greatly recommended!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ gmexsoftware10.4y ago
I’ve been using this for a while now (prior to releasing it) and I’m personally loving it! Let me know if need help 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗
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
2 of 8 pass · checked 1 Nov 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ! 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, Easy Digital Downloads.
- ✓ Headings and lists 2 headings and 1 list.
- ! Enough to quote 794 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 2 of 5 tags appear in the text ("doexpresscheckoutpayment", "ecommerce", "getexpresscheckoutdetails" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2024-03-21 200+ → 100+ down after 7 days in tier
- 2024-03-14 100+ → 200+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-03-13 200+ → 100+ down after 526 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 300+ → 200+ down after 138 days in tier
- 2022-05-19 400+ → 300+ down after 371 days in tier
- 2021-05-13 600+ → 400+ down after 522 days in tier
- 2019-12-08 1K+ → 600+ down
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).
-
Easy PayPal & Stripe Buy Now Button 10K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A -
Postepay Gateway per Woocommerce 1K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D -
WooCommerce 7M+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag A -
Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ installs · 4.3★ · 1 shared tag A -
WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ installs · 2.9★ · 1 shared tag B -
Mailchimp for WooCommerce 200K+ installs · 4.0★ · 1 shared tag B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for PayPal For Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/pal-for-edd" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="PayPal For Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> PayPal For Easy Digital Downloads (EDD): 100+ active installs, 3.7★ (3 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/pal-for-edd
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