Donations via PayPal

How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.

Directory rank vs rivals

wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you

How often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.

Share of active installs on each version of this plugin · 99% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.

Refined from the date this plugin crossed into its current band.

No paid tier is visible, so we don't put a figure on revenue or sale value: that would be guessing. The install base is a real asset to an acquirer, just not one public data lets us price.

1. ★★★★★ Elizabeth Beeton

   1.3y ago

   I don’t need anything fancy. I don’t need to have bells and whistles to give it 5 stars. It just has to do what I need done, and I’m happy. FYI: I’m not a bot. I’m leaving 5 stars and a variation of this review on every plugin I use daily and that makes my life easier.

   Read on wp.org ↗
2. ★★★★★ Boston Tom

   1.4y ago

   After installing this plugin, within days I was hit by PayPal phishing emails, fake invoices, spam, junk email, etc… despite using an email spam filter on the server. I dutifully forwarded all phishing emails to PayPal’s [email protected] email address. I couldn’t understand why there was such an uptick in fake invoices, scams, and assorted junk. Then I clicked on the Donate Now button. Right there for the world to see was my email address, shown in a pop-up window—no visit to PayPal’s website necessary. It didn’t dawn on me when I first installed it that if I could see my email, then so could the world. So I went into the “Donate via PayPal” settings and changed it to Merchant ID. I’m not a merchant or business; I run a free website that accepts donations. I grabbed the Merchant ID anyway from my PayPal account settings and swapped out my email address for this ID to see if it hid my email. Instead, when you click the Donate button my full name shows up! What is wrong with this plugin and privacy? It literally is sharing your email address to the entire world with no encryption or even bothering trying to hide it. I then looked at my site’s source code. Right there for the world to see was my email address, unencoded, waiting to be scraped by scammers, schemers, fraudsters, and Nigerian princes. My friggin’ contact form hides my email address. So great job on exposing my addy to the world and greatly increasing my spam, phishing emails, and frustration. PS: I don’t care if they see my email once they get to the Paypal website as most scammers are automated, but to show it in a pop-up window without ever leaving the site and having it embedded in the source code is beyond irresponsible. The author needs to fix this.

   Read on wp.org ↗
3. ★★★★★ mobilewebexpert

   2.5y ago

   I Love it! 🙂

   Read on wp.org ↗
4. ★★★★★ magjardim

   3.4y ago

   Infelizmente não tem linguagem em Português/Brasil.

   Read on wp.org ↗
5. ★★★★★ EBurden

   4.2y ago

   Almost…if you, for instance, are setting up a donation link to the PayPal account of your new client who didn’t realize they need a business Paypal account not a personal account to receive donations, then when you try, for instance, a test $10 donation to see how it is all going to work, you get a PayPal error saying something went wrong. Hmmm. Then while you’re trying to figure out what went wrong your new client emails you to tell you Paypal has suspended their account permanently.

   Read on wp.org ↗
6. ★★★★★ Linda Ma

   6.8y ago

   Very nice and simple plugin.

   Read on wp.org ↗
7. ★★★★★ George

   8.5y ago

   Great little plugin, the developer was also very responsive and fixed an issue I requested.

   Read on wp.org ↗
8. ★★★★★ wordpresspresser

   9.1y ago

   Simple to set up, and it’s set-and-forget. Great support, too. Thank you!

   Read on wp.org ↗

Recent releases and news for this plugin

1. — Version 1.9.11 Language translation related updates. Updated the French language translation .po file. Adjusted the navigation tabs HTML and CSS to be compatible with the latest version of WordPress. 1.9.11
2. — Version 1.9.10 jQuery code update: stopped using jQuery.fn.click in favor of jQuery.fn.on( ‘click’ ) 1.9.10
3. — Version 1.9.9 Added output escaping in the settings menu. Thanks to WPScan. 1.9.9
4. — Version 1.9.8 Added a settings link in the plugin’s menu so it can be accessed easily. 1.9.8
5. — Version 1.9.7 PHP8 compatibility improvements. 1.9.7
6. — Version 1.9.6 Updated the PayPal button image URLs to the new URLs to remove the auto-redirect on them. 1.9.6

1 disclosed vulnerability on record for this plugin, fixed in the current version. Sites on older versions stay exposed until they update.

1. Medium · 5.5 Donations via PayPal <= 1.9.8 - Authenticated (Administrator+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗
   2022-11-04 CVE-2022-3822 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') Affects <= 1.9.8 Patched in 1.9.9

Automated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.8

Translated into 70 languages, 5 at 90% or more · development strings

Plus 46 more locales with partial translations.

Growth timeline

Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow

1. 2025-07-27 30K+ → 20K+ down after 732 days in tier
2. 2023-07-26 40K+ → 30K+ 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).

• Reusable Blocks Extended 20K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A
• Kaya QR Code Generator 10K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A
• Content Blocks (Custom Post Widget) 10K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A
• Accept Donations with PayPal & Stripe 10K+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags B
• Shortcode Widget 10K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A
• Donorbox – Free Recurring Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 8K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags B

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Drop a live Pulse card for Donations via PayPal into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.

Donations via PayPal: 20K+ active installs, 4.7★ (27 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-08-29. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/paypal-donations