Subscriptions & Memberships for PayPal
by Scott Paterson · Membership
Also makes 12 other plugins · 40.5K+ installs across the portfolio →
A simple and easy way to sell subscriptions and / or memberships with PayPal. No Coding Required. Official PayPal Partner.
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
B 84/100
no flags
Active installs
900+
≈990 estimated
Momentum
+61%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: One page off on “memberships”. #12 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
84 health vs 71 average across 300 Membership plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.2%
of downloads still active
At least 900 of 40.1K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Membership plugin keeps 0.9%, across 166 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Membership plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 1 release in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
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.
Excellent listing optimization
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 72 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
3.9★ over 12 reviews, smoothed to 4.06★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
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.
38
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.3
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
17%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
+0.1
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| memberships your tag | #12 | #22 | down 1 |
| subscriptions your tag | #18 | #24 | down 1 |
| paypal your tag | #24 | #23 | down 1 |
| subscription membership | #9 | #22 | 0 |
| paypal pro | #13 | #21 | 0 |
| paypal subscriptions | #13 | #18 | — |
| membership your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| subscription your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
15 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 6 listed. 9 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- One page off on “memberships”. #12 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
- “membership” and “subscription” 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 · 1,490 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 1.1K · peaks are release surges
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
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
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
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
1
releases in the last 12 months
6mo ago
latest release · v1.1.8 · 20 May 2026
10
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 “900+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 5 months ago and the previous band took 3.6 years to cross, so the real count is still just under 1K.
Install history since 22 Jan 2017
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Dong Ngo1.8y ago
I’ve used this plugin for a couple of years, and it has proven to be the most reliable. So far, there has never been any issue—it just works. The setup is simple enough. It’s a valuable plugin. I hope it’s maintained.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ jakdak1.9y ago
The plugin is serving its purpose well. It has solved the payment/subscription pretty well on my site – after trying out a couple of plugs here and there. The configuration is also not complex at all. Then, I also like the current Paypal integration of possible payment even without a Paypal account. This literally makes it a multi-payment integration. Then the multilingual feature is another plus. My only question to the developer/support team: Would it be possible to dynamically fetch variable values: subscription & price from an external database (querried from an external app)? Where I don’t have to pre-configure buttons (shortcodes) – but rather have the price and package dynamically fetched when checking out. I’ll be more than glad to get a response on this.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ mirob7.3y ago
I managed to set up the plug-in just fine and add buttons to my side. But whenever I click the buttons I get the following error-message: Things don’t appear to be working at the moment. Please try again later.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ havasuscannerfeed7.8y ago
This program works great. I just got done providing free phone support for another WP webmaster, and we want to share this great tidbit of information for anyone just installing this plugin: If you are using the new WP Editor, please download “CLASSIC EDITOR” to remove the new blocks-style editor so that you can see the buttons that this plugin uses to insert shortcode on your pages.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ enterpim7.8y ago
UPDATE TO EVERYONE: If you are using the newest WordPress page editor, it may be a problem as described in this thread. The solution (Thanks, Robert!) was to install the plugin called “Classic Editor”. This topic was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by enterpim. This topic was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by enterpim. This topic was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by enterpim.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ enterpin8.2y ago
You have to buy the Pro version if you want to customize the email the user gets. What they do get is a receipt from PayPal that they may or may not associate with signup to my site. I don’t know if I want to spend $60 just for use of that feature. We’ll see how it goes. This topic was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by enterpin. This topic was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by enterpin. This topic was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by enterpin. Reason: Developer replied This topic was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by enterpin.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ shoelace12918.3y ago
The IPN listener created 9 payments for every user that subscribes. You have to pay to have an out-of-box feature that doesn’t work fixed. If I could give 0 stars I would.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ jim21slim8.8y ago
Don’t waste your time there’s better plugins than this one This topic was modified 8 years, 5 months ago by jim21slim.
Read on wp.org ↗
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceAll 4 disclosed vulnerabilities are patched in the current version (1.1.8). Sites still on an older version should update.
- Patched Medium · 5.3 Subscriptions & Memberships for PayPal <= 1.1.7 - Unauthenticated Fake Payment Creation ↗2025-11-21 CVE-2025-12752 Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity Affects <= 1.1.7 Patched in 1.1.8
- Patched Medium · 6.1 Subscriptions & Memberships for PayPal <= 1.1.5 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting ↗2022-05-25 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 1.1.5 Patched in 1.1.6
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
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
5 of 8 pass · checked 27 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "A simple and easy way to sell subscriptions and / or memberships with PayPal. No Coding Required. Official..."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 1 question in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 1 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("who need"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions PayPal.
- ✓ Headings and lists 3 headings and 2 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,947 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 5 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-05-23 1K+ → 900+ down after 1327 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 2K+ → 1K+ down after 505 days in tier
- 2021-05-17 400+ → 2K+ up
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).
-
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ installs · 4.7★ · 3 shared tags A -
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
Simple Membership 40K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
Accept PayPal & Stripe with Subscriptions for WooCommerce 2K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A -
codoc 2K+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags -
Payment Gateway for PayPal Pro, PayPal Checkout & Subscriptions for WooCommerce 1K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Subscriptions & Memberships for PayPal into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/subscriptions-memberships-for-paypal" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Subscriptions & Memberships for PayPal — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Subscriptions & Memberships for PayPal: 900+ active installs, 3.9★ (12 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/subscriptions-memberships-for-paypal
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