The best WooCommerce donation plugin for most stores is one that runs donations through your normal WooCommerce checkout, so you can use the payment gateway you already have. For a free option, Donation Platform for WooCommerce covers custom amounts, campaigns and progress bars. If you want polished campaign tools, round-up at checkout and fee recovery, a premium plugin such as Donation For WooCommerce is worth the licence. If you only need a "give what you like" product, the official Name Your Price extension may be all you need.
Our verdict in short
- Best free WooCommerce donation plugin: Donation Platform for WooCommerce, because it uses WooCommerce products and checkout, so PayFast, Yoco, Ozow, Paystack or any other Woo gateway works.
- Best for serious fundraising campaigns: Donation For WooCommerce, for multiple causes, round-up donations and letting donors cover processing fees.
- Best for "add a donation" upsells on product pages: YITH Donations for WooCommerce.
- Best if donations matter more than the shop: GiveWP or Charitable, which run their own donation forms next to WooCommerce.
This guide compares the main options side by side, shows which one to pick for your situation, and walks through a safe set-up for South African organisations, including payment gateways and Section 18A receipts. We have kept to features we can describe confidently. Plugin features and licence prices change, so always confirm the current details on the plugin's own page before you buy.
WooCommerce donation plugin comparison table
There are two kinds of donation tools for a WooCommerce site. The first kind turns a donation into a WooCommerce product, so it goes through your existing cart, checkout, order emails and reports. The second kind is a standalone donation system that lives on the same WordPress site but has its own forms and gateways. Both kinds run on your own site, so they rely on hosting that keeps checkout fast and secure, such as our WooCommerce hosting. The table shows where each popular plugin sits.
| Plugin | Type | Cost model | Custom amounts | Recurring gifts | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donation Platform for WooCommerce | Uses Woo checkout | Free, open source | Yes | With WooCommerce Subscriptions | Charities and stores wanting a free, flexible tool |
| Donation For WooCommerce | Uses Woo checkout | Premium licence | Yes, plus round-up | With WooCommerce Subscriptions | Organisations running several campaigns |
| YITH Donations for WooCommerce | Uses Woo checkout | Free version and premium | Yes | Premium features vary | Shops adding a donation to product pages or the cart |
| Name Your Price (official extension) | Uses Woo checkout | Paid extension | Yes | With WooCommerce Subscriptions | One simple "donate any amount" product |
| GiveWP | Standalone forms | Free core, paid add-ons | Yes | Paid add-on | Non-profits whose main goal is fundraising |
| Charitable | Standalone forms | Free core, paid add-ons | Yes | Paid add-on | Campaign pages and peer-to-peer style appeals |
If your site already sells products and you want one place for orders, refunds and reports, stay with the first group. If you are a non-profit that only added WooCommerce for a few items of merchandise, a standalone tool may give donors a cleaner experience.
The six plugins in more detail
1. Donation Platform for WooCommerce
This free, open-source plugin on WordPress.org describes itself as an alternative to hosted fundraising platforms with no platform fees. It creates donation products with preset or custom amounts, adds donation forms to any page with a block or shortcode, and can show progress bars towards a goal. Because the money moves through your WooCommerce checkout, every gateway you have already set up works without extra integration.
2. Donation For WooCommerce
A premium plugin built for campaigns. Its feature list includes multiple causes, preset and custom amounts, round-up donations at checkout, an option for donors to cover processing fees, donation widgets and pop-ups, and recurring giving when paired with WooCommerce Subscriptions. It suits organisations that run several appeals a year and want reporting per campaign.
3. YITH Donations for WooCommerce
YITH's plugin focuses on adding donations to the shopping journey: a donation field on product pages, in the cart or at checkout, with fixed or open amounts. The free version covers the basics, and the premium version adds more placement and display options. It is a good choice for a shop that wants to support a cause without building a separate fundraising section.
4. Name Your Price
Strictly speaking this is not a donation plugin. It is an official WooCommerce extension that lets the customer type the price of a product. Create a product called "Donation", let visitors choose the amount, and you have a working donation option with no extra campaign features to learn.
5. GiveWP
GiveWP is a widely used WordPress donation plugin with its own donation forms, donor profiles, receipts and reports. It processes payments through its own gateway add-ons rather than through the WooCommerce cart, so check gateway support for South Africa before you commit.
6. Charitable
Charitable is also a standalone fundraising plugin, built around campaign pages with goals and deadlines. The free core is enough for simple appeals, and paid add-ons extend recurring gifts and extra gateways. As with GiveWP, confirm that a local gateway is supported.
Whichever you choose, a donation page is still a page on your website, so it needs the same speed and security as the rest of your store. Our hosting plans come with LiteSpeed caching, a free SSL certificate and daily backups, which protects the checkout your donors rely on. If you are comparing providers, our guide to the best WordPress hosting in South Africa lists what a store with donations should look for.
Choose a checkout plugin or a standalone donation form?
Choose a WooCommerce-based plugin if
- You already sell products and want donations in the same order list.
- You want to reuse your current South African payment gateway.
- You plan to offer round-up or "add R20 for our cause" at checkout.
- Your bookkeeper exports WooCommerce orders for reconciliation.
- You want one set of emails, refunds and reports to manage.
Choose a standalone donation plugin if
- Fundraising is your main purpose and the shop is a side activity.
- You want donor profiles and giving history separate from customers.
- You need peer-to-peer or campaign-page fundraising.
- Your chosen gateway is supported directly by the donation plugin.
- You prefer a short donation form without a cart step.
Setting up a WooCommerce donation plugin step by step
These steps work for any checkout-based option. Test on a staging copy first if your site already takes real orders.
- Take a full backup. Back up the files and database so you can roll back if a plugin clashes with your theme or checkout.
- Check WordPress, WooCommerce and PHP versions. Update to the versions the plugin supports before installing it.
- Install and activate the plugin. Use Plugins > Add New for free plugins, or upload the zip file for premium ones.
- Create your donation product or campaign. Set suggested amounts, allow a custom amount and mark the product as virtual so no shipping is charged.
- Confirm tax settings. Ask your accountant how donations should be treated for VAT and set the product's tax class accordingly.
- Place the form. Add the donation block or shortcode to a dedicated page, and decide whether to show a prompt in the cart or checkout.
- Customise emails and the thank-you page. Thank the donor clearly and explain how their gift will be used.
- Run a real test payment. Donate a small amount through your live gateway, then check the order, the emails and the payout.
Plugin updates are where donation set-ups most often break, especially when a theme, a page builder and several WooCommerce add-ons all update in the same week. Our website maintenance service keeps core, theme and plugin updates tested and backed up, so your donation form keeps working.
South African payment gateways and Section 18A receipts
For local donors, the payment method matters as much as the plugin. A checkout-based WooCommerce donation plugin works with the gateway plugins South Africans already use, such as PayFast, Yoco, Ozow and Paystack, because the donation is processed like any other order. With a standalone plugin you need a gateway add-on made for that plugin, so check the list before you install.
Our guide to the best payment gateway in South Africa compares fees, payout times and supported payment methods if you have not picked one yet.
Section 18A tax certificates
If your organisation is an approved public benefit organisation, donors may ask for a Section 18A receipt so they can claim a tax deduction. Most donation plugins do not produce SARS-compliant 18A certificates by default. Collect the details your accountant needs (such as name, address and ID or company number) with extra checkout fields, and confirm the exact requirements with your accountant or SARS before you promise donors a certificate.
What a WooCommerce donation plugin really costs to run
The plugin licence is only one part of the cost. Plan for the full picture:
| Cost item | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Plugin licence | Free for the free plugins; premium plugins usually charge a yearly licence for updates and support |
| Recurring giving | WooCommerce Subscriptions is a paid extension if you want monthly debit orders through Woo |
| Payment gateway fees | A percentage or fixed fee per transaction, set by your gateway |
| Hosting | Our WooCommerce hosting starts at R99 a month, and WordPress hosting at R129 a month |
| Domain | R109 a year for a .co.za, renewed at the same price |
| Maintenance | Your own time, or a monthly maintenance plan for updates, backups and checks |
If your organisation does not need a full shop, a WordPress site without WooCommerce plus a standalone donation plugin can be lighter to run. Our WordPress hosting includes automatic WordPress updates and a free migration from your current host.
Need a donation page built for you?
Our team builds WooCommerce sites with donation forms, local payment gateways and clear thank-you journeys, and can add donations to an existing store.
Mistakes to avoid with donations on WooCommerce
- Charging shipping on donations. Mark donation products as virtual.
- Hiding the donate option. Put a clear link in the main menu and on the cart page, not only in the footer.
- Too many suggested amounts. Three or four options plus "other amount" is easier to choose from.
- No thank-you follow-up. A short email that explains the impact of a gift encourages a second one.
- Installing two donation plugins at once. They often clash at checkout. Test one, remove what you do not use.
Once donations are live, the next job is getting people to the page. Our guide on how to drive traffic to your online store applies just as well to a fundraising page, and our e-commerce website design guide covers the checkout details that help donors finish what they started.
