Have you ever wished that customers could pay for their WooCommerce orders in instalments. Rather than having to pay the full amount at the beginning?

It is possible because a WooCommerce partial payment plugin. Which enables customers to pay a deposit. Or to divide the full cost into smaller instalments. These options are generally also referred to as deposits, split payments or instalment plans.

For instance, where a product costs $1,000 and a 20% deposit is offered. Customers will be able to secure their order. By making an initial payment of only $200 and then paying the rest at a later date.

As WooCommerce has no built-in support for partial payments. Using a plugin is one of the simplest methods of getting this feature onto your store. Providing flexible payment options can make expensive products more accessible, prompt customers to go ahead with their purchases. And aid in reducing cart abandonment.

In the following WordPress Wednesday I will examine some of the best WooCommerce partial payment plugins. Compare their features and explain how to set up partial payments in your store.

What does partial payment mean in WooCommerce?

Before we look at the best WooCommerce deposit and partial payment plugins. It’s necessary to examine what partial payments are and how they function.

A partial payment means that the customer has to pay only a part of the total cost of the order at once. With the rest of the amount to be paid on a later date.

For example, if you are selling a product for $1,000 and give customers the choice of paying a 20% deposit. Rather than paying the full amount when checking out. They can pay $200 upfront and then pay the remaining $800 by the agreed date.

This payment option can be provided by installing a WooCommerce deposit or partial payment plugin and with certain plugins you might also have the possibility of setting deposit percentages, payment schedules, and deadlines for the outstanding balance.

Why should you use a partial payment plugin?

The ability to offer partial payments in your WooCommerce store is beneficial for both store owners and customers. Since it provides greater payment flexibility, shopping becomes more convenient and at the same time encourages customers to finish their purchases.

Here are some main benefits to think about.

Benefits for Store Owners

Better cash flow: By taking an advance deposit you are able to get the first payment right away. At the same time giving customers more time to pay the balance that is left. This is especially useful when dealing with large orders.

Higher conversion rates: When customers have to pay the full price of an item all at once. They may be reluctant to make a purchase of a costly product. By providing a deposit option. Such purchases become more feasible and are likely to result in more customers buying them.

Lowering the rate of cart abandonment: By offering flexible payment options, customers may feel more at ease about making a purchase and if they are allowed to spread the cost over a period of time this could decrease the chance of them abandoning their carts.

Customisable Payment Options: For different plugins you can specify deposit amounts or percentages, set up payment schedules and determine the deadlines for any outstanding balances. This enables you to adjust your payment options to match the requirements of your products and customers.

Better customer retention can be achieved by offering convenient payment methods. Since this enhances the overall shopping experience and makes customers more likely to visit your store again for future purchases.

Benefits for Customers

Partial payments also give customers greater flexibility when they are shopping online; instead of having to pay the full amount at the beginning. They can get a product by making a smaller first payment and then deal with the rest of the balance in accordance with the available payment terms.

It is especially useful in the case of costly products, made to order items, bookings and other types of purchase since it might be less convenient to pay the full amount right away.

In general, a partial payment plugin can enable WooCommerce store owners to provide more flexible payment options and make it easier for customers to manage larger purchases.

In the following post we are going to look at a number of WooCommerce partial payment plugins and compare their features, ease of use and prices so that you can choose the one that is best for your store.

Let’s get started!

1. Deposits & Partial Payments

For store owners who want to allow customers to pay a deposit rather than the full price at the beginning, Deposits and Partial Payments for WooCommerce is a useful feature.

The plugin is very useful in the case of shops that sell high-priced items since it lets customers make an initial payment that is smaller. By providing this kind of flexibility it is possible to get hesitant buyers to finish their orders instead of having them abandon their carts.

Key Features

• Allows customers to pay a deposit or partial amount at checkout
• Supports fixed-amount and percentage-based deposits
• Enables deposits to be applied globally or to individual products
• Integrates with WooCommerce orders and supported payment gateways
• Provides an admin dashboard for managing deposits, outstanding balances, and due payments

Pros

• Easy to set up without requiring technical knowledge
• Straightforward to use for both store owners and customers
• Focuses on deposit and partial payment functionality without unnecessary extras

Cons

• Offers fewer customisation options than some premium alternatives
• May lack advanced instalment scheduling and payment plan features

2. Wallet System for WooCommerce

The WP Swings WooCommerce Wallet System is a feature packed plugin which enables store owners to implement a digital wallet system for their customers.

Customers can top up their wallets and then use their available balance to pay for their purchases (in full or in part). The plugin provides an integrated payment option which in turn makes repeat purchases easier and more likely to result in customer loyalty.

In addition to the ability to do partial payments it also has features around wallet recharges, refunds and transaction tracking which makes it a useful option for a store wanting to offer a more flexible shopping experience.

Key Features

• Built-in digital wallet system for WooCommerce
• Allows customers to add funds to their wallets at any time
• Supports partial and full payments using the available wallet balance
• Enables wallet top-ups through supported payment gateways
• Simplifies refund management by allowing refunds to be credited directly to customers’ wallets
• Provides transaction history for both store administrators and customers

Pros

• Provides a straightforward way to support partial payments using wallet balances
• Encourages customer loyalty by giving shoppers a reason to return and use their remaining funds
• Makes wallet-based refunds quick and convenient
• Offers useful functionality for both small and large WooCommerce stores

Cons

• Customers need to add funds to their wallets before using this payment method, which introduces an extra step
• Offers less flexibility for configuring deposits and instalment plans than plugins specifically designed for partial payments

3. PH WooCommerce Deposits

The PH WooCommerce Deposits plugin allows you to have customers pay a deposit upfront and then pay the remainder at a later date. It supports fixed deposits and percentage deposits, split payments and customisable instalments. It’s a useful plugin if you’re selling high value products or are offering bookings and appointments.

The plugin also has automated payment reminders and configurable payment options so store owners can manage their outstanding balances and customers have more flexibility at checkout.

Key Features

• Flexible deposit options: deposits can be set as a fixed amount or as a percentage of the total order value.
• Custom Payment Plans: set up your payment plan with daily, weekly, monthly or annual payments.
• Product specific settings: allow deposits on individual products or apply them to the whole store.
• Automated payment reminders: send customisable email reminders to customers regarding their outstanding balance.
• WooCommerce integration: works with WooCommerce Bookings and with any of the compatible appointment plugins.
• Multilingual support: available in English, German and Spanish with the option to translate it into other languages.

Pros

• Greater conversion potential as it makes the product more accessible to the customer (they can pay it off over time rather than have to pay the full amount upfront).
• Improved customer experience: flexible payment options to meet the needs of different customers.
• Easy setup: features a user-friendly interface with simple configuration options.

Cons

• Premium pricing: the $99 per year price point may be something that smaller businesses will have to consider. Always check the current pricing before you go ahead and buy.
• Free version: basic functionality, premium features require a subscription.

4. Payment Plans For WooCommerce

Payment Plans is a WooCommerce plugin which enables store owners to offer a range of payment options (upfront, instalments and full payment). It also includes automated billing and the ability to retry failed payments when instalments are due.

The plugin works with a broad range of payment gateways and WooCommerce extensions so you can offer Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) style payment options without having to do too much to your existing store.

Key Features

• Flexible payment options: customer can pay via an initial deposit, by installments or pay the full amount at checkout.
• Automated billing: have scheduled instalment payments processed automatically via supported payment gateways.
• Broad payment gateway support: over 30 gateways including Stripe, PayPal, Square, Authorize.Net and Amazon Pay.
• Automatic email reminders to be sent to customers prior to their instalment due dates.
• Multiple purchase options: customers can select either a one off purchase or a payment plan on the same product page.
• Customisable payment schedules: you can set your instalment intervals to be on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis.
• Failed payment recovery: automatically retry failed payments to help reduce the number of missed instalments and outstanding balances.

Pros

• Offers flexible payment options which in turn makes the product (which would otherwise be very expensive) much more accessible to the customer.
• Automates the billing and payment reminders which in turn reduces admin workload and helps the customer to keep up with their instalments.
• Supports a wide variety of payment gateways so store owners have a choice of payment processing options.
• Enables both one-off purchases and financing options to be available in the same product catalogue.

Cons

• You need a paid subscription (which could be an issue for smaller stores).
• Depending on the plugin version and configuration, variable products may be subject to restrictions when it comes to applying payment plans (for example, restrictions on pricing across variations).
• Failed payments may still need manual intervention if the automatic retries aren’t available or have failed, which could in turn complicate the collection of the balance.

5. Deposits for WooCommerce

Another good option, and the final plugin on our list of the best WooCommerce partial payment plugins, is Deposits for WooCommerce by Codeixer.

This is a very user-friendly plugin which provides the tools you need to enable deposits and partial payments in your online store. You can enable deposits across the whole store or on a product by product basis. This gives your customers the option of paying a proportion of the total cost upfront rather than the full amount.

With the simple setup and simple checkout options it’s definitely worth considering if you’re looking to introduce partial payments without adding any undue complexity to your WooCommerce store.

Key Features

• Enables deposits and partial payments across your store or on individual products
• Supports fixed-amount and percentage-based deposits
• Allows customisable labels for deposit and full payment options
• Works with supported WooCommerce payment gateways
• Provides simple configuration through individual product settings

Pros

• Lightweight and focused on deposit and partial payment functionality
• Makes payment options easy for customers to understand at checkout
• A practical option for small to medium-sized WooCommerce stores

Cons

• Lacks advanced payment scheduling and instalment plan features
• Offers a more basic design and fewer customisation options than some premium alternatives