If you want a WordPress Stripe donation form where visitors set the custom amount themselves, you need two things: a Stripe account and a plugin that talks to it properly. The plugin part is where people get surprised, usually by fees.
This walkthrough uses WP Full Pay, our very own Stripe payments plugin. That means full disclosure is on the table, so here is the trust-earning part up front: the free version is not free per transaction, and you get the exact math before a single screenshot.
Here’s the plan: install the plugin, connect Stripe in test mode, build a donation form with suggested amounts plus a custom-amount box, embed it on a page, and run a test payment end to end.
Still shopping around? Our roundup of the best donation plugins for WordPress compares the field.
First, the fee talk (because it decides everything) 💳
Most free Stripe plugins are not free, and WP Full Pay is no exception. The unlicensed version charges a 5% application fee on every transaction, on top of Stripe’s own processing fees. On a $100 donation, $5 goes to the plugin before Stripe takes its standard cut.
A paid license removes the plugin fee completely, so you only pay Stripe. Third-party listings quote introductory pricing from $79.50/year for a single site (Basic), with Plus and Pro tiers at $139.50 and $239.50. Treat those as intro rates: renewals run higher, and the official pricing page renders its numbers via JavaScript, so verify the current prices before you buy.
Two more quirks worth knowing: the 5% applies per transaction, and if a license expires, the plugin keeps working but the 5% fee returns. On the upside, there is no feature paywall. Donation forms, suggested amounts, custom amounts, recurring donations, and goals all work in the free version.
So is the free version worth it?
Run your own numbers. If the license starts at $79.50/year and the free fee is 5%, the break-even point is about $1,590 in annual donations. Below that, the free version is a perfectly reasonable way to run a tip jar or a small fundraiser. Above it, you are steadily donating your donations to a plugin company. Mine, in this case, but the math is the math.
One more honesty item: some negative reviews come from users burned by the switch from a one-time license to this fee model. That’s a fair gripe. But the model is at least stated plainly in the readme, which is more than some competitors manage.
Install WP Full Pay and connect Stripe 🔌
Install the plugin
Head to Plugins > Add New and search for “full pay”. You’re looking for “Stripe Payment Forms by WP Full Pay”, directory slug wp-full-stripe-free. At the time of writing it sits at 9,000+ active installs, roughly 4.2 out of 5 from 25 ratings, on version 8.5.3. Install, activate, done.
(One day someone will explain why every Stripe plugin names itself like a Wi-Fi password. Today is not that day.)
Connect Stripe in test mode
Activation adds a Full Pay menu to your sidebar and drops you into onboarding. Connect your Stripe account via Stripe Connect, and start in test mode using your Stripe test keys. You can flip to live later without rebuilding anything.
The security model is the right one: card details go straight from the donor’s browser to Stripe (PCI Level 1) and never touch your WordPress server. Your site never sees a card number, which is exactly how much card data you want to be responsible for.
Build the donation form 🛠️
Create the form
Go to Full Pay > Forms and click Add new form. Give it a Display name (donors don’t see this) and an Identifier: lowercase, no spaces, because this is what the shortcode uses. Under Form type, choose Donation, then pick a Form layout. Inline embeds the form directly in your page, which is what this walkthrough uses. Hit Create & edit form.
Set the amounts and frequencies
Open the Payment tab. Choose your Currency, then build your Suggested donation amounts list with the Add suggested donation amount button. Each entry is a quick modal where you type the value. The demo form goes with $10, $50, $100, and $1,000, because optimism is free.
The setting this whole article exists for is the Allow custom amount to be entered checkbox. That’s what turns a fixed menu into a pay-what-you-want form. Pair it with a Minimum donation amount so nobody donates a single cent and costs you more in fees than they gave.
Under Donation frequencies, tick what you want to offer: one-time, weekly, annual, and so on. Recurring donations work in the free version, no add-on required. Finally, set the Transaction description (tokens like %FORM_NAME% work) so donations are recognizable in your Stripe dashboard later.
Trim the form fields
The Form Fields tab decides what donors must fill in. Billing address and a terms checkbox are optional, and every field you add is another place for a donor to bail, so keep it lean for small donations. Custom fields exist if you need them.
You might notice a Fee Recovery section here. Donation fee relief (letting the donor cover the processing fees) is officially listed as coming soon, so don’t plan around it yet.
Sort out receipts, then save
On the Notifications & Integrations tab, the low-effort option is letting Stripe send its own receipt email, which it does reliably with zero configuration. Save the form, and you’re back at Manage Forms, where your shortcode is waiting.
Embed the form and run a test payment 🧪
Drop the shortcode into a page
Copy the shortcode from Manage Forms. It looks like [fullstripe_form name="ProjectSupport" type="inline_donation"]. Edit your donation page, add a Shortcode block, paste it in, and update. Gutenberg won’t render the form inside the editor, so don’t panic at the unremarkable gray box.
Run a test payment
While the plugin is in test mode (look for the WP Full Pay: Test Mode badge in the admin bar), view the page on the frontend. You should see your suggested amounts, the Other box for custom amounts, the frequency toggle, and a goal progress bar if you set a goal.
Pay with Stripe‘s test card: 4242 4242 4242 4242, any future expiry date, any CVC, any ZIP. Submit, and the form should confirm the donation.
Confirm it in the Stripe dashboard
Now open your Stripe dashboard in test mode and check the payments list. Your test donation appears with the transaction description you set earlier. If it’s in Stripe, the whole pipeline works. Swap in your live keys, flip the mode toggle, and you’re accepting real donations.
Common gotchas 🪤
- The 5% fee returns when a license lapses. The plugin keeps working after expiry, but unlicensed transactions go back to the 5% application fee.
- Test and live are separate worlds. Test keys only take test cards; live keys only take real ones. A form that “stopped working” right after launch is usually a mode mismatch.
- Keep the plugin updated. A missing-authorization vulnerability affecting versions up to 8.4.3 was patched in 2026. Anything that touches money deserves prompt updates.
- Fee relief isn’t available yet. It’s listed as coming soon. If passing processing fees to donors is a must-have today, factor that into your plugin choice.
Last word 💬
WP Full Pay is the quickest route to a custom-amount Stripe donation form in WordPress, and the free version is honest about its trade: no license fee, 5% per transaction instead. For small fundraisers that’s a fair deal. For serious volume, buy the license or redo the break-even math every year.
What’s your setup for donations or pay-what-you-want pricing? Tell me in the comments.
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