Running a WooCommerce store often means juggling diverse customer needs, shipping methods, and payment gateways. While WooCommerce gives you a strong foundation, it lacks flexibility out of the box when it comes to restricting or customizing shipping and payment options based on conditions like cart contents, user roles, product categories, or customer location. That’s where the Conditional Shipping and Payments plugin shines.

This powerful plugin by WooCommerce.com gives store owners complete control over when and how shipping methods and payment gateways appear at checkout — based on a wide range of customizable rules. It’s built for flexibility, and it’s a must-have if your store has specific business logic or compliance requirements.

In this comprehensive review, we’ll walk through the key features, use cases, setup process, pros and cons, and why Conditional Shipping and Payments plugin may be the automation and control layer your WooCommerce store needs.

What Is the Conditional Shipping and Payments Plugin?

Conditional Shipping and Payments plugin is a premium WooCommerce extension that allows store owners to restrict or allow specific shipping methods and payment gateways based on predefined conditions.

You can create rules using factors such as:

  • Product or product category

  • Shipping class

  • Destination country, state, or ZIP

  • Cart total or subtotal

  • Coupons used

  • User role or logged-in status

  • Custom shipping zones

It’s ideal for:

  • Stores that ship only certain products to specific countries

  • Subscription-based products that require certain payment methods

  • Wholesale vs retail customer flows

  • Compliance with local tax, export, or payment laws

By using this plugin, you can improve the customer experience, prevent checkout errors, and automate complex logic without custom code.

Why Do You Need Conditional Checkout Rules?

Let’s say you run an online store selling physical products, digital downloads, and subscription boxes. You may need to:

  • Prevent “Cash on Delivery” for digital-only orders

  • Hide “Free Shipping” unless the cart total is over $100

  • Allow PayPal only for U.S. customers

  • Restrict FedEx for fragile product categories

  • Show Stripe only for logged-in wholesale users

  • Limit shipping to certain countries for legal reasons

Default WooCommerce settings don’t allow these nuanced rules.

With Conditional Shipping and Payments plugin, these use cases become easy — using visual rule builders and logical conditions, no custom development needed.

Core Features of Conditional Shipping and Payments

Here’s a breakdown of the plugin’s most powerful tools and features.

1. Restrict Shipping Methods by Condition

You can conditionally:

  • Enable or disable specific shipping methods

  • Restrict shipping methods by:

    • Country, state, or zip code

    • Product or product category

    • Shipping class

    • Cart contents

    • Cart value (total/subtotal)

    • Weight

    • Coupon usage

    • Shipping zones

Example scenarios:

  • Disable “Free Shipping” if the order contains oversized items

  • Restrict “Local Pickup” to customers in specific zip codes

  • Enable “Express Shipping” only for cart totals above $200

2. Restrict Payment Gateways by Condition

Similarly, you can show or hide payment gateways based on:

  • Billing or shipping location

  • Products or product categories

  • Order total

  • Customer role

  • Active shipping method

  • Whether the customer is logged in or not

Example scenarios:

  • Allow “Cash on Delivery” only for local orders

  • Disable “Bank Transfer” if cart includes downloadable items

  • Restrict “PayPal” for subscriptions (to avoid disputes)

  • Allow “Stripe” only for B2B customers with a specific role

3. Visual Rule Builder

No need for coding or logic statements — Conditional Shipping and Payments plugin includes a visual, intuitive rule builder where you define:

  • Condition (e.g., product category is “Furniture”)

  • Action (e.g., hide “Flat Rate Shipping”)

  • Context (e.g., checkout or cart page)

You can add multiple rules per method or gateway, using AND/OR logic for granular control.

4. Product-Level Restrictions

You can create rules per product, directly from the product editor. For example:

  • Restrict certain payment gateways for fragile items

  • Hide shipping options for local pickup-only products

  • Block checkout entirely for restricted items in certain countries

Ideal for compliance with:

  • Hazardous goods shipping laws

  • International sales restrictions

  • Subscription products requiring card payments only

5. Shipping Zones and Classes Integration

You can apply rules using:

  • WooCommerce shipping zones

  • Shipping classes (great for bulky, perishable, or digital items)

  • Combined zones + classes + cart logic

This gives logistics teams better control over how shipping options apply, based on the exact needs of the business.

6. User Role and Logged-in Status

Want to create different checkout experiences for wholesale users, members, or guests? Conditional Shipping and Payments plugin allows you to:

  • Show “Bank Transfer” only to wholesalers

  • Require account login for high-value order payments

  • Offer exclusive shipping rates for VIP customers

  • Block PayPal for unverified guest users

This boosts your ability to segment and serve different audiences from a single store.

7. Error Message Customization

When a method is restricted, you can show a custom error message or notice, such as:

  • “Sorry, this product cannot be shipped to your country.”

  • “PayPal is not available for subscription renewals. Please use a credit card.”

  • “Local Pickup is available only in select states.”

This keeps the customer informed and reduces frustration or abandoned carts.

8. Developer Hooks and Filters

For advanced users and developers, the plugin includes:

  • Filters and hooks to add custom conditions

  • Compatibility with custom payment/shipping plugins

  • Extendable logic for hybrid eCommerce models

Developers can go beyond the built-in UI to create bespoke checkout experiences.

Real-World Use Cases

Here’s how different businesses are using Conditional Shipping and Payments plugin to automate their checkout processes:

1. eCommerce Retailer with Regional Logistics

A fashion retailer disables:

  • “Express Shipping” for international destinations

  • “Local Pickup” outside designated zip codes

  • “Cash on Delivery” for orders above $500

This keeps shipping costs under control and avoids errors during delivery.

2. Subscription Box Business

A subscription company:

  • Requires card payments (Stripe only) for recurring plans

  • Disables PayPal to avoid issues with renewals

  • Restricts shipping to countries supported by their fulfillment partner

  • Offers free shipping only to domestic subscribers

They now have a streamlined, compliant checkout for a global audience.

3. Wholesale & B2B Store

A store selling office supplies:

  • Allows bank transfers only for “wholesale” user roles

  • Offers discounted shipping rates for logged-in B2B buyers

  • Hides “Pay on Delivery” for first-time orders

  • Requires a minimum order for certain payment methods

This helps them personalize checkout and protect payment methods.

4. Digital + Physical Product Store

An eLearning store sells:

  • Downloadable courses

  • Physical books and kits

They configure:

  • No shipping options if the cart has only downloads

  • Disable PayPal if cart includes physical + digital combo

  • Require logged-in checkout for mixed product types

The result: fewer support tickets and smoother user journeys.

Pros and Cons

 Pros:

  • Simple, visual rule builder

  • Extremely flexible logic for checkout customization

  • Works with shipping classes, zones, user roles, and more

  • Compatible with WooCommerce Subscriptions, Memberships, and other major extensions

  • Product-level restrictions make compliance easy

  • Saves time and reduces errors

  • Great for both simple stores and complex international setups

 Cons:

  • Requires WooCommerce core knowledge to fully utilize

  • No drag-and-drop interface (uses dropdown rule logic)

  • Might be overkill for very small or basic stores

  • Needs testing when used with other third-party shipping plugins

Despite minor complexity for beginners, the power and reliability make this plugin essential for serious WooCommerce stores.

Pricing

Conditional Shipping and Payments plugin is available as a WooCommerce.com premium plugin, priced at:

  • $79/year for 1 site license

  • Includes 1 year of updates and support

  • 30-day money-back guarantee

  • Automatic renewals optional

For stores with complex checkout needs, the return on investment is immediate.

Setup and Configuration

  1. Install and activate the plugin from your WooCommerce dashboard

  2. Navigate to WooCommerce → Settings → Shipping → Restrictions

  3. Add new rule groups for:

    • Shipping methods

    • Payment gateways

  4. Define your conditions using dropdowns (e.g., country, product, user role)

  5. Assign custom messages or leave them hidden

  6. Save and test the checkout process with different carts

Each rule group can apply globally or conditionally depending on the logic you define.

Final Verdict

Conditional Shipping and Payments plugin is an essential plugin for any WooCommerce store that needs more control over how customers check out.

Whether you’re limiting shipping based on location, controlling which payment gateways are available, or enforcing product-level restrictions — this plugin gives you all the tools you need to build smarter, more compliant, and user-friendly checkout flows.

It’s especially valuable for:

  • Subscription stores

  • B2B and wholesale shops

  • International retailers

  • Digital + physical hybrid sellers

  • WooCommerce stores with complex product categories or legal restrictions

If you’re tired of rigid checkout rules and want to create a seamless, flexible experience for your users, Conditional Shipping and Payments plugin is the plugin you need.

Click here to get Conditional Shipping and Payments Plugin now!

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