5 Best Virtual Tip Jar Plugins for Your WordPress Site

Are you looking for a way to monetize your site without using traditional ads or affiliate marketing? The simplest way to generate income from it is to implement a virtual tip jar to collect donations from your visitors. 🤓

The good news is that there are tons of powerful WordPress plugins that make it quick and easy to add a virtual tip jar to your pages. Better yet, you can even find options that let you set up recurring donations, redirect users to a thank you page, and launch entire crowdfunding campaigns.

An introduction to virtual tip jar plugins

A virtual tip jar works like a real tip jar. Essentially, it enables you to accept donations from visitors on your website that want to show appreciation for your work.

It’s a great way to monetize your site without employing common strategies like ads, memberships, and affiliate marketing. Additionally, it tends to be a more user-friendly method of monetization since it doesn’t interfere with the User Experience (UX):

Virtual tip jars normally display a mini donation form which you can add to widget areas like your sidebar. This makes your tip jar visible across all pages, and allows you to provide some key details about your campaign so that users know what their contribution will be put towards.

Any type of website can utilize a virtual tip jar. For example, you might want to collect donations to help you cover web hosting costs or premium plugins for your blog.

However, you might also offer a free course or guide on your website. While you provide access to the course for free, you can include a virtual tip jar to help subsidize some of the costs.

What’s more, a virtual tip jar is a great fit for creatives that share their work for free online. You might run a portfolio website, or you might be a writer or musician, looking to score some extra funding to support your venture.

Best virtual tip jar plugins for your WordPress site

Now that you know a bit more about virtual tip jar plugins, let’s take a look at five of the best solutions for WordPress.

1. GiveWP
2. Cryptocurrency Payment & Donation Box
3. Buy Me a Coffee
4. Donations via PayPal
5. Donation Forms by Charitable

1. GiveWP

GiveWP is one of the most popular donation plugins on the market. It’s especially useful for non-profit sites, but you can use it on any type of website.

GiveWP provides a flexible solution to accepting donations on your site. For example, you can add a simple donation button to your pages or create a customizable donation form.

What’s more, users can contribute custom amounts, download PDF receipts, view their donation history, and set up recurring payments. Plus, the plugin comes with plenty of templates to help you get started quickly.

⚙️ Key features

• Donation form templates
• Donation goals
• Multiple giving amounts
• Breakdown of donation activity
• Filter reports
• Tax-deductible receipts
• Integrates with payment gateways like PayPal and Stripe (in order to integrate this plugin with PayPal, you have to have a PayPal Business account)
• Premium add-ons that extend the plugin

💵 Price

You can get started with the free GiveWP plugin. Or, upgrade to a paid plan from $149 a year.

2. Cryptocurrency Payment & Donation Box

With this virtual tip jar installed on your site, you can accept cryptocurrency payments and donations through a neat little widget. Cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum.

The plugin has a simple set up process, so all you need to do is add your wallet address inside the plugin, or scan the QR code. Then, you can place the shortcode on any post, page, or widget area.

However, it’s important to note that this plugin only works with cryptocurrencies. Therefore, it’s not very useful if you want to accept donations in dollars (or other currencies).

⚙️ Key features

• Accept payment from any cryptocurrency or cryptowallet
• Use QR codes for your wallet address
• Customizable donation box
• Add the shortcode anywhere on your site
• Mobile-friendly

💵 Price

Cryptocurrency Payment & Donation Box is a completely free WordPress plugin.

3. Buy Me a Coffee

Buy Me a Coffee is a unique virtual tip jar that encouragers visitors to become paid supporters. Better yet, you can accept one time payments as well as recurring payments which is useful if you want to sell extras and memberships.

To get started, you’ll need to create a Buy Me a Coffee account (which is free to do). Then, you can place the widget anywhere on your site to accept donations via credit/debit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.

What’s more, the Buy Me a Coffee widget is plenty customizable, enabling you to change the color, spacing, and text of the donation box. However, visitors can’t donate custom amounts.

⚙️ Key features

• Accept one-off donations or recurring payments
• Place the widget anywhere on your site
• Supports Apple Pay and Google Pay
• Share exclusive content via the locked post options
• Customizable donation box
• Simple set up

💵 Price

Buy Me a Coffee is a free WordPress plugin. However, the platform charges a 5% transaction fee.

4. Donations via PayPal

Donations via PayPal allows you to create a simple virtual tip jar and add it to your sidebar or footer as a WordPress widget. Or, you can add the tip jar to your posts and pages using shortcode.

The level of customization with the plugin is extensive. For example, you can choose your own donation button, set an optional default amount, and redirect supporters to a simple thank you page.

However, as the name suggests, the plugin only lets you accept PayPal payments on your site. So, if you’re looking for more payment options, you might prefer a different virtual tip jar plugin.

⚙️ Key features

• Add a donation box as a widget or using shortcode
• Choose a donation button (or create your own)
• Set a default amount, purpose, and reference
• Redirect users to a custom thank you page
• Accept only PayPal payments

💵 Price

Donations via PayPal is a free WordPress plugin.

5. Donation Forms by Charitable

If you run a non-profit website, Donation Forms by Charitable is a great choice (although it can be used for any type of website). This plugin is very simple to get to grips with, enabling you to set up your first campaign within minutes.

You’ll find tons of ways to display your donation forms. For example, you can group campaigns together on any post or page on your site. Plus, with paid add-ons, you can configure recurring donations, crowdfunding, and anonymous donations.

Better yet, you can accept payments via PayPal or Stripe. However, you can also integrate the plugin with premium payment gateways, like Authorize and Braintree.

⚙️ Key features

• Set up unlimited campaigns
• Set fundraising goals
• Create time-sensitive campaigns
• Inherits your theme’s style
• Customize the form with required fields, suggested amounts, and more
• Accept payments via PayPal and Stripe for free
• GDPR- friendly
• Send a donation receipt

💵 Price

The Donation Forms plugin is free, but you can also upgrade from $99 per year.

Last word on virtual tip jars 🧐

👉 To recap, here are five of the best virtual tip jar plugins for WordPress:

Do you have any questions about how to choose the best virtual tip jar plugin for your website? Let us know in the comments section below!