The short answer
Stripe is the flexible default; PayPal and Shopify solve narrower needs.
LearnWorlds supports Stripe, PayPal, and Shopify as built-in payment gateways. Choose Stripe when subscriptions or eligible local payment methods matter, PayPal when your business account is already a dependable settlement route, and Shopify when course sales must share a commerce stack with physical products.
Need to screen seller access first? Use the private payment gateway checker without entering a country, name, or email address.
Gateway comparison
What each LearnWorlds payment gateway is built to do
| Gateway | Best use | Recurring sales | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stripe | Cards, wallets, local methods, subscriptions | Built-in subscriptions and installments | Your Stripe account must support the business and country |
| PayPal | One-time sales through a PayPal Business account | Installment buttons are a separate workflow | Guest checkout and currencies vary by PayPal account |
| Shopify | Courses sold alongside a Shopify catalog | One-time LearnWorlds product sales | Shopify disables the other built-in gateways |
Gateway availability does not guarantee processor approval or a working bank-withdrawal route. Confirm those separately before paying annually for the course platform.
Stripe
Use Stripe for subscriptions, but do not assume every method recurs
LearnWorlds documents Stripe as its built-in web-school route for subscription sales. Its Stripe guide places subscription and installment products on Pro Trainer or higher, but official subscription-program tier guides disagree; confirm the exact workflow and school version. Once recurring customers exist, LearnWorlds warns against replacing the connected Stripe account or changing the school currency, because existing payments remain tied to the original setup.
Eligible Stripe accounts can also show Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna, Afterpay or Clearpay, iDEAL, Bancontact, Przelewy24, and Boleto. That list describes possible checkout methods, not universal availability: the processor, merchant country, buyer country, currency, and school settings still control what appears.
The Stripe guide lists these extra methods, including Pix, for non-subscription payments. Enabling a wallet, bank redirect, or buy-now-pay-later option does not establish that it can pay a LearnWorlds subscription. Test the actual recurring checkout with an eligible method.
Recurring access is not a multi-product cart order
LearnWorlds' payment-section guide excludes subscriptions from its shopping cart: use a payment section or the default payment page. A connected Stripe account alone does not settle the plan requirement; official articles disagree about the tier for subscription-based learning programs. Check the exact program requirement before committing.
The subscription guide also distinguishes enrollment from billing. Manual enrollment does not sync a paid subscription to Stripe; deleting a product or suspending/deleting a learner does not automatically cancel recurring charges. Check cancellation status and access-end dates separately; the administrator guide distinguishes a pending label from confirmed cancellation.
Mobile billing
Separate mobile wallets from app-store subscriptions
Apple Pay or Google Pay at a web checkout is different from an App Store or Google Play in-app subscription. LearnWorlds documents recurring in-app purchases for courses and learning programs. Identify the billing route before applying the web Stripe guidance above.
| Purchase route | Billing and access boundary | Evidence to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Web checkout wallet | A wallet displayed through Stripe follows the supported web checkout method; its presence does not prove recurring eligibility. | Actual checkout method and processor subscription status. |
| Google Play subscription | LearnWorlds documents administrator cancellation and refund controls through its Plans and Payments records. | Subscription status, refund result and learner access separately. |
| Apple in-app subscription | An administrator can unenroll a learner but cannot directly cancel the Apple subscription. The learner cancels through Apple ID subscriptions. | Apple cancellation confirmation and the separate enrollment record. |
Removing an iOS subscription from sale blocks new purchases; existing renewals can continue. Do not treat removal from sale or unenrollment as proof that billing stopped. The in-app guide also says an existing product's billing interval cannot be changed: a different interval requires a new product.
The mobile add-on guide lists Pro Trainer, Learning Center and High Volume, excluding Starter. It was last modified in October 2024: confirm current entitlement and the account quote before buying. App add-on, onboarding and store/developer costs need their own budget; no store rate is assumed here. App features also differ from the web school, so test the exact offer. If existing web access meets learners' needs, you can keep that workflow without buying a branded-app add-on.
Scoped official-document check on October 5, 2026: in-app subscriptions, mobile add-on and mobile FAQs. This is not an account test or a completed pricing audit; the September 2 full-audit date, web-program tier conflict and unknown Starter fee-return treatment remain unchanged.
Does unenrolling an iOS learner stop their subscription?
No. Removing course access does not cancel Apple billing. Ask the learner to use Apple ID subscriptions and check the cancellation evidence separately.
Does Apple Pay mean I have an App Store subscription?
No. A wallet at web checkout and an in-app subscription are different payment routes. Check the purchase receipt and subscription record before choosing a cancellation workflow.
PayPal
PayPal works only when the business account and withdrawal route work
The native setup requires a PayPal Business account, Client ID, and Secret. LearnWorlds recommends checking multi-currency acceptance, enabling PayPal Account Optional where available, disabling sandbox mode before launch, and completing a real test purchase.
A learner may be able to pay by card without creating a PayPal account, but PayPal notes and LearnWorlds documentation both make this country-dependent. Treat guest checkout as something to test, not a promise. PayPal installment buttons are also different from the platform's Stripe-powered recurring plans and can require manual enrollment or extra automation.
If PayPal was connected before April 2026, LearnWorlds says the integration may be legacy and require migration to the current setup. Check the school's notice before relying on existing credentials; this is separate from PayPal account eligibility.
LearnWorlds PayPal integration checklist
- Use a verified PayPal Business account that can receive and withdraw funds.
- Create the live PayPal app credentials required by LearnWorlds.
- Enter the Client ID and Secret in the school's payment settings.
- Confirm the school currency and multi-currency acceptance rules.
- Turn off sandbox mode and complete a small real purchase and refund.
Connecting the integration proves that checkout can be configured; a completed payout proves that the full money path works.
Shopify
Shopify is an exclusive gateway for one-time product sales
Connecting Shopify lets LearnWorlds products appear in a Shopify catalog and routes buyers through Shopify checkout. It is useful when courses sit beside physical products, but product synchronization is manual after catalog changes and Shopify's own coupons replace the school's built-in coupon codes.
The tradeoff is exclusivity. LearnWorlds requires the other built-in gateways to be disabled when Shopify is active, and LearnWorlds subscriptions still require Stripe. That makes Shopify a deliberate commerce architecture choice rather than an extra checkout button.
Existing Stripe subscriptions and installments are a separate case: the current Stripe guide says they continue billing in the original Stripe account after a Shopify switch. That does not make Shopify a new-subscription gateway. Preserve the original account and confirm enrollment, cancellation, refund, and reporting behavior before changing a live school.
External gateways
An external checkout can work, but it gives up native automation
LearnWorlds permits external payment links and HTML payment buttons. A completed payment can lead to manual enrollment, or automation through Zapier on Pro Trainer or higher, or the API on Learning Center or higher. This can open a route to another processor, but it is operationally different from a built-in gateway.
| Capability | Built-in gateway | External payment button |
|---|---|---|
| Enrollment | Automatic after successful payment | Manual or separately automated |
| School coupons | Supported according to the gateway setup | Not available in the external workflow |
| Built-in affiliate system | Can attribute eligible native purchases | Not available for the external payment |
| Invoices and billing details | Handled through the integrated flow | Not generated by LearnWorlds |
Refund evidence
Separate refund records from returned money
LearnWorlds' refund guide distinguishes supported processor refunds from manual records. A manual refund logs the adjustment but does not transfer money. Unenrollment is optional and independent. The guide currently documents full refunds only; a promised partial-refund feature is not a released capability.
| Route or record | What it establishes | What remains separate |
|---|---|---|
| Supported processor refund | Card and PayPal refunds are supported. | The method's refund window and actual processor result. |
| Shopify or Boleto | No direct refund through LearnWorlds; manual records are available. | Money must be returned outside LearnWorlds. |
| Original invoice | Can remain Paid, with a refund indication and separate refund entry. | A Paid label alone is not proof of retained revenue. |
| Learner access | Refund and unenrollment are independent. | Check the intended access state separately. |
The payment-record guide also distinguishes payment records from processor transactions. Compare the transaction type, success or failure, processor ID and associated payment. A manually marked Paid record is not itself a new collection.
Keep a manual evidence record before trusting the cost result
- Route: record the original method, whether the planned action transfers money or records an external return, and the applicable window.
- Money: record the processor result, amount, currency and reference. Keep pending or failed results unresolved; do not duplicate a transfer because the school label is confusing.
- Access: record the learner's intended access state and, for recurring sales, the separate cancellation evidence.
- Fees: record which fees are actually returned. We have not verified whether Starter's $5 enrollment fee is returned; do not infer that from a refund record.
Reviewing existing records and terms needs no new automation purchase. This checklist neither initiates a refund nor proves eligibility. The profit calculator retains original fees by default; model confirmed fee returns separately from the no-refund enrollment comparison.
Decision checklist
Test the complete money path before choosing
| Question | What it decides |
|---|---|
| Does the processor accept your legal business setup? | Whether the gateway can be activated and kept compliant |
| Can funds reach your own supported bank or wallet? | Whether sales become usable income |
| Do you sell subscriptions? | Whether Stripe and Pro Trainer or higher are required |
| Do you need a Shopify product catalog? | Whether gateway exclusivity is worth accepting |
| Have you tested purchase, enrollment, refund, and payout? | Whether the entire flow works outside a demo |
Frequently asked
LearnWorlds payment questions
Does a manual refund return the learner's money?
No. It creates a record; the money transfer is external. Check the processor result separately.
Which gateways are built into LearnWorlds?
Stripe, PayPal, and Shopify. Stripe can expose additional eligible wallets and regional methods through the connected Stripe account.
Can I use PayPal without Stripe?
Yes for compatible PayPal sales. You need a PayPal Business account and must still qualify under PayPal's country, currency, verification, and withdrawal rules.
Which gateway handles subscriptions?
LearnWorlds documents Stripe as the built-in web-school subscription route. The Stripe guide lists Pro Trainer or higher for subscription and installment products, but official subscription-program tier guides disagree. Confirm the exact workflow and school version; a connected gateway does not settle entitlement. App-store subscriptions have a separate billing route.
Can another gateway be connected with a payment button?
Yes, but external checkout can require manual or custom automated enrollment and does not retain every native commerce feature.
Official sources
Confirm the current setup before launch
The overview, Stripe, PayPal, Shopify, and external-payment guides were rechecked on October 4, 2026. Recurring-method limits, the PayPal legacy notice, and existing Stripe billing after a Shopify switch are distinct from new checkout eligibility. External enrollment automation has its own plan prerequisites. The refund and payment-record guides were also read on October 4; Starter enrollment-fee return remains unverified, and the full pricing audit remains unfinished.
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