EU VAT Guard for WooCommerce vs SaleMint – Paddle Checkout for WooCommerce

EU VAT Guard for WooCommerce is a powerful plugin that adds advanced EU VAT number management and validation to your WooCommerce store. It helps you collect, validate, and manage company VAT numbers for your B2B customers, ensuring compliance and a smooth checkout experience. Key Features Company Name & VAT Number Fields – Adds company name and VAT number fields to registration, account, and checkout forms EU VAT Number Validation – Offline format validation for all EU VAT numbers with optional real-time VIES validation (uses European Commission’s VIES service) Automatic VAT Exemption – Applies reverse charge VAT exemption for valid B2B transactions between EU member states VAT Rate Importer – Import current EU VAT rates for all 27 member states, including one reduced rate per country WooCommerce Integration – VAT numbers are saved to orders and displayed in admin and emails Block Checkout Support – Full compatibility with WooCommerce’s new block-based checkout Advanced Customization – Custom labels, messages, and exemption rules WPML Compatible – Full multilingual support for international stores PDF Integration – Compatible with WooCommerce PDF Invoices & Packing Slips VAT Exemption Rules VAT exemption is automatically applied when ALL conditions are met: * Customer provides a valid EU VAT number * VAT number country differs from your store’s base country * Shipping method is NOT local pickup * Billing and shipping countries match the VAT number country Supported Features Classic WooCommerce checkout Block-based checkout (Cart & Checkout blocks) Customer registration and account pages Admin order management Email notifications All 27 EU member states VAT formats VIES real-time validation (optional) PDF invoice integration (WooCommerce PDF Invoices & Packing Slips) Advanced customization options WPML multilingual support Custom field labels and messages External Services This plugin optionally uses the European Commission’s VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) service for real-time VAT number validation. VIES Service Details: * Service: European Commission VIES VAT validation service * Purpose: Real-time validation of EU VAT numbers to verify their authenticity * Data Sent: Only the VAT number (country code and number) that customers enter during checkout, registration, or account updates * When Data is Sent: Only when VIES validation is enabled in plugin settings AND a customer enters a VAT number * Service URL: https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/checkVatService.wsdl * Privacy Policy: https://ec.europa.eu/info/privacy-policy_en * Terms of Service: https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/faq.html Important Notes: * VIES validation is completely optional and disabled by default * No personal data (names, addresses, emails) is ever sent to VIES * Only the VAT number itself is transmitted for validation * The plugin works fully without VIES validation using offline format checking * You can disable VIES validation at any time in the plugin settings Requirements WordPress 5.0 or higher WooCommerce 4.0 or higher PHP 7.2 or higher SOAP extension (for VIES validation) Support For support, feature requests, or bug reports, please contact us through our website or the WordPress.org support forums.

SaleMint – Paddle Checkout for WooCommerce connects your WooCommerce store to Paddle, a merchant-of-record payment platform built for digital products. Paddle handles the checkout, tax calculation, and invoicing, while this plugin keeps your WooCommerce orders fully in sync. Need subscriptions? This free plugin handles one-time payments. For recurring billing, free trials, a Buy Now button, a self-serve customer portal, and one-click invoices, see SaleMint Paddle Pro — it’s a superset of this plugin, so nothing you’re already using changes. Full setup docs: salemint.io/docs/paddle/introduction. How it works When a customer places an order, the plugin opens Paddle’s hosted checkout (modal or full-page). After the customer completes payment, the Paddle transaction ID is captured and attached to the WooCommerce order. The plugin then fetches the authoritative order totals from Paddle — including any tax Paddle applied — and updates the WooCommerce order to match, so your records are always accurate. Key features Classic checkout & WooCommerce Blocks — Works with both the classic WooCommerce checkout and the modern block-based checkout. Modal or full-page checkout — Choose between an overlay modal or a full-page Paddle checkout, configurable from the gateway settings. Sandbox / live mode — Toggle between Paddle’s sandbox environment for testing and the live environment for production, without touching any code. Digital-only enforcement — The Paddle payment option is automatically hidden whenever the cart contains a physical product that requires shipping. This prevents it from appearing for orders Paddle cannot fulfil. Paddle tax categories — Assign a Paddle tax category (e.g. standard, digital-goods, ebooks, SaaS, software) to products, with a configurable store-wide default. Supports all 13 Paddle tax classifications. Coupon sync — WooCommerce coupons applied at checkout are forwarded to Paddle as discounts, so the transaction amount in Paddle always reflects the discounted total. Cart fee sync — Extra fees added to the cart (e.g. handling fees or surcharges) are passed to Paddle as line items and synced back after payment, keeping both records consistent. Automatic order totals sync — After payment, the plugin synchronises WooCommerce order totals — including line-item subtotals, discounts, fees, tax lines, and the grand total — with the values reported by Paddle. An order note is added documenting the sync for auditing purposes. Transaction & invoice ID tracking — The Paddle transaction ID and invoice ID are saved directly to the WooCommerce order and visible on the order detail screen. Transaction URL — A direct link to the Paddle transaction is saved with each order so you can jump straight to the Paddle dashboard from WooCommerce. Refund support — Initiate full or partial refunds from the standard WooCommerce refund interface; the plugin forwards the refund to Paddle automatically. Invoice button on order screen — A one-click button on the admin single-order page lets you open or download the Paddle-generated invoice without leaving WooCommerce. Order-pay page support — Customers can retry a failed or pending payment from the WooCommerce order-pay page; billing details are pre-populated automatically. Light and dark themes — Choose between Paddle’s light and dark checkout UI to match your store’s design. Free vs Pro Everything above is free, forever. SaleMint Paddle Pro is an add-on that layers recurring billing and its supporting tools on top — install it alongside this plugin and every free feature keeps working unchanged. Pro adds: Per-product Paddle tax category override WooCommerce Subscriptions support Signup fee handling Free trial support Auto-renewal via webhook, with HMAC-SHA256 signature verification Early renewal Update payment method from My Account Self-serve customer portal Buy Now button (Gutenberg block and Elementor widget) Customer invoices (View & Generate, cached and auto-regenerated) See the full Pro documentation or get Pro. Requirements PHP 8.1 or higher WordPress 6.0 or higher WooCommerce (latest recommended) A Paddle account with an API key and client-side token External Services This plugin connects to Paddle’s servers to process payments and load the Paddle JavaScript SDK. By using this plugin you agree to Paddle’s terms and privacy policy. Paddle JavaScript SDK The Paddle checkout SDK is loaded from Paddle’s CDN on any page where the payment gateway is active: Production: https://cdn.paddle.com/paddle/v2/paddle.js Sandbox: same URL (environment is set via the client-side token) This script is provided by Paddle.com Inc. and is required to open the hosted checkout modal. Paddle website Paddle Terms of Service Paddle Privacy Policy Paddle REST API The plugin communicates with the Paddle REST API from your server to create transactions and retrieve order details: Production: https://api.paddle.com Sandbox: https://sandbox-api.paddle.com Data sent includes order line items, customer billing information (email, country, postcode), and currency. No data is sent unless a customer initiates checkout.