Almost everything called "ACH" for websites is a Stripe plugin: a card company pulls from your customer, takes a percentage, and can hold your money. The one exception, WooCommerce's bank transfer, shows your account number and leaves you matching deposits by hand. ACHplug is neither.
| ACHplug | WP Simple Pay Pro | Formidable Forms | WooCommerce Direct Bank Transfer | WooPayments / Stripe ACH | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| How the money moves | Customer approves on your site; your bank collects | Stripe pulls (ACH debit) | Stripe pulls | Customer sends it themselves; you match it by hand | Stripe pulls |
| Company between you and your money | None | Stripe | Stripe | None | Stripe |
| Fee per payment | $0 from ACHplug; your bank's ACH cost, often nothing | 0.8% capped at $5, plus $1.50 verification | Stripe's rate plus 3% on the free plan | $0 | 0.8%, cap $5 |
| Software price | $25 once | Paid license — ACH not in the free version | Free with 3% fee, or paid license | Free, needs WooCommerce | Free, needs WooCommerce |
| Can your money be held | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Recurring: contract paid off, service kept up | Yes — customer approves once, pauses or stops any time | Yes, through Stripe | Yes, through Stripe | No | Yes, through Stripe + Subscriptions |
| Discount for paying by bank | Built in, 0–90% | No | No | No | No |
| Customer's routing number checked against the Fed directory | Yes | n/a | n/a | No | n/a |
| Sales journal, week/month/year, CSV | Built in | Stripe dashboard | No | WooCommerce orders | Stripe dashboard |
| Works without a store platform | Yes — any page | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Instant clearing | No — 1 to 3 days | No — 3 to 5 days | No | No | No |
Honesty cuts both ways. A processor clears faster in some cases, needs no bank setup on your side, and handles a bounced payment automatically. If you sell hundreds of small items a day to strangers and need every dollar confirmed in seconds, a processor is the right tool and its fee is the price of that. ACHplug is for the seller whose payments are fewer and larger — deposits, contracts, monthly services — where 3% is real money and a held payout is a real problem.
Fees and features as published by each company, September 2026. Corrections: realroofers@gmail.com.