Overview
The PayPal Checkout Add-On is the modern, supported PayPal integration for Gravity Forms. While it covers the most common payment use cases, it does not provide full feature parity with the legacy PayPal add-ons.
This article explains what has changed, what is no longer available, and why some behavior may differ after migrating from a legacy PayPal add-on.
For step-by-step instructions on migrating your forms see Migrating from Legacy PayPal Add-Ons to the PayPal Checkout Add-On
Why Are There Differences?
The legacy PayPal add-ons were built on older PayPal technologies that have since been replaced. PayPal Checkout uses PayPal’s current payment platform, which works differently in several key ways.
This means some features from the legacy add-ons are no longer available through PayPal’s systems, are now managed directly in your PayPal account settings, work differently than they did before, or have been removed by PayPal for security or regulatory compliance.
PayPal Standard End-of-Life
PayPal has announced the deprecation of Website Payments Standard (WPS). Buy Now and Add to Cart buttons will be deprecated in January 2026, and WPS will fully shut down in January 2027, causing payments to fail. This directly affects the PayPal Standard Add-On, which will no longer function after January 2027. The other legacy PayPal add-ons are not tied to WPS, but they remain deprecated and unsupported.
Recurring Payments: Billing Agreements vs Subscriptions
Legacy Add-Ons
Legacy PayPal add-ons used Billing Agreements (also known as Reference Transactions) to handle recurring payments. These agreements allowed PayPal to charge customers repeatedly without reauthorization.
PayPal Checkout
PayPal Checkout uses PayPal’s Subscriptions API, which replaces billing agreements. Existing billing agreements continue to work in PayPal but do not convert into the new Subscriptions system. New subscriptions created with PayPal Checkout use the new API.
Note: Legacy subscriptions rely on IPN to report renewal payments back to Gravity Forms. New subscriptions rely on Webhooks, which affects how renewal payments are communicated to your forms
Donations and Non-Profit Transactions
Legacy PayPal Standard
The legacy PayPal Standard add-on included a dedicated Donation transaction type that used PayPal’s legacy “Donate” flow. Users could select donation behavior directly in the feed settings.
PayPal Checkout
PayPal Checkout does not include a dedicated “donation” transaction type in the API. Donations are handled as standard payments or subscriptions, and non-profit discounts are determined by your PayPal account status rather than by the Gravity Forms feed configuration.
Donations are still supported, including recurring donations. However, discounted charity rates depend on your PayPal account being approved as a non-profit organization. The legacy “Donate button” experience is not replicated exactly.
Multiple PayPal Accounts per Form
Legacy PayPal Standard
The legacy PayPal Standard add-on allowed sending payments to different PayPal accounts and could be configured on a per-form or per-feed basis.
PayPal Checkout
PayPal Checkout supports one PayPal account connection. Payments from a form cannot be conditionally routed to multiple PayPal accounts. This limitation is frequently mentioned by users migrating from PayPal Standard.
Customizing Data Sent to PayPal
Legacy Add-Ons
Legacy PayPal add-ons provided filters such as gform_paypal_query and gform_paypalpaymentspro_args_before_send. These filters allowed developers to modify item names and descriptions, line-item data, prices and parameters, and subscription details.
PayPal Checkout
PayPal Checkout does not expose filters to modify the request sent to PayPal. Transaction data is generated internally and cannot be altered.
Note: If your site relies on these filters, there is currently no direct replacement when using PayPal Checkout.
On-Site Credit Card Entry
Legacy PayPal Pro / Payments Pro
These add-ons allowed customers to enter credit card details directly into the form using the Gravity Forms Credit Card field. Card data was collected on-site and sent to PayPal for processing.
PayPal Checkout
PayPal Checkout supports credit and debit card payments through the PayPal field. However, card entry is handled by PayPal’s checkout experience rather than a Gravity Forms credit card field. Customers can pay with a credit or debit card (with or without a PayPal account), and card details are entered into PayPal’s secure checkout interface. The Gravity Forms Credit Card field is not used.
This approach reduces PCI compliance requirements but does not allow the same level of field-level customization as the legacy PayPal Pro add-ons.
IPN vs Webhooks
Legacy Add-Ons
Legacy add-ons used Instant Payment Notifications (IPN), which provided more flexibility and configuration options.
PayPal Checkout
PayPal Checkout uses Webhooks, which are automatically configured and managed. Webhooks are less customizable but more reliable and secure. Legacy subscriptions still depend on IPN even after migration.
Checkout Onboarding Experience
PayPal Checkout uses PayPal’s modern onboarding process, which requires business verification (KYC), SSN/EIN and ownership details, and must be completed by the business owner. This is standard for modern payment processors but differs from older PayPal integrations that only required API credentials.
Note: Legacy subscriptions still depend on IPN even after migration.
Summary of Feature Differences
| Feature | Legacy PayPal Add-Ons | PayPal Checkout |
|---|---|---|
| API Status | Deprecated | Actively supported |
| One-Time Payments | Yes | Yes |
| Subscriptions | Billing Agreements | Subscriptions API |
| Donations | Dedicated type (Standard only) | Supported, no dedicated API type |
| Non-Profit Rates | Feed-based selection | Account-based approval |
| On-site Card Entry | Yes (Pro) | Yes |
| Multiple PayPal Accounts | Yes (Standard) | No |
| Request Customization | Filters available | No filters |
| Notifications | IPN | Webhooks |
When This Matters Most
You may need to review alternatives or redesign your payment flow if you rely on multiple PayPal accounts per form, custom transaction filters, legacy donation flows, or fine-grained control over PayPal request data.
For most standard payment and subscription use cases, PayPal Checkout is the recommended and supported solution.