If you are running a WooCommerce store and selling customizable products, you probably know the struggle. A customer wants to order 50 custom t-shirts with their logo, but your product page only shows a fixed price. They have to email you, wait for a quote, go back and forth about sizes and quantities, and by the time you respond, they’ve already ordered from your competitor who had an instant pricing calculator on their website.
This is exactly where WooCommerce product add-ons plugins come in. These plugins let you add custom fields to your products like text inputs, dropdown menus, file uploads, and pricing calculators that show customers the exact price based on their selections.
But here’s the thing – there are many plugins available and they all claim to be the best. I spent time testing the most popular ones to see which actually delivers. In this guide, I will compare the 4 best WooCommerce product add-ons plugins and share my honest findings.
So let’s get started…!
What Do Product Add-Ons Plugins Actually Do?
Before jumping into the comparison, let me explain what these plugins actually do because many store owners get confused.
A product add-ons plugin allows you to add extra input fields to your WooCommerce product pages. For example, if you sell custom cakes, you can add:
- A text field where customers type the message they want on the cake
- A dropdown to select cake flavor (chocolate, vanilla, red velvet)
- A number field to choose how many layers
- A file upload to add their own image
- Checkboxes for extras like candles or gift wrapping
The plugin then calculates the total price based on what the customer selects. So if vanilla is $20, chocolate is $25, and each extra layer costs $10, the customer sees the price updating as they make choices.
This is different from WooCommerce variable products. With variable products, you have to manually create every possible combination (Small-Red, Small-Blue, Medium-Red, etc). With add-ons plugins, customers mix and match options freely and the price calculates automatically.
Also Read: How to Remove Add to Cart Button in WooCommerce (9 Ways)
How I Tested These Plugins
I tested each plugin by setting up a custom t-shirt printing product. This is a common use case that tests real-world pricing scenarios:
- Quantity selector (more shirts = lower price per shirt)
- Size selection (S, M, L, XL with different prices)
- Print location (front only, back only, both sides)
- Color count (1 color, 2 colors, full color)
- File upload for the design
- Text field for special instructions
This setup tests whether the plugin can handle complex pricing where multiple factors affect the final price. A plugin that can only add flat fees ($5 extra for XL) is very different from one that can do calculations like: base price × quantity × size multiplier + print location fee.
I also checked how each plugin looks on mobile since most customers shop on phones now.
Quick Comparison Table
| Plugin | Pricing Calculator | Real-Time Updates | Free Version | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PriceWise Pro | Formula-based (advanced) | Yes | Yes | $19/year |
| WooCommerce Product Add-Ons | Flat fees only | No | No | $49/year |
| YITH Product Add-Ons | Flat fees only | No | Yes | $99/year |
| Themehigh Extra Product Options | Flat fees only | No | Yes | $39/year |
Now let me explain each plugin in detail.
1. PriceWise Pro
If you need customers to configure products and see pricing update in real-time, PriceWise Pro is designed specifically for this. It’s not just another form builder – it’s a step-by-step calculator that guides customers through the pricing process.
How the interface works:
When customers visit your product page, they see a modern slider-based interface instead of all fields dumped on one page. It shows them progress like “1 of 5” so they know exactly where they are. They fill in a field, click “Next →,” and move to the next step. There’s also a “← Prev” button to go back.
The price updates in real-time in a footer that stays visible at the bottom. It also shows helpful info like “0 of 3 required fields complete” and “2 optional fields remaining.” So customers always know what they’re about to pay and what’s left to fill out.
The formula system – this is the key difference:
Other plugins only let you add flat fees. PriceWise Pro lets you write actual formulas using field keys in curly braces. Here’s a real example from a t-shirt shop:
(15 + {tshirt_style} + {size} + {print_type} + {rush_order}) * {quantity}
What this means:
- 15 is the base price
- {tshirt_style} pulls the price from whatever style they picked (Basic = $0, Premium = $5, Vintage = $8)
- {size} adds size pricing (S/M/L = $0, XL = $2, 2XL = $4, 3XL = $6)
- {print_type} adds print method cost (Screen = $0, DTG = $3, Vinyl = $5)
- {rush_order} adds $15 if checkbox is checked, $0 if not
- {quantity} multiplies the whole thing
So if someone orders 3 Premium XL shirts with DTG print and rush order: (15 + 5 + 2 + 3 + 15) × 3 = $120
The customer sees this price update live as they change any option. You can use basic math operators: + (add), – (subtract), * (multiply), / (divide), and parentheses to control order of operations.
Field types available:
You get 7 field types to build your calculator:
- Text Input – for names, custom text, any text info
- Number Input – for quantities, measurements (you can set min/max values)
- Dropdown – give them a list of options to choose from
- Radio Buttons – multiple choice, they can only pick one
- Checkboxes – let them select multiple options
- Slider – visual way to pick numbers
- File Upload – let customers upload design files (you can limit file types and max file size)
Three ways to assign calculators:
- Global Calculator – available everywhere via shortcode
- Product Calculator – assign to specific products through the WooCommerce product edit screen (you’ll see a “Calculator” tab in Product Data)
- Category Calculator – assign to entire product categories. Every product in that category automatically gets the calculator.
There’s also a priority system (1-100). If a product has its own calculator AND falls under a category with a calculator, the product-specific one takes priority. Higher numbers = higher priority.
Setting it up:
The plugin uses a tabbed interface:
- Basic tab: name, description, assignment strategy (global/product/category), category selection
- Formula tab: set your base price and write your pricing formula
- Fields tab: add and configure your input fields (this is where you build the actual calculator)
- Settings tab: active/inactive status, priority number, option to hide WooCommerce quantity selector
Two critical requirements:
This catches a lot of people:
- Your calculator MUST have at least one field added, or it won’t display on the frontend at all
- Your WooCommerce product MUST have a price set (even just $1 as placeholder). The calculator replaces this price, but WooCommerce needs something there initially.
If your calculator isn’t showing, check these two things first.
Design customization:
You get 15+ color controls – header background, title text, calculator background, button colors, and more. Each has an enhanced color picker where you can click to choose visually OR type hex codes directly.
Import/Export feature:
You can export all your calculators to a JSON file and import them back. Useful for monthly backups or moving calculators between sites.
What I liked:
The step-by-step slider interface is genuinely different – customers don’t get overwhelmed with all options at once. The formula system using curly braces and math operators lets you build real pricing logic where values multiply together. Category assignment saves time if you have many similar products. Their documentation includes a complete t-shirt shop example with exact field settings and formula you can copy.
What could be better:
Newer plugin so fewer third-party integrations currently. The formula syntax requires matching field keys exactly (case-sensitive). No free version to test before buying.
Pricing:
- Starter: $19/year (1 website)
- Professional: $39/year (1 website, all features)
- Agency: $100/year (5 websites)
Best for: Custom printing businesses, service quote calculators, any store where the final price depends on multiple customer choices that need to calculate together. The step-by-step interface works especially well for complex configurations with 5-8 options where you don’t want to overwhelm customers.
2. WooCommerce Product Add-Ons (Official Plugin)
This is the official plugin made by WooCommerce team. Being official means good compatibility with WooCommerce itself, but after testing it and reading through user reviews, I found some serious limitations you should know about.
How it actually works:
You add fields to products through the product edit screen. Go to the product, scroll down to Product Add-Ons section, and add your fields. You can create text fields, dropdowns, checkboxes, radio buttons, and file uploads.
For pricing, you add flat fees or percentage-based fees to options. For example, you can set “XL size: +$5” or “Gift wrapping: +10% of product price”. All prices just add together – the plugin can’t multiply values or do any real calculations.
The file upload problem:
If you plan to use the file upload feature, be careful. The plugin doesn’t let you limit file types or file sizes. This is a big security issue that many users have complained about. One user mentioned that PDFs and AI files triggered their malware protection and blocked customers from uploading, which meant they were losing sales.
Multiple reviewers on the WooCommerce site have asked for this basic feature for years, but it still hasn’t been added. If you have any security plugin on your site, file uploads through this plugin might cause problems.
The display and UX issues:
Several users report that all add-on options appear under dropdown menus, which can confuse customers. One reviewer said their customers kept getting errors saying “select all options before adding to cart” because the options weren’t clear. Another mentioned that after a plugin update, their add-ons started displaying side by side instead of stacked, which broke their product page layout.
The pricing limitation:
When I tried to set up my t-shirt pricing, I couldn’t do quantity-based calculations. The plugin doesn’t let you say “price changes based on quantity ordered.” You also can’t make certain combinations unavailable – for example, if you don’t have XXL in red color, there’s no way to disable that specific combination without creating hundreds of manual variations.
One frustrated user explained it well: if you need to change an option price, you might have to update hundreds of variations manually and recalculate each total. What should take minutes ends up taking hours.
The inventory problem:
If you use add-ons to upsell small items, there’s no way to link them to existing products for stock management. And here’s a bigger issue – extra items added through this plugin don’t appear as separate line items in the order. This causes problems with shipping internationally because customs forms need itemized products.
Support issues:
Despite being a premium paid plugin, several users report slow or no response from support. One user said they contacted support twice about a broken update and got no response at all.
What I liked:
The initial setup is straightforward for basic needs. It integrates cleanly with WooCommerce since it’s made by the same team. If you just need simple text fields or basic dropdowns without file uploads or complex pricing, it works.
What could be better:
No file type or size limits on uploads (security risk). Can’t disable specific option combinations. No formula support for calculations. Add-ons don’t show as separate order items. Support seems unreliable based on reviews. At $49 per site per year, many users feel it’s overpriced for what it offers.
Pricing: $49/year per site
Best for: Stores that need very simple add-ons like gift messages or basic text fields. I would avoid this plugin if you need file uploads, complex pricing, inventory tracking for add-on items, or if you sell internationally and need proper itemized orders.
Also Read: How to Change WooCommerce Add to Cart Button Text
3. YITH WooCommerce Product Add-Ons
YITH has a free version which makes it popular for store owners who want to test before buying. But after researching user reviews and checking the plugin’s history, I found some serious issues you should know about.
How it actually works:
You add fields through the product edit screen or create global option “blocks” that apply to multiple products. The free version gives you basic fields like text, dropdowns, and checkboxes. Premium version adds more field types like color swatches, date pickers, and conditional logic.
One useful feature is conditional logic – you can make certain fields appear only when specific options are selected. For example, showing a file upload field only when customer picks “custom design” option. This works correctly when it works.
The free version trap:
Here’s something important that many people don’t realize. One user complained: “I was looking for a plugin that allowed adding fields, that when selected, increase the price. All I can do is add a field, but there’s no option to enter a price for the field.”
That’s right – the free version lets you add fields, but you cannot add pricing to those options. If you want customers to pay extra for add-ons, you need the premium version which costs €120/year (about $99). The free version is basically a demo.
Updates break websites:
This is the biggest problem I found. Multiple users reported that plugin updates broke their sites. One user said: “Don’t use this! After update to Version 4.16.0, I got critical error on my webpage and my website is down!”
Another user with over 500 option images linked in the plugin had a nightmare experience. After updating to version 4.9.0, all option images disappeared because the plugin only stored image IDs. The supposed fix in version 4.9.1 didn’t work – all linked images were still gone. They had to mark products as out-of-stock because the pages looked terrible and didn’t function properly.
The same user mentioned that YITH adds inline CSS styling with !important tags, which breaks custom theme styling and requires hacky workarounds to fix.
Security vulnerabilities:
This is concerning. According to WPScan and Patchstack security databases, YITH WooCommerce Product Add-Ons has had 9 documented security vulnerabilities, including multiple Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) issues and a PHP Object Injection vulnerability rated 9.1 severity (critical). While these have been patched, it shows a pattern of security problems. If you use this plugin, make sure you always update to the latest version immediately.
Price not updating:
Several users reported that the pricing stopped working after updates. One user said: “It stopped working one week ago updating addons price on cart, and they do not even reply about the problem. I updated to 4.14.1 and it STILL is not fixed.”
When your pricing doesn’t work, you either lose sales or have angry customers who paid wrong amounts. Not good.
Compatibility problems:
Some users report that add-ons don’t show up on product pages due to theme conflicts. YITH’s own documentation says this happens with custom WooCommerce templates or page builders. You might need to use shortcodes as workarounds.
Also interesting – YITH Product Add-Ons is not compatible with YITH WooCommerce Dynamic Pricing and Discounts. That’s their own plugin! Users also report WPML compatibility issues for multilingual stores.
The interface:
Multiple reviewers describe the interface as “outdated,” “cluttered with unnecessary options,” and “overwhelming for first-time users.” Compared to newer plugins with modern drag-and-drop builders, YITH feels like it’s from an older era.
What I liked:
When it works, the plugin has lots of features. Conditional logic is useful. If you already use other YITH plugins and haven’t had problems, it might integrate well. The positive reviews mention that support does eventually fix issues, though response times vary.
What could be better:
Free version can’t add prices to options (basically useless for real use). Updates frequently break sites and features. Security vulnerability history is concerning. Interface feels dated. Premium costs €120/year which is expensive. Compatibility issues with themes and even their own plugins.
Pricing:
- Free version (can’t add pricing to options)
- Premium: €120/year (~$99)
Best for: I’m hesitant to recommend this plugin given the update problems and security history. If you really want to try it, test thoroughly on a staging site first and be very careful with updates. Don’t rely on the free version – it can’t actually add prices to your options.
4. Themehigh Extra Product Options
Themehigh has a solid reputation with over 2 million users and good reviews. Unlike some other plugins, Themehigh actually has mostly positive feedback – their support team gets praised frequently for quick responses.
How it actually works:
After installing, you navigate to Products > Extra Product Option in your WordPress dashboard. The plugin uses a section-based approach where you create “sections” containing fields, then assign those sections to specific products or categories.
This is different from other plugins where you add fields directly to each product. With Themehigh, you create a section once with all your options, then apply it to multiple products. If you have 50 t-shirt products that all need the same size/color options, you set it up once and assign it everywhere. This saves a lot of time for stores with many similar products.
The field types:
The free version gives you 20 field types including text, textarea, select dropdown, radio buttons, checkbox, number, hidden field, and paragraph. The premium version adds file upload, image group, color palette, date picker, and product groups – 27 types total.
Pricing options:
Themehigh offers more pricing options than some competitors:
- Fixed price: Add a set amount when option is selected
- Custom price: Customer enters the amount (good for donations or tips)
- Percentage: Add percentage of product price
- Dynamic: Price per unit (like $2 per character for engraving)
However, you still can’t create proper formulas where multiple fields multiply together. Each option just adds its own amount to the total.
What users actually say:
Most reviews praise the support team. One user said: “I have pretty complex options and it works so well. And then the support for any conflicts or errors is second to none – always fixed within 24 hours.”
Another mentioned: “I bought the plugin about a year ago. I loved how easy it was to set up and how well it worked. But what really blew me away was their support. They were super fast and very helpful!”
The plugin is also WPML compatible for multilingual stores.
What I liked:
Good reputation with 2 million+ users. Responsive support (usually within 24 hours according to reviews). Free version is actually useful with 20 field types. Affordable premium at $39/year. Reusable sections save time. WPML compatible.
What could be better:
No formula-based calculations – can’t multiply values together. The sections system has a learning curve. Some minor character encoding bugs reported with special characters. Interface could be more modern.
Pricing:
- Free version (20 field types, basic features)
- Premium: $39/year
Best for: Stores with many similar products that need the same options. Good choice if you need lots of field types with simple flat-fee pricing and want reliable support. Not ideal if you need complex pricing calculations.
Also Read: How to Change WooCommerce Button Color (4 Easy Ways)
Which Plugin Should You Actually Use?
After testing all four plugins, here’s my straightforward recommendation:
If price calculation is important for your products – meaning the final price depends on quantity, size, materials, or other factors that need to multiply together – PriceWise Pro is the only plugin that handles this properly. The formula system lets you set up real pricing logic, and the instant price updates give customers confidence in what they’re paying.
If you just need simple options with flat fees – like adding $5 for gift wrapping or $10 for engraving – the official WooCommerce Product Add-Ons or Themehigh will work fine. They’re simpler to set up for basic needs.
If you want to test for free first – try Themehigh or YITH free versions. They give you enough functionality to see if product add-ons will help your store before paying anything.
If you have many similar products – Themehigh’s reusable sections feature saves a lot of setup time. Create your options once, apply to dozens of products.
For most store owners selling custom products where pricing actually needs to be calculated based on customer choices, I recommend PriceWise Pro. The other plugins work for simple “add $5 for this option” scenarios, but they can’t handle real pricing logic where you need quantities and sizes and options to all factor into the final price together.
Check out PriceWise Pro: https://devtonicstudios.com/pricewise-pro/
FAQ
What is the best WooCommerce product add-ons plugin?
It depends on your needs. For complex pricing calculations that update in real-time, PriceWise Pro is the best choice. For simple add-ons with flat fees, WooCommerce Product Add-Ons or Themehigh work well. For testing without spending money, YITH and Themehigh have free versions.
Is there a free WooCommerce product options plugin?
Yes, both YITH and Themehigh offer free versions. These work for basic fields like text inputs and dropdowns with flat fee pricing. For advanced features like pricing calculators or more field types, you need premium versions.
Can I add a pricing calculator to WooCommerce?
Yes, but most plugins only support flat fees. For actual calculations where values multiply together (like quantity × price × size multiplier), you need PriceWise Pro which has formula-based pricing. Other plugins only let you add fixed amounts for each option.
How do I add custom fields to WooCommerce products?
Install a product add-ons plugin, go to your product edit screen, find the add-ons section, and add fields like text inputs, dropdowns, or checkboxes. You can make fields required or optional and assign pricing to each option. The exact steps vary slightly by plugin.
Do product add-ons plugins slow down my website?
Most form-based plugins like PriceWise Pro, WooCommerce Product Add-Ons, and Themehigh have minimal impact on speed. I noticed slight slowdown with YITH when adding many fields, but nothing major. If speed is critical, test on a staging site first.
Which plugin is best for custom printing business?
For printing businesses where pricing depends on quantity, size, colors, and print locations, PriceWise Pro handles this best because you can create formulas that calculate everything together. Other plugins only let you add flat fees which doesn’t work for real print pricing.
Wrapping it Up
Choosing the right WooCommerce product add-ons plugin comes down to one main question: do you need actual pricing calculations, or just simple options with flat fees?
If customers select options and the price needs to be calculated based on those selections, PriceWise Pro is what you need. If you just want to add simple extras like gift messages or basic choices where each option adds a fixed amount, Themehigh or the official WooCommerce plugin will do the job.
If you have any questions regarding this topic, please feel free to comment below, and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Also, if you would like me to cover some other WordPress-related topics, please contact us through our Contact Page, and I will be happy to write on those topics as well.
Thank you for reading. Have a great day ahead…!
