Paddle
for Ultimate Member
Sell memberships through Paddle Billing — Merchant of Record tax handling included — and map every payment status to Ultimate Member roles automatically.
- Map each Paddle price to Ultimate Member roles by status — active, trialing, past due, paused, canceled, expired
- Overlay checkout via
[um_paddle_checkout]with server-side transactions and signature-verified webhooks - Recurring subscriptions and one-time purchases with optional timed expiry
- Paid registration: pay first, then the member account is created on webhook fulfilment
- Paddle is Merchant of Record — global sales tax / VAT collected and remitted for you
Ultimate Member runs roles, profiles, and access — but it cannot take a payment. Without a billing bridge, you are stuck manually upgrading members or bolting on a gateway that leaves you responsible for tax in every country you sell to.
Paddle for Ultimate Member connects Paddle Billing so paying members are provisioned and lapsed members are demoted automatically — with Paddle acting as the legal seller.
Map prices to roles
Create a Paddle Plan in WordPress, paste a Paddle price ID (pri_…), and choose which Ultimate Member role applies for each subscription status. Active and trialing keep access; canceled, expired, paused, and refunded demote to whatever role you configure.
Checkout that stays on your site
Drop [um_paddle_checkout plan="123"] on any page. The extension creates a Paddle transaction server-side with trusted custom data, then opens Paddle.js overlay checkout by transaction ID — card or PayPal, without sending buyers elsewhere.
- Webhook fulfilment — Roles are assigned from signature-verified webhooks, so access is reliable even if the buyer closes the tab.
- Loading & polling — Checkout shows a loading state, error toasts, and polls membership status after payment.
- Sandbox ready — Separate sandbox and production credentials so you can test before going live.
Subscriptions and one-time access
Sell recurring memberships or a single payment with optional expiry swept by cron. Past-due renewals can keep access for a configurable grace period; refunds and chargebacks revoke one-time access automatically.
Merchant of Record. Paddle collects and remits sales tax / VAT worldwide. You get paid without registering as a tax collector in every jurisdiction — the capability a typical Stripe-style setup cannot provide.
Paid registration and self-serve billing
Require payment before an Ultimate Member account is created: registration is held until the webhook confirms payment, then the user is provisioned. Existing members manage or cancel from a Billing tab on the UM account page via Paddle’s hosted portal.
- Local ledger — Subscriptions and events stored for support and reconciliation.
- Admin tools — Plans CPT, subscriptions list, event logs, API connection test, and per-user re-sync / re-apply role.
- Lifecycle emails — Welcome, past-due, and access-revoked notices when status changes.
Works with
- Ultimate Member — Roles, account status, registration forms, and the account page Billing tab.
- Paddle Billing — API transactions, Paddle.js overlay, signed webhooks, sandbox and live environments.
- WordPress REST — Checkout, membership-status polling, and webhook endpoints under
um-paddle/v1.
Requirements
- Ultimate Member 2.11+
- WordPress 6.2+
- PHP 8.1+ (OpenSSL recommended for encrypted secrets)
- A Paddle Billing account (sandbox or live)