facebook_ads

Top 9 WooCommerce Product Recommendation Plugins

Summarize this post in AI's:

ChatGPT Claude Perplexity Gemini

Running a WooCommerce store means constantly seeking ways to increase revenue without spending heavily on acquiring new customers. What if you could boost your sales by simply showing the right products to visitors already browsing your store?

But the real challenge is that WooCommerce’s default recommendation features are limited. You cannot customize where recommendations appear, automate product suggestions based on customer behavior, or create compelling bundle deals that drive conversions. This is where WooCommerce product recommendation plugins become essential tools for serious store owners.

In this comprehensive guide, you’ll discover the top nine WooCommerce product recommendation plugins that can transform casual browsers into repeat buyers. Each plugin offers unique features designed to increase your average order value, improve customer experience, and ultimately grow your bottom line.

Table of contents

Why Product Recommendations Matter for Your WooCommerce Store

Product recommendations are essential for modern WooCommerce stores. Here’s why:

  • Revenue Boost: According to Barilliance’s analysis of over 300 eCommerce sites, product recommendations generate 12% of total revenue on average. For smaller stores, effective systems can increase sales by 10-30%.
  • Higher Conversions: The conversion rate of visitors who clicked on product recommendations was 5.5 times higher than non-clicking customers. This multiplier effect dramatically increases the value of each visitor.
  • Customer Expectations: Salesforce reports that 73% of customers expect businesses to understand their unique needs. Personalized recommendations meet this demand while improving the shopping experience.
  • Inventory Optimization: Pair slow-moving products with bestsellers to clear inventory faster, reduce carrying costs, and maintain healthy stock levels.
  • Increased Lifetime Value: When customers discover more products they love through recommendations, they return more frequently, building profitable long-term relationships.
  • Competitive Advantage: Many smaller WooCommerce stores neglect product recommendations, giving early adopters a significant edge in their market.

Understanding Different Types of Product Recommendations

WooCommerce product recommendation plugins support various recommendation strategies. Understanding these types helps you choose plugins that match your business goals.

Upsell Recommendations

Upsells suggest higher-priced or premium versions of products customers are viewing. When someone looks at a basic laptop, you might recommend a model with better specifications, more storage, or enhanced features.

This strategy works because customers already have purchase intent. They’re in buying mode, making them receptive to considering better options if the value proposition makes sense.

Cross-Sell Recommendations

Cross-sells suggest complementary products that enhance the main purchase. These recommendations appear on product pages, cart pages, or during checkout, presenting items that naturally pair with what customers are buying.

The smartphone and phone case example perfectly illustrates cross-selling. Other effective combinations include cameras with memory cards, printers with ink cartridges, or clothing items with accessories.

3.Frequently Bought Together

This powerful strategy shows products that other customers commonly purchase together. It leverages social proof and convenience, making it easy for shoppers to add multiple related items with one click.

The psychological impact is significant. When customers see that hundreds of other people bought specific products together, it validates their purchasing decision and reduces hesitation.

4.Recently Viewed Products

These recommendations remind visitors about products they previously looked at during their browsing session. This feature helps customers easily return to items they’re considering, reducing friction in the purchase process.

5.Bestsellers and Top-Rated Products

Showcasing your most popular or highest-rated products taps into social proof. Customers trust that if many others purchased or highly rated an item, it’s likely a good choice.

6.New Arrivals

Highlighting new products keeps your store fresh and gives returning customers reasons to browse again. This strategy works particularly well for fashion, electronics, and seasonal product categories.

Top 9 WooCommerce Product Recommendation Plugins

After extensive research and testing, here are the nine best WooCommerce product recommendation plugins available today. Each offers unique strengths for different business needs and budgets.

1. UpsellWP

UpsellWP stands out as a comprehensive solution for WooCommerce store owners who want maximum flexibility in creating product recommendations.

Key Features:

  • Create multiple recommendation types including upsells, cross-sells, frequently bought together, and specific product suggestions
  • Display recommendations on product pages, cart, checkout, thank-you pages, and popup offers
  • Pre-designed templates for quick campaign setup
  • One-click upsell functionality for seamless customer experience
  • Discount application on recommended products to increase conversion
  • Smart product sorting based on popularity, ratings, price, and more
  • Schedule campaigns to run during specific periods
  • Detailed analytics to track campaign performance

What Makes It Special:

UpsellWP’s strength lies in its versatility. You can customize virtually every aspect of your product recommendations, from what products to show to where they appear and when they display. The plugin uses intelligent algorithms to personalize suggestions based on customer behavior and purchase history.

The one-click upsell feature on popup offers creates a frictionless experience. Customers can add recommended products without leaving their current page, reducing the steps needed to complete a purchase.

Pricing:

Free version available with basic features. Premium plans start at approximately $75 per year, offering advanced features like unlimited campaigns, priority support, and additional display locations.

Best For:

Store owners who want complete control over their upselling strategy and need flexibility to test different approaches. Ideal for stores with diverse product catalogs that require sophisticated recommendation logic.

2. Product Recommendations for WooCommerce (Official WooCommerce Plugin)

This is the official product recommendation plugin built specifically for WooCommerce by Automattic, the company behind WooCommerce itself.

Key Features:

  • Machine learning algorithms that improve recommendations over time
  • Combines artificial intelligence with human curation
  • Smart upsells, cross-sells, and frequently bought together suggestions
  • Context-aware recommendations across product pages, cart, and checkout
  • Analytics dashboard to measure recommendation performance
  • Bulk addition of recommendations using category, attribute, tag, and price filters
  • Native integration with WooCommerce block themes

What Makes It Special:

Being the official WooCommerce product recommendation engine means this plugin receives ongoing development and guaranteed compatibility with WooCommerce updates. The machine learning component continuously improves recommendation accuracy based on your store’s actual sales data.

The plugin analyzes customer behavior patterns to suggest products that genuinely match what individual shoppers want, rather than just displaying random related items.

Pricing:

Premium plugin with pricing starting around $79 per year for a single site license. Higher tiers available for stores with larger product catalogs and higher traffic.

Best For:

Store owners who prioritize reliability and want a solution backed by WooCommerce’s development team. Particularly suitable for stores planning to use block-based themes and need guaranteed long-term compatibility.

3. YITH WooCommerce Frequently Bought Together

YITH has built a strong reputation in the WooCommerce ecosystem, and their Frequently Bought Together plugin delivers solid performance for cross-selling strategies.

Key Features:

  • Unlimited product suggestions for each individual product
  • Customizable section titles and call-to-action buttons
  • Discount application for bundle purchases
  • Display suggestions based on upsells, cross-sells, related products, or specific manual selections
  • Responsive design that works on all devices
  • Multiple language support
  • Integration with other YITH plugins for expanded functionality
  • 30-day money-back guarantee

What Makes It Special:

YITH’s plugin excels at creating Amazon-style “frequently bought together” sections that have proven effective for increasing average order values. Research shows that Amazon A/B testing demonstrated that displaying related and complementary products and offering a discount for buying multiple products in the same order can increase conversions by 10-15%.

The plugin makes it simple to manually curate product bundles while also offering automatic suggestions based on product relationships.

Pricing:

Free version available with basic functionality. Premium version starts at $79.99 for a single site license, with options for multi-site licenses at higher price points.

Best For:

Stores focused on creating curated product bundles with strategic discounts. Works especially well for retailers selling complementary products in categories like fashion, electronics, or home goods.

4. Leo Product Recommendations

Leo Product Recommendations takes a unique approach by displaying recommendations in attractive popups that appear after customers add items to their cart.

Key Features:

  • Eye-catching popup displays that capture attention without being intrusive
  • Manual and dynamic recommendation methods
  • Fully customizable settings panel for popup design
  • Smart product suggestions based on categories and relationships
  • Mobile-optimized popup displays
  • Compatible with WooCommerce blocks and major page builders (Divi, Elementor, WPBakery)
  • Works with quick view plugins
  • Template files for advanced customization

What Makes It Special:

The popup approach creates a natural break in the shopping flow, presenting recommendations at a moment when customers have already committed to a purchase. This timing increases the likelihood of adding more items since the buying decision has already been made.

The plugin’s compatibility with various page builders and quick view features makes it adaptable to different store designs without requiring extensive customization work.

Pricing:

Freemium model with a capable free version. Premium version unlocks at $79 with additional customization options and advanced features.

Best For:

Store owners who want to implement recommendations without modifying their existing product page layouts will find this approach particularly valuable. In particular, it’s ideal for stores where traditional product recommendation sections might potentially disrupt carefully designed page templates. As a result, brands can preserve their visual identity while simultaneously enhancing the customer experience.

5. WPC Frequently Bought Together

Developed by WPClever, this plugin offers robust functionality for creating sophisticated product bundles with flexible pricing structures.

Key Features:

  • Advanced AJAX search functionality to find products by SKU, title, or phrase
  • Set discount prices using percentages or fixed amounts
  • Customize quantity limits for bundled products
  • Multiple selector interfaces including dropdown and radio buttons
  • Control over product visibility, images, and price display
  • Show or hide product details like thumbnails and descriptions
  • Premium version supports variable products and specific variations
  • Smart rules for bulk addition of recommendations based on conditions

What Makes It Special:

WPC’s plugin handles complex bundle scenarios that other plugins struggle with. You can create deals with different quantities and price adjustments for each item. For example, a bundle might include one accessory at 90% price, two accessories at 80% price, and three accessories at 75% price, all with the main product also discounted.

This flexibility allows sophisticated promotional strategies that can dramatically increase average order values for stores selling products with multiple accessory options.

Pricing:

Free version provides core functionality. Premium version starts at approximately $35.99 per year, offering smart rules, variable product support, and priority support.

Best For:

Stores with complex product relationships requiring flexible bundle configurations. Particularly valuable for electronics retailers, camera equipment stores, or any business selling products with multiple compatible accessories.

6. Beeketing

Beeketing takes an all-in-one approach, offering product recommendations as part of a comprehensive marketing automation platform.

Key Features:

  • Personalized product recommendations that track visitor behavior
  • Sales notification popups showing recent purchases to build social proof
  • Countdown timers creating urgency on product pages
  • Exit-intent popups to capture abandoning visitors
  • Email automation for cart recovery and customer follow-up
  • Coupon popup functionality to encourage first purchases
  • Mobile converter optimizing product pages for mobile devices
  • Detailed analytics reporting on conversions and sales

What Makes It Special:

Rather than just handling product recommendations, Beeketing provides a complete marketing toolkit. This integrated approach means you can coordinate recommendations with urgency tactics, social proof, and email marketing from a single platform.

The platform’s AI analyzes customer behavior across all these touchpoints, creating a cohesive strategy that guides visitors toward purchase decisions.

Pricing:

Tiered pricing structure with some features available free.

Best For:

Store owners who want an integrated marketing solution beyond just product recommendations. Ideal for businesses ready to invest in a comprehensive platform that handles multiple aspects of conversion optimization.

7. Recommendation Engine for WooCommerce

This plugin focuses specifically on creating intelligent, behavior-based product recommendations that improve over time.

Key Features:

  • Real-time analysis of customer viewing and purchasing patterns
  • Automatic suggestion generation requiring minimal manual configuration
  • On-site data processing ensuring privacy compliance
  • Intuitive dashboard for monitoring recommendation performance
  • Detailed analytics tracking which recommendation types drive sales
  • Scheduled automatic rebuilds of recommendation data
  • WP-CLI support for advanced users and developers
  • Minimal impact on site performance through efficient algorithms

What Makes It Special:

The Recommendation Engine distinguishes itself through its focus on automation and machine learning. Rather than requiring extensive manual setup, it begins working immediately by analyzing customer behavior patterns.

The system becomes more intelligent over time, learning which products naturally complement each other based on actual customer actions rather than predefined rules.

Pricing:

Premium plugin typically priced around $79 per year depending on store size and feature requirements.

Best For:

Store owners who prefer automated solutions over manual configuration. Perfect for stores with large catalogs where manually creating product relationships would be impractical.

8. FunnelKit Funnel Builder

FunnelKit Funnel Builder (formerly WooFunnels) is a comprehensive sales funnel solution that includes powerful product recommendation features integrated throughout the entire customer journey.

Key Features:

In-cart product recommendations with slide-in mini cart

  • Order bump offers directly on checkout pages
  • One-click post-purchase upsells without re-entering payment details
  • Milestone-based rewards system to encourage larger purchases
  • Smart conditional rules based on cart total, products, categories, and customer data
  • Visual funnel builder with drag-and-drop canvas
  • Real-time analytics and conversion tracking
  • Pre-built templates for checkout, upsell, and thank you pages
  • Compatible with major page builders (Elementor, Divi, Gutenberg)
  • -A/B testing capabilities for continuous optimization

What Makes It Special:

FunnelKit stands out by offering product recommendations at strategic points throughout the sales funnel. The slide-in cart shows recommendations when customers add products, order bumps appear during checkout, and one-click upsells present after purchase completion.

The rule engine allows sophisticated targeting, showing different recommendations based on customer location, order history, cart contents, and dozens of other conditions. This level of personalization ensures recommendations feel relevant rather than random.

The milestone-based rewards feature gamifies the shopping experience, encouraging customers to add more items to reach free shipping thresholds or unlock discount tiers.

Pricing:

Free version available with basic features. Premium plans start at $189 per year for two sites, including FunnelKit Cart for comprehensive recommendation capabilities.

Best For:

Store owners who want to build complete sales funnels with product recommendations integrated at every stage. Ideal for businesses focused on maximizing average order value through strategic upselling and cross-selling throughout the customer journey.

9. Advanced Product Recommendations by WebToffee

WebToffee’s solution offers automatic product suggestion generation with extensive customization options.

Key Features:

  • Pre-built recommendation templates including frequently bought together, recently viewed, bestsellers, top-rated, and new arrivals
  • Two-click setup for quick implementation
  • Create upsells, cross-sells, and custom recommendations
  • Flexible display options in grid or slider formats
  • Product sorting by price, rating, popularity, or random order
  • Automatic removal of out-of-stock products from recommendations
  • Control over number of products displayed and items per view
  • Compatibility with all product types including simple, variable, and subscription products

What Makes It Special:

WebToffee’s plugin strikes an excellent balance between automation and control. The pre-built templates allow quick deployment while still offering extensive customization for store owners who want specific recommendation strategies.

The plugin’s ability to automatically hide out-of-stock items prevents customer frustration and maintains a polished shopping experience.

Pricing:

Pricing starts around $89 per year for single site license. Offers a 30-day money-back guarantee and includes one year of updates and support.

Best For:

Store owners who want proven recommendation templates with the flexibility to customize as needed. Ideal for stores that value rapid implementation but don’t want to sacrifice control over the customer experience.

Comparison Table: Top 9 WooCommerce Product Recommendation Plugins

PluginFree VersionStarting PriceKey StrengthBest For
UpsellWPYes$75/yearComplete customization and flexibilityStores needing sophisticated recommendation strategies
Product Recommendations (Official)No$79/yearMachine learning and WooCommerce integrationStores prioritizing reliability and long-term compatibility
YITH Frequently Bought TogetherYes$79.99/yearBundle creation with discountsFashion, electronics, and home goods retailers
Leo Product RecommendationsYes$79/yearPopup-based recommendationsStores with custom product page designs
WPC Frequently Bought TogetherYes$36/yearComplex bundle configurationsElectronics and accessory retailers
BeeketingPartial$8-49/monthAll-in-one marketing platformStores wanting integrated marketing tools
Recommendation EngineNo$79/yearAutomated machine learningLarge catalogs needing automated recommendations
FunnelKit Funnel BuilderYes$89/yearComplete sales funnel integrationStores maximizing order value through strategic upselling
Advanced Recommendations (WebToffee)Limited$89/yearPre-built templates with customizationStores wanting quick implementation

How to Choose the Right WooCommerce Product Recommendation Plugin

Selecting the best plugin for your store requires considering several factors beyond just features and pricing.

Assess Your Store Size and Complexity

Small stores (50-100 products) can use simpler plugins with manual product selection. Medium stores (100-1,000 products) benefit from plugins offering both manual and automated features. Large stores (1,000+ products) require robust automation and machine learning capabilities, as manual curation becomes impractical at scale.

Consider Your Technical Expertise

If you’re comfortable with WordPress, choose plugins offering extensive customization options for greater control. If technical work feels overwhelming, prioritize plugins with simple setup processes and good default settings that work effectively right out of the box.

Evaluate Integration Requirements

Consider which tools your store already uses—page builders, email marketing services, or analytics platforms. Ensure your chosen plugin integrates smoothly with these systems. Understanding your integration needs helps avoid compatibility issues after installation.

Budget Considerations

Balance initial costs against potential revenue increases. A $99 annual plugin that increases monthly revenue by $500 provides excellent ROI, while a $29 plugin that barely moves the needle wastes money. Consider both the plugin price and time investment required for setup and maintenance.

Performance Impact

Product recommendation features should enhance your store without slowing it down. Page speed directly affects conversion rates. Look for plugins that cache recommendation data, use optimized code, and have positive reviews mentioning performance.

Support and Updates

Check how responsive the developer is to support requests and whether they regularly update the plugin for WordPress and WooCommerce compatibility. Plugins without recent updates pose security risks and may break during core software updates.

Best Practices for Implementing Product Recommendations

Installing a plugin is just the first step. These practices help you maximize the value of your WooCommerce product recommendation plugins.

Start with High-Value Products

To begin with, implement recommendations first on your bestselling products and highest-margin items. Importantly, these products already attract the most visitors, thereby giving your recommendations maximum exposure and the greatest potential impact.
Once you’ve optimized recommendations for top performers, then expand to other products using the lessons learned from your initial implementations. In this way, you can scale your strategy effectively while minimizing risk.

Test Different Recommendation Types

Not all recommendation strategies work equally well for every store. Test upsells, cross-sells, and frequently bought together approaches to discover what resonates with your specific audience.

Use your plugin’s analytics features to track which recommendation types generate the most revenue. Double down on strategies that work while eliminating or revising those that underperform.

Keep Recommendations Relevant

The most common mistake with product recommendations is showing irrelevant items. Customers lose trust when your store suggests products that make no sense with their current shopping context.

Regularly review your automated recommendations and manual product pairings. Remove suggestions that don’t genuinely complement the main product or add value to the customer.

Optimize Display Placement

Where recommendations appear significantly impacts their effectiveness. Product pages, cart pages, and checkout each offer different advantages depending on your goals.

Test multiple placement options to find what works best. Some stores find product page recommendations most effective, while others generate more revenue from cart page suggestions.

Use Compelling Copy and Design

Generic headings like “Related Products” perform poorly compared to specific, benefit-focused alternatives. Try “Complete Your Setup” for accessories, “Customers Also Bought” for social proof, or “Perfect Combinations” for bundles.

Ensure recommendation sections match your store’s design while still standing out enough to capture attention. Poor visual integration makes recommendations look like ads that customers ignore.

Leverage Discounts Strategically

Offering small discounts on recommended products can tip hesitant customers toward adding more items. However, excessive discounting trains customers to expect deals and hurts your margins.

Test threshold-based discounts like “Save 10% when you buy three or more items” to encourage larger purchases without devaluing individual products.

Monitor and Iterate

Product recommendations require ongoing optimization. What works this month might underperform next month as your product mix, customer base, or seasonal factors change.

Set a regular schedule to review recommendation performance, test new strategies, and refine existing implementations. This continuous improvement approach compounds over time.

Mobile Optimization

More than 60% of e-commerce conversions now happen on mobile devices, making mobile optimization critical. Ensure your product recommendations display correctly and load quickly on smartphones and tablets.

Test the entire customer journey on mobile devices, from viewing recommendations to adding suggested products to completing checkout.

Measuring Success: Key Metrics to Track

Understanding whether your product recommendation strategy works requires tracking specific metrics beyond just overall revenue.

Average Order Value (AOV)

The average order value stands at $168.64 across e-commerce, but this varies significantly by industry. Track your AOV before and after implementing recommendations to measure direct impact.

Calculate AOV by dividing total revenue by number of orders. Increasing this metric means customers are buying more per transaction, directly indicating successful recommendations.

Recommendation Click-Through Rate

What percentage of customers click on your recommended products? This metric reveals how compelling your recommendations appear to shoppers.

Low click-through rates suggest problems with recommendation relevance, placement, or design. High rates indicate customers find your suggestions valuable.

Recommendation Conversion Rate

Of customers who click recommendations, how many actually purchase the recommended items? This metric measures the quality of your product suggestions.

Good recommendations convert at higher rates because they genuinely match customer needs. Poor recommendations get clicks but few purchases.

Revenue Attribution

What percentage of your total revenue comes directly from recommended products? Most plugins provide analytics showing this critical metric.

Tracking revenue attribution helps justify your plugin investment and identify which recommendation types generate the most value.

Customer Return Rate

Do customers who purchase recommended products return to buy again? This long-term metric reveals whether recommendations enhance overall customer satisfaction.

Higher return rates among customers who bought recommended products suggest you’re successfully introducing them to products they genuinely enjoy.

The Future of Product Recommendations

Understanding emerging trends helps you stay ahead of competition and prepare for coming changes in e-commerce product recommendations.

Artificial Intelligence and Personalization

Machine learning algorithms continue improving, enabling increasingly sophisticated personalization. Future recommendation systems will analyze hundreds of behavioral signals to predict what individual customers want before they know themselves.

AI-driven recommendations have been shown to increase conversion rates by up to 30%, and this performance gap will likely widen as algorithms become more sophisticated.

Visual Search Integration

Emerging technologies allow customers to upload images and receive product recommendations based on visual similarity. This approach particularly benefits fashion and home decor retailers.

As these capabilities mature, WooCommerce product recommendation plugins will likely incorporate visual search to complement traditional text-based approaches.

Voice Commerce

Voice assistants increasingly influence shopping behavior. Future recommendation systems may need to optimize for voice queries where customers ask for product suggestions verbally.

Social Commerce Integration

Recommendation systems will increasingly incorporate social proof signals from social media platforms. Products popular on Instagram or TikTok will surface automatically in recommendations.

Augmented Reality Previews

As AR technology becomes mainstream, customers will preview recommended products in their physical space before buying. Furniture retailers already use this approach, but expect expansion into many other product categories.

Conclusion

Implementing the right WooCommerce product recommendation plugins can transform your online store from a simple product catalog into an intelligent shopping assistant that increases revenue while improving customer satisfaction.

Each plugin covered in this guide offers unique strengths for different business situations. UpsellWP provides maximum flexibility for stores needing sophisticated customization. The official Product Recommendations plugin offers reliability and guaranteed compatibility.

Your choice depends on your specific needs: store size, technical comfort level, budget, and business goals. Small stores might start with simpler, affordable options like WPC Frequently Bought Together. Medium-sized stores benefit from balanced solutions like YITH or the official WooCommerce plugin. Large stores require robust automation from tools like the Recommendation Engine or UpsellWP.

Whatever you choose, remember that installation is just the beginning. Successful product recommendations require testing different strategies, monitoring performance metrics, and continuously optimizing based on real customer behavior.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will a recommendation plugin slow down my store?

Quality product recommendation plugins have minimal impact on site speed. However, poorly coded plugins or those making excessive database queries can slow your store. Always test plugin performance and choose options with good reviews mentioning fast loading times.

Can I use multiple recommendation strategies simultaneously?

Yes, most advanced plugins allow multiple recommendation types. You might display upsells on product pages, cross-sells in the cart, and frequently bought together bundles during checkout. Testing different combinations helps identify what works best for your specific store.

Do product recommendations work for all product types?

Product recommendations work across most product categories but perform particularly well for complementary items like electronics with accessories, fashion with coordinating pieces, or consumables with refill items. Stores selling highly specialized or niche products may see less dramatic results.

What features should I look for in a product recommendation plugin?

When selecting a WooCommerce product recommendation plugin, prioritize these essential features:

Should I use manual or automated product recommendations?

The best approach depends on your store size, resources, and business goals. Manual recommendations give you complete control over which products pair together. This works well for stores with fewer than 100 products where you have deep knowledge of customer preferences and product relationships. Fashion boutiques, specialty retailers, and curated shops often benefit from manual selection because they can create thoughtful combinations that reflect their brand aesthetic and merchandising strategy.

How can I prevent product recommendations from feeling pushy or annoying to customers?

The key to non-intrusive product recommendations lies in relevance, timing, and presentation. Ensure every recommendation genuinely adds value—suggesting a laptop bag for a laptop purchase makes sense, but unrelated items damage trust. Show recommendations after customers add items to their cart, not immediately upon landing. Limit displays to three to five items to avoid decision paralysis.

Picture of Bala Valli
Bala Valli
I’m a writer who SaaS-es up content and Woo’s audiences with words. By blending creativity with strategy, SEO expertise, and in-depth knowledge of SaaS and WooCommerce. I bring ideas to life—making information not just engaging but also accessible for businesses looking to scale.