---
title: "User Guide: Paddle Payment Gateway for EDD"
description: "Paddle Payment Gateway for EDD lets Easy Digital Downloads take payments through Paddle Billing. This guide covers installation, connecting your Paddle account, subscriptions and refunds. ## Installation and setup ### 1. Requirements - WordPress 6.0 or later and PHP 7.4…"
url: "https://my.topeta.com/docs/paddle-payment-gateway-for-edd/setup-guides/user-guide-paddle-payment-gateway-for-edd/"
updated: "2026-11-07"
category: Setup Guides
---

# User Guide: Paddle Payment Gateway for EDD

Paddle Payment Gateway for EDD lets Easy Digital Downloads take payments through Paddle Billing. This guide covers installation, connecting your Paddle account, subscriptions and refunds.

## Installation and setup

### 1. Requirements

- WordPress 6.0 or later and PHP 7.4 or later.
- Easy Digital Downloads 3.1 or later.
- A **Paddle Billing** account. Paddle Classic accounts are not supported.
- EDD Recurring Payments, only if you sell subscriptions.

### 2. Install the plugin

1. Download the plugin .zip from [Downloads & updates](https://my.topeta.com/my-downloads/) in your account.
2. In WordPress, go to **Plugins > Add New Plugin > Upload Plugin**, choose the .zip and click **Install Now**.
3. Click **Activate**.

### 3. Create your Paddle credentials

Start in the Paddle sandbox ([sandbox-vendors.paddle.com](https://sandbox-vendors.paddle.com)) so you can test without real payments, then repeat these steps in your live account.

1. Go to **Developer tools > Authentication**.
2. Create an **API key** with read and write access to transactions, customers, adjustments, subscriptions and customer portal sessions.
3. Create a **client-side token**.

### 4. Add the webhook

1. Go to **Developer tools > Notifications** and click **New destination**.
2. URL: `https://your-site.com/wp-json/edd-paddle/v1/webhook`
3. Events: `transaction.paid`, `transaction.completed`, `transaction.payment_failed`, all `subscription.*` events, `adjustment.created` and `adjustment.updated`.
4. Save, then copy the destination's **secret key**.

### 5. Set the payment link

1. Go to **Checkout > Checkout settings**.
2. Set the **default payment link** to `https://your-site.com/?edd-listener=paddle`.
3. For live payments, approve your domain under **Checkout > Website approval**.

### 6. Connect EDD to Paddle

1. In WordPress, go to **Downloads > Settings > Payments > Paddle**.
2. Enter the API key, client-side token and webhook secret for the sandbox and for live.
3. Tick the payment methods that are turned on in your Paddle account, so the checkout lists them.
4. Choose **Overlay** or **Inline** checkout display.
5. Under **Payments > General**, enable **Paddle**. While EDD test mode is on, the sandbox credentials are used.

### 7. Turn off EDD taxes

Paddle is the merchant of record and charges tax at checkout. Turn off taxes in **Downloads > Settings > Taxes**, then choose the tax mode (prices include tax, exclude tax, or depend on the buyer's country) and the tax category in the Paddle settings.

### 8. Activate your license for automatic updates

1. Install the free [WordPress Topeta Framework](https://my.topeta.com/downloads/wp-topeta-framework/) plugin the same way.
2. Go to **Settings > Topeta Licenses**, paste your license key next to Paddle Payment Gateway for EDD and click **Activate**. Your key is under [Licenses](https://my.topeta.com/licenses/) in your account.
3. New versions then appear in **Dashboard > Updates**. Payments work without the framework; you only need it for updates. See the [framework user guide](https://my.topeta.com/docs/wordpress-topeta-framework/setup-guides/user-guide-wordpress-topeta-framework/).

## Subscriptions

With EDD Recurring Payments active, recurring products are charged through Paddle. Free trials, signup fees and first-payment discounts are supported. Renewals, failed payments, cancellations and the "times to bill" limit stay in sync between EDD and Paddle. A Paddle checkout creates one subscription, so each order can contain one recurring product.

## Refunds

Open the order in EDD, choose **Refund** and keep **Refund in Paddle** ticked. Full and partial refunds are sent to Paddle, which may review them before approval; the result is added to the order notes. A full refund made in the Paddle dashboard creates the refund in EDD automatically.

## Customer portal

Add the `` shortcode to an account page. Logged-in customers get a link to Paddle's portal, where they update payment methods, download invoices and manage subscriptions.

## Need help?

Open a ticket from [Support](https://my.topeta.com/support/) in your account.