Pay

Pay to Unlock is a WordPress plugin designed for creators and publishers who want to sell access to specific parts of their posts, such as paragraphs, snippets, files, or recipes, rather than locking entire articles or implementing full membership systems. The plugin addresses the need for a lightweight solution to monetize premium content on a per-section basis, avoiding the complexity of traditional membership plugins and preserving SEO by not hiding entire posts from search engines.

The tool integrates directly with WooCommerce, allowing each locked section to be tied to a WooCommerce product. Users can add locked sections via a Gutenberg block or a shortcode, making it compatible with the Classic Editor, page builders, and custom themes. Readers can unlock content with a one-time payment through WooCommerce checkout, without needing to create an account, and gain instant access to the purchased section. Payments are processed through the site’s existing WooCommerce setup, and unlocks as well as conversions are tracked in the dashboard.

Pay to Unlock offers a range of features in both its free and Pro versions. The free version supports guest checkout, instant access, basic analytics for views and unlocks per section, and four customizable themes for the lock box. The Pro version adds capabilities such as unlimited locked sections per post, timed access options, automatic re-locking on refunds, secure file delivery with expiring URLs, the ability to lock images, videos, and tables, category-wide locking rules, inline checkout popups, coupon support, a reader library dashboard, floating scroll call-to-action bars, revenue analytics per section, A/B testing for lock boxes, and protection for locked content in RSS feeds and REST API outputs.

The plugin is available as a free install with the option to upgrade to Pro for advanced features. It is suitable for writers, newsletter publishers, and anyone seeking to monetize premium content on WordPress without the overhead of a full membership system.