Role-based pricing in WooCommerce means showing different prices to different user roles, such as wholesale buyers, retail customers or members. WooCommerce cannot do this on its own, so you need a plugin. Choose a focused role-pricing plugin for simple price tiers, or a full wholesale suite if you also need B2B registration, approvals and private catalogs. This guide compares ten current options.
What is role-based pricing for WooCommerce?
Every WooCommerce customer has a user role. The defaults are Customer and Shop manager, and plugins can add more, such as Wholesaler or Member. Role-based pricing connects those roles to price rules. A shopper who logs in as a wholesaler sees one price. A normal customer sees another. A guest sees the regular price, or no price at all.
Typical uses include:
- Wholesale and trade prices for business buyers.
- Member discounts for paying subscribers or loyalty tiers.
- Distributor or dealer pricing for resellers.
- Hiding prices from visitors who are not logged in.
How to use role-based pricing
- Define your roles. Decide which groups of buyers get special prices, and make sure each has its own user role.
- Choose a price rule per role. Options are usually a fixed price, a percentage discount, a fixed amount off or a markup.
- Apply the rule. Set it on a single product, on a category or across the whole store.
- Decide who sees prices. Many stores hide prices and the add-to-cart button from guests, to push buyers to register.
- Test as each role. Log in as a test user in each role and check the shop page, the product page, the cart and the final total.
Ten plugins compared
- Role Based Pricing by Addify
- YITH WooCommerce Role Based Prices
- Product Prices by User Roles
- ELEX WooCommerce Role Based Pricing
- Role Based Pricing for Woo by Meow Crew
- Dynamic Pricing by Element Stark
- Advanced Dynamic Pricing and Discount Rules
- Wholesale Suite
- WholesaleX
- B2BKing
1. Role Based Pricing by Addify
Role Based Pricing sets prices by user role or by individual customer. You can set a fixed price, or raise or lower the price by a percentage or an amount, and apply rules to products or categories in bulk. It also covers minimum and maximum order quantities, hiding prices and the add-to-cart button for guests or chosen roles, and CSV import and export of rules.
It works with product variations. It is sold on the WooCommerce Marketplace and has no free version.
2. YITH WooCommerce Role Based Prices
YITH WooCommerce Role Based Prices sets different prices for products by user role or for specific customers. It supports fixed prices, percentage discounts and markups, can hide prices and add-to-cart buttons from guests or chosen roles, and can show a price table by role on product pages.
It connects with other YITH plugins, such as Dynamic Pricing and Multi Vendor. It is a paid plugin.
3. Product Prices by User Roles
Product Prices by User Roles for WooCommerce lets each customer see the price intended for their role. It covers wholesale, B2B, dealer and member pricing, applies rules across the store or to individual products, supports variable products and can hide prices from selected roles.
It has a free version on wordpress.org. It is a straightforward choice when all you need is role price tiers.
4. ELEX WooCommerce Role Based Pricing
ELEX WooCommerce Role Based Pricing offers discounts or markups for product categories by customer role. It can also replace the add-to-cart button with a custom button and send shoppers to another URL for chosen products.
A basic version is free, and a premium version adds more. The button replacement helps stores that want a “request a quote” style button for certain roles.
5. Role Based Pricing for Woo by Meow Crew
This plugin lets you create new roles in your store, set prices for users in those roles and set custom prices for individual users. You can add purchase rules per product, including minimum and maximum quantities and a quantity step, stop non-logged-in users buying and hide prices from them.
It also has import and export. The free version is a good starting point if you want to build roles and prices in one place.
6. Dynamic Pricing by Element Stark
Dynamic Pricing covers quantity and tiered discounts, buy-X-get-Y offers, category and brand discounts, cart total discounts and scheduled price changes. Role pricing is one part of it: you can give a user role a percentage discount on all products, or attach it to a single product’s rule. Any role works, including roles created by membership plugins.
It is paid, and a good fit if role pricing is only one of several discount rules you want. See also our guide to dynamic pricing and discounts plugins.
7. Advanced Dynamic Pricing and Discount Rules
Advanced Dynamic Pricing supports bulk discounts, role discounts, bulk discounts for roles, cart discounts based on conditions and BOGO offers in its free version. The pro version adds items such as gift selection and discounts for chosen customers.
Choose it if you want one rule engine that handles role discounts alongside every other kind of pricing rule.
8. Wholesale Suite
Wholesale Suite starts with a free wholesale prices plugin: you enter a wholesale price on each product, for simple and variable products, and it applies to wholesale customers. Paid extensions add more B2B features.
It suits businesses that want a real wholesale channel with its own customers, not only a price tier.
9. WholesaleX
WholesaleX is a B2B and wholesale plugin that sets role-based wholesale prices, manages wholesale discounts, approves customers and restricts store and price access. Its listing states the free features do not expire or depend on a trial.
It is a strong option when you want registration, approval and pricing in one plugin.
10. B2BKing
B2BKing is a B2B and wholesale plugin for stores that serve businesses, or a mix of business and retail customers. It includes wholesale prices and a bulk order form, and has a free version with paid upgrades.
Pick it when you run a B2B-first store and expect to need features beyond price rules.
Quick comparison
| Plugin | Free version | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Role Based Pricing (Addify) | No | Role and customer prices with quantity rules |
| YITH Role Based Prices | No | Stores already on YITH plugins |
| Product Prices by User Roles | Yes | Simple role price tiers |
| ELEX Role Based Pricing | Yes, basic | Category discounts and button replacement |
| Role Based Pricing for Woo (Meow Crew) | Yes | Custom roles, per-user prices, quantity rules |
| Dynamic Pricing (Element Stark) | No | Role pricing plus many discount rules |
| Advanced Dynamic Pricing | Yes | One rule engine for all discounts |
| Wholesale Suite | Yes | A true wholesale channel |
| WholesaleX | Yes | Pricing with registration and approvals |
| B2BKing | Yes | B2B-first stores |
Choosing the right plugin
You only need price tiers
Use a focused plugin such as Product Prices by User Roles, ELEX or the Meow Crew plugin. They are simpler to set up and less likely to clash with your theme.
You also run other discounts
Use a rule engine such as Advanced Dynamic Pricing or Dynamic Pricing. Role discounts then sit beside bulk and cart rules in one screen, so you can see how they interact.
You sell to businesses
Use a wholesale suite such as Wholesale Suite, WholesaleX or B2BKing. They add what role pricing alone lacks: a registration form, approval of new accounts and control over who sees which products.
You want a quote workflow
If wholesale buyers negotiate, pair pricing with a quote tool. Our guide to request a quote plugins covers those.
A simple way to test before you buy
Most of these plugins have a free version or a demo. Install one on a staging copy of your store, create two test users with different roles, and price three products for each. Check the shop page, a product page, the cart and the order email as each user. A plugin that gets all four right on a small test will usually hold up on a full catalog. If the free version already covers your rules, you may not need to pay at all.
Setting up roles properly
Role pricing is only as good as your roles. A few habits save trouble.
- Create a separate role for each price tier. Do not reuse Customer for wholesale buyers.
- Give new roles the same basic capabilities as Customer, so they can log in and check out.
- If a membership plugin assigns roles on purchase, confirm the pricing plugin reads those roles.
- Decide what happens when a user has more than one role. Check the plugin’s documentation, because rules differ.
- Keep a test account for each role and log in as each one after every change.
Pitfalls to avoid
- Page caching. A cache can show one role’s price to another. Exclude logged-in users and the cart and account pages from caching, and check how your host handles it.
- Tax display. A discount can change how prices show with and without tax. Test your tax settings under each role.
- Sale price conflicts. Decide whether role prices override sale prices or the other way round, and test it.
- Coupons stacking with role prices. Check that a coupon cannot push a wholesale price below cost.
- Search and feeds. Product feeds and search results may show only the regular price. Check that nothing exposes wholesale prices to guests.
If your orders then need tracking, see our guide to order shipment tracking plugins.
Frequently asked questions
Can WooCommerce show different prices by user role without a plugin?
No. Core WooCommerce has one regular price and one sale price per product. You need a plugin or custom code to vary prices by role.
Is there a free role-based pricing plugin for WooCommerce?
Yes. Product Prices by User Roles, the basic ELEX plugin, Role Based Pricing for Woo by Meow Crew and Advanced Dynamic Pricing all have free versions on wordpress.org. Free versions limit some features.
How do I hide prices from guests?
Several plugins include a setting to hide prices and the add-to-cart button for visitors who are not logged in. Addify, YITH, Meow Crew and Product Prices by User Roles all list this option.
What is the difference between role pricing and a wholesale plugin?
Role pricing changes the price a role sees. A wholesale plugin adds the business side too, such as registration forms, account approval and restricted catalogs.
Does role-based pricing work with variable products?
Yes, in most plugins listed here. Check the product listing to confirm variation support, as some free versions apply rules at product level only.
Can I set a price for one specific customer?
Yes. Role Based Pricing by Addify and the Meow Crew plugin both support prices for individual customers as well as roles.
Why does a customer see the wrong price?
The most common causes are page caching, a user with the wrong role and a conflicting sale price. Log in as that user, clear the cache and check the role assigned to the account.
Where to go next
If you sell to groups with different needs, you may also want multistore plugins, gift card plugins and bulk product editing tools to keep a larger catalog tidy.