PayWhirl
PayWhirl is a cloud-based subscription billing and recurring payments platform that serves small and mid-sized e-commerce merchants through a multi-platform product, a Shopify app, a BigCommerce app, and supporting loyalty and upsell add-ons.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersVentura, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What PayWhirl does
PayWhirl Inc. operates a cloud-based subscription billing and recurring payments software platform, incorporated in California and headquartered at 9452 Telephone Rd #140, Ventura, with 1–10 employees. The company serves primarily small and mid-sized e-commerce merchants who need to bill for subscriptions, pre-orders, payment plans, or other non-standard recurring arrangements. Its product portfolio consists of a multi-platform core offering (PayWhirl Multi-Platform), a dedicated Shopify app (PayWhirl for Shopify), a BigCommerce app, and two Shopify add-ons — Glow Loyalty (rewards) and Upsell Wizard (upsell) — all built on a shared architecture featuring an embedded customer self-service portal, automatic recurring payment scheduling, and customizable invoice line items.
Underlying technology includes a hosted service running on AWS with Cloudflare for security and load balancing, Intercom for support, and Mailgun and MailChimp for transactional and marketing email. The platform integrates with six payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal, Square, Braintree, Authorize.net, Spreedly), Shopify, BigCommerce, ShipStation, Google Analytics, and Zapier, and maintains APIs (api.paywhirl.com and api.shop.paywhirl.com) for custom integrations. Compliance posture includes PCI-DSS via third-party processors, GDPR, CCPA, and PSD2/SCA with exemption filings, with a test/sandbox server provided for merchant onboarding.
PayWhirl monetizes through monthly subscription fees (charged per merchant regardless of transaction volume) plus transaction fees calculated as a percentage of gross billings processed through the platform. Acquisition is product-led: free trial signup without credit card on the company website, augmented by presence in the Shopify App Store and BigCommerce App Marketplace. Marketing relies on a blog with customer case studies, YouTube, and active social channels (Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn). The company has not raised outside funding, has no disclosed revenue, and shows no evidence of institutional ownership.
PayWhirl firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- PayWhirl
- Legal name
- PayWhirl Inc.
- Website
- https://app.paywhirl.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- PayWhirl is a cloud-based subscription billing and recurring payments platform that serves small and mid-sized e-commerce merchants through a multi-platform product, a Shopify app, a BigCommerce app, and supporting loyalty and upsell add-ons.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
PayWhirl industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Subscription Billing Software
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Recurring Billing, Subscriptions & Tokenized Payments (CRAFALAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Bill Pay, Invoicing & Payables Platforms (BPAMAFAF), Marketplace / Platform Acquiring (PayFac & Sub-Merchant Management) (FSAMABAF), App Monetization & Subscription Management Platforms (BPAMADAI)
Keywords
Where PayWhirl is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ventura
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
PayWhirl business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Monthly Subscription Fees: PayWhirl charges merchants a monthly fee based on their selected plan. The Monthly Fee is charged each month regardless of the number of transactions made. Prices are exclusive of taxes and fees.
- Transaction Fees: Transaction fees are accumulated based on each transaction processed through the platform, charged as a percentage of the transaction amount (gross billings). Transaction fees are non-refundable except when the merchant refunds a transaction to a subscriber.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free trial available with no credit card required for signup |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
PayWhirl product offering
Product offeringCore offering
PayWhirl provides cloud-based subscription management and recurring billing software for online merchants. Its platform enables businesses to sell subscriptions, pre-orders, payment plans, and custom billing arrangements, with an embeddable customer portal for self-service subscription management. It supports multiple payment gateways including Stripe, PayPal, Square, Braintree, Authorize.net, and Spreedly, and ships as both a multi-platform API offering and dedicated Shopify and BigCommerce apps.
Product overview
PayWhirl is a subscription management and recurring payments software company offering a multi-platform solution plus Shopify-specific apps. The core product (PayWhirl Multi-Platform) provides subscription billing, payment plans, pre-orders, and custom billing arrangements for any website. PayWhirl for Shopify is the dedicated Shopify app version. Two complementary add-on apps (Glow Loyalty and Upsell Wizard) extend functionality for Shopify merchants with loyalty/rewards and upsell capabilities. All products share a common architecture featuring embedded customer portals, automatic payment scheduling, and flexible invoice customization.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Glow Loyalty: A loyalty rewards program app for Shopify merchants
- Upsell Wizard
- PayWhirl Multi-Platform
- PayWhirl for Shopify
Products and services
- PayWhirl Multi-Platform
Companies that use PayWhirl
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
PayWhirl technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration10 records
Feature6 records
PayWhirl partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- StripecoreStripe is a primary payment gateway partner. PayWhirl integrates with Stripe for credit card transaction processing. Stripe handles payment processing while PayWhirl manages subscription billing logic.
- PayPalcorePayPal integration for processing subscription payments through the PayPal payment gateway.
- SquarecoreSquare integration as a payment gateway for processing credit card transactions through PayWhirl.
- BraintreecoreBraintree (PayPal subsidiary) integration for payment processing.
- Authorize.netcoreAuthorize.net integration for credit card payment processing as a payment gateway option.
- SpreedlycoreSpreedly integration for payment gateway connectivity.
- ShopifycorePayWhirl offers a dedicated Shopify app with native integration. Listed in the Shopify App Store. Also offers a Shopify-specific rewards program called Glow Loyalty and upsell tool Upsell Wizard.
- BigCommercecoreBigCommerce app marketplace listing for recurring payments and invoicing functionality.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreAWS provides hosting infrastructure for PayWhirl's cloud-based subscription management platform.
- CloudflarecoreCloudflare provides security, DNS, and load balancing services for the PayWhirl platform.
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
PayWhirl competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Bold Subscriptions: Bold Subscriptions is a Shopify-native subscription app offering recurring billing, payment plans, and customer portals, competing head-to-head with PayWhirl for Shopify in the SMB subscription space.
- Subbly: Subbly is a subscription e-commerce platform targeting small and mid-sized merchants, offering recurring billing, customer portals, and storefront functionality comparable to PayWhirl's SMB offering.
- Chargebee: Chargebee is a subscription billing and revenue management platform serving SaaS and e-commerce businesses, competing directly with PayWhirl on recurring billing, invoicing, and subscription management.
- Recharge Payments: Recharge is the leading Shopify subscription management app for DTC merchants, directly competing with PayWhirl for Shopify subscription billing customers with overlapping recurring payments and customer portal functionality.
- Recurly: Recurly is an enterprise-focused subscription management and recurring billing platform with similar subscription, dunning, and invoicing features, competing with PayWhirl in the mid-market segment.
Emerging players
- Outseta: Outseta offers subscription billing alongside CRM, email, and member management tools. It overlaps with PayWhirl's recurring billing capabilities for membership and subscription-based businesses, though with a different focus on integrated member ops.
- Memberful: Memberful provides subscription and membership billing for creators and small businesses, competing with PayWhirl in the membership and recurring billing segment for SMB customers.
Broad incumbents
- Shopify Subscriptions (Native): Shopify's native Subscriptions app is the first-party subscription offering from the e-commerce platform, directly competing with PayWhirl for Shopify and benefiting from preferred placement in the Shopify ecosystem.
- Stripe Billing: Stripe Billing is the subscription and recurring revenue product of Stripe, the dominant online payments processor. It is a broad incumbent competing with PayWhirl across all merchants using Stripe, often bundled with core payment processing.
- Square Subscriptions: Square Subscriptions is Square's built-in recurring billing product, offering subscription management to Square's merchant base and competing with PayWhirl for SMB merchants using Square as their payment processor.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks4 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
PayWhirl social profiles
Digital presencePayWhirl compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
PayWhirl financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
PayWhirl leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
PayWhirl funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
PayWhirl M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about PayWhirl
What does PayWhirl do?
PayWhirl provides cloud-based subscription management and recurring billing software for online merchants. Its platform enables businesses to sell subscriptions, pre-orders, payment plans, and custom billing arrangements, with an embeddable customer portal for self-service subscription management. It supports multiple payment gateways including Stripe, PayPal, Square, Braintree, Authorize.net, and Spreedly, and ships as both a multi-platform API offering and dedicated Shopify and BigCommerce apps.
Is PayWhirl a public or private company?
PayWhirl is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was PayWhirl founded?
PayWhirl was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is PayWhirl based?
PayWhirl is headquartered in Ventura, United States, in the North America region.
How does PayWhirl make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Monthly Subscription Fees are the primary driver. The others are transaction Fees.
Who are PayWhirl's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Bold Subscriptions, Subbly, Chargebee, Recharge Payments and Recurly. Emerging players are Outseta and Memberful. Broad incumbents are Shopify Subscriptions (Native), Stripe Billing and Square Subscriptions.
Does PayWhirl have an API?
Yes. PayWhirl offers a multi-platform API and a Shopify-specific API for developers. The API documentation URLs identified are: api.paywhirl.com (Multi-Platform API Docs) and api.shop.paywhirl.com (Shopify App API Docs). Specific API capabilities, endpoints, authentication methods, rate limits, and versioning details are not detailed in the provided source content. Developer documentation is at api.paywhirl.com.
What industry is PayWhirl in?
PayWhirl's product category is Subscription Billing Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAFALAH, Recurring Billing, Subscriptions & Tokenized Payments, with a secondary code of BPAMAFAF, Bill Pay, Invoicing & Payables Platforms. Its NAICS code is 518 and its SIC code is 7372.