Ten shirts, one order, one buyer who is clearly worth looking after. You would happily knock 20% off an order that size, and they would happily buy more if they could see the better price. In plain WooCommerce, neither of you gets what you want: the price stays at 10 times the single-unit rate, and the bigger sale quietly does not happen.
Quantity discounts fix that. But “quantity discount” hides two different jobs, and stores waste weeks using the wrong tool for theirs. I make both plugins that do these jobs, so this guide splits them cleanly and points you at the right one. Both have free versions, so you can test on your own store tonight.
The split in one line: If your product has a normal price and you want “buy more, pay less” off that price, you want a discount plugin: DiscountWise, free. If your product’s price is a calculation and quantity is one input in it, you want a calculator: PriceWise, free to start. Same word, two tools.
Way 1: a discount off a set price (most people want this)
Your t-shirt is $25. Buy 3 to 9 and take 10% off. Buy 10 or more and take 20% off. The product keeps its normal price, and buying more earns a discount against it. That is the classic bulk or tiered discount, and it is what nearly everyone searching for “WooCommerce quantity discounts” actually means.
This is what I built DiscountWise for, and it is free. You set the tiers once:
A shopper who adds 10 to the cart pays $200 instead of $250, and DiscountWise strikes out the old price, shows a sale badge, and adds a “You saved” line so they feel it. A few things worth knowing, all in the free version:
- Each tier can be a percentage OR a fixed price, and a quantity table can show the tiers on the product page (on themes that use the standard WooCommerce hooks).
- Rules apply to a product, a category, or the whole store, and you can set wholesale or guest prices with the same tool.
- It stays fast on big catalogs. It compiles the rules once and adds no per-product database queries on shop pages, which is where discount plugins usually slow a store down.
If your products have set prices and you want bulk breaks, wholesale pricing, or cart-total discounts, stop here: DiscountWise free covers it, and there is nothing to buy unless you outgrow it.
Way 2: a price that is calculated, where quantity is one input
Now a different product. It has no single “normal price” to discount from, because the price is worked out to order. Custom printing where the per-unit rate itself changes with the run size. A made-to-order item priced from a size-by-quantity grid, the way print shops quote. A per-unit product with a minimum charge. Here, quantity does not trigger a discount; it feeds the calculation.
That is a calculator’s job, and it is what PriceWise does. A price table can hold a size-by-quantity grid, so the cell where the customer’s size meets their quantity is the price:
Or a formula does it directly. Charge $12 a shirt but drop to $10 once the order passes 20, in one line:
if(qty >= 20, qty * 10, qty * 12)
The difference from Way 1 is real, not word games. In Way 1 there is a base price and a discount sits on top. In Way 2 there is no base price to discount; the total is built from the customer’s numbers. Reach for PriceWise when the price is maths. My complete price calculator guide covers the rest of those setups.
Which one is yours? A 10-second test
Ask one question: does your product already have a price that a customer would pay for one of them?
- Yes, it has a normal price and buying more should cost less per unit: DiscountWise. Bulk tiers, wholesale, cart discounts, all free.
- No, the price is worked out to order and quantity is part of that sum: PriceWise. Grids, formulas, per-unit rates, minimum charges.
- Honestly, a bit of both? Some stores run DiscountWise for their normal stock and PriceWise on their made-to-order lines. The two do not fight; one discounts set prices, the other builds custom ones.
What each one costs
Both start free on WordPress.org, and both have a Pro at $49 a year for one site. If you would rather pay once, PriceWise Pro is $99 for life and DiscountWise Pro is $149. You only pay when you outgrow free:
- DiscountWise Pro adds cross-product buy-X-get-Y, free gift products, customer-specific pricing, and purchase-history rules. Everyday bulk and wholesale pricing stays free.
- PriceWise Pro adds the measurement field with waste and box rounding, price tables, option fields with swatches and uploads, hire dates, and PDF quotes. The plain formula calculator stays free.
FAQ
Can DiscountWise show the tier prices on the product page? Yes, it has a quantity table for that. It needs a theme that fires the standard WooCommerce product-summary hook, which most do.
Will running both plugins cause double discounts? No, because they act on different products. DiscountWise discounts a set price; PriceWise builds the price on made-to-order products that do not carry a normal price to discount. Keep each on the products it suits.
I want wholesale pricing, which one? DiscountWise. Role-based pricing, including a separate price for a wholesale role and for logged-out guests, is in its free version.
Does the discount hold up at checkout? Yes. Both work the price out on the server at add-to-cart and checkout, so the amount the customer pays is the amount you meant.
Start free, either way
Bulk discount off a set price, install DiscountWise and add a quantity-tier rule. Calculated pricing where quantity feeds the sum, install PriceWise and write one formula, or poke the live demos first. Both are free to prove on your own products before you spend anything. Pick by the test above, and you will not waste a weekend on the wrong tool.
