Rental pricing controls how a rental’s total is calculated and displayed. Rental Products for WooCommerce offers three pricing types (period, period selection and fixed), plus pricing tiers, total overrides and custom pricing logic for volume and seasonal rates. You set pricing on each product’s Pricing tab in Rental product data, and set up a rental product defines each field, with its default and when it shows.
When you’d use this
- Charge per day, or per week with longer rentals in multiples of a week.
- Offer fixed packages, such as 1, 3 or 7 days, each at its own price.
- Charge one price however long the rental is.
- Discount longer rentals, or set an exact price for a popular length.
- Change prices by date, such as peak-season rates, with custom code.
Pricing types
| Type | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Period | Your price covers one period (for example 1 day or 7 days) and is multiplied when customers select several periods | Equipment rentals charged per day or per week |
| Period selection | Customer chooses from preset duration and price options | Packages (1 day, 3 days, 7 days) |
| Fixed | Same price regardless of rental length | Event rentals, flat-rate items |
The price itself is entered in WooCommerce’s Product data box, on the General tab: it’s the Regular price for a Rental only or Rental bundle product, or the Rental price for a Rental or purchase product. On a variable product, it’s set on each variation.
How the rental total is calculated
Rental Products works out the total for the dates a customer selects in this order:
- If you set a total override for that exact number of days (available for the Period and Fixed types only), that total replaces the calculation by pricing type and any pricing tier.
- Otherwise the total comes from the pricing type you chose, adjusted by the pricing tier that applies, if you use tiers.
- If advanced pricing is on for the product, your custom pricing code is applied last, including to a total override.
Each unit is priced this way, so renting two doubles the total. In the cart, any Product Add-Ons fees and in-person pick up and return fees are added to the rental, which is why the rental form’s total says "Excluding any selected add-ons" or "Excluding any selected pick up/return fees" when the product has them.
Rental days are counted inclusively: Monday to Thursday is a four-day rental.
Period pricing
Period pricing multiplies a base rate by the number of pricing periods. If you charge $50 per week for a camera, set the pricing period to 7 days and turn on pricing period multiples, someone who rents it for 3 weeks pays $150.
To configure period pricing:
- Edit the product and scroll to the Rental product data box.
- Click the Pricing tab.
- Set Pricing type to Period.
- Set the Pricing period (days), the number of days the price covers.
- If the pricing period is more than 1 day and you want customers to rent more than one period, tick Pricing period multiples. You can then limit the number of periods with Pricing period multiples minimum and Pricing period multiples maximum (0 means no limit).
Example: a $100 rental price with a 7-day pricing period means $100 per week. With pricing period multiples on, customers can select 7, 14, 21 days and so on, and the price is multiplied, so a 21-day rental is $300. With multiples off, customers can only book exactly 7 days.
For a per-day rate like $50 a day, set the pricing period to 1 day. Every day selected adds one more day at the rental price, so there’s no multiples option.
Make additional periods cheaper
To charge less for each period after the first, tick Price + additional periods %, then enter the percentage in Price + additional period %. The first period is charged in full and each additional period adds only that percentage of the price. This option shows for a 1-day pricing period (where each extra day is a period) or when pricing period multiples is on.
Example: a 7-day period at $100 with additional periods at 10% makes a 14-day rental $100 + $10 = $110, and a 21-day rental $120.
Period selection pricing
Period selection lets customers choose from predefined rental packages. Instead of calculating the price from the number of days, you set specific durations with specific prices.
To configure period selection:
- Edit the product and scroll to the Rental product data box.
- Click the Pricing tab.
- Set Pricing type to Period selection.
- Set the Pricing period (days) and the price for your shortest period.
- Add the other periods in Pricing period additional selections using the format
days:price, separated by|(for example3:60.00|7:120.00|30:350.00).
Example setup:
- 1 day: $25 (the price, with a 1-day pricing period)
- 3 days: $60
- 7 days: $120
- 30 days: $350
Customers see a dropdown with these options and pick the one that fits. To show them as weeks where they divide evenly (1 day, 1 week, 2 weeks), change Period selection option labels in the settings.
Pricing tiers, total overrides and additional periods % don’t apply to period selection: the prices you set are the prices charged.
Fixed pricing
Fixed pricing charges the same amount regardless of how long the customer keeps the item. It’s useful for event rentals where the length varies but the value doesn’t.
To configure fixed pricing:
- Edit the product and scroll to the Rental product data box.
- Click the Pricing tab.
- Set Pricing type to Fixed.
A wedding arch rental at a $200 fixed price costs $200 whether the customer keeps it for 2 days or 5 days. Use Minimum days and Maximum days on the Availability tab to limit how long it can be booked for.
Pricing tiers (volume discounts)
Pricing tiers apply percentage adjustments to the rental total based on rental length. Reward longer rentals with better rates, or add a surcharge.
To configure pricing tiers:
- On the Pricing tab, tick Pricing tiers. For the Period type, it shows for a 1-day pricing period or when pricing period multiples is on; for Fixed it always shows.
- Click Add pricing tier and enter the number of days in Days greater than, with the adjustment in Percent.
- Use negative percentages for discounts and positive ones for surcharges.
Example:
- More than 7 days: -10% (10% discount)
- More than 14 days: -15% (15% discount)
- More than 30 days: -25% (25% discount)
A tier applies when the rental is longer than its number of days, and only the highest tier that matches is used. A $100 per week rental for 3 weeks (21 days) with these tiers gets the 15% discount: $300 − 15% = $255.
Combine pricing tiers with security deposits for extra protection on longer rentals.
Total overrides (set totals by rental length)
Total overrides replace the calculated total for rentals of a specific number of days. They apply whichever dates the customer picks, so they suit fixed prices by length rather than seasonal pricing; for prices that depend on the dates selected, see seasonal and date-based pricing below. Total overrides are available for the Period and Fixed pricing types only.
To configure total overrides:
- With Pricing type set to Period or Fixed, find Total overrides on the Pricing tab.
- Enter each rental length and its total using the format
days:price, separated by|. For example,1:5.00|2:10.00makes a 1-day rental $5.00 and a 2-day rental $10.00.
Example: 7:500.00 makes every 7-day rental $500, regardless of the normal calculation, including any pricing tier. The price shown near the product title is still the calculated one, so pair total overrides with a Price display override.
Seasonal and date-based pricing
For pricing the built-in options don’t cover, such as seasonal rates that depend on the dates a customer selects, a developer can add custom pricing code. It receives the calculated total and the selected rental dates, so peak-season and promotional rates can be set in code, as can charging per night instead of per calendar day.
The code only runs for products whose Advanced pricing option is On, or set to Use default from rental settings when that default is on. With advanced pricing on, customers can’t change that item’s quantity in the cart. The calendar still counts calendar days, and the price shown near the product title doesn’t reflect your code. Test it on a staging site first. The developer reference has the details.
Variable products
On a variable product, each variation can have its own:
- price (the variation’s Regular price for a Rental only product, or its Rental price for a Rental or purchase product)
- rental stock
- pricing period additional selections (for Period selection, using the same day counts as the parent)
- total overrides (for Period and Fixed)
- security deposit amount
Where a variation leaves one of these empty, the parent product’s value is used. Every other rental option, including the pricing type, pricing period and pricing tiers, is set once on the parent product and applies to every variation.
To set them, edit the variable product, go to Variations in Product data, expand each variation and fill in its rental fields. To update many variations at once, use the rental entries under Variations » Bulk actions (see variable products).
How the price is displayed
On shop and product pages, rental products show "Rent for" with a single price, or "Rent from" with a starting price when customers choose the length (variable products, period selection, fixed pricing with tiers, 1-day periods and pricing period multiples). The starting price is for the product’s minimum rental length. You can add text before or after it, or turn the "Rent for" and "Rent from" text off, under Rentals » Settings » Catalog, and change the words themselves on the Labels tab.
The displayed price is a guide. It doesn’t change when a customer picks a variation, and it doesn’t include total overrides, pricing tiers for longer rentals or advanced pricing. The total in the rental form, once dates are chosen, is the price charged. To show your own text instead, such as "From $45 a week", set a Price display override on the product.
Sale prices and coupons
- Sale prices: a WooCommerce sale price, including a scheduled one, applies to a Rental only product based on the date the customer views it, not the rental dates they choose. On Rental or purchase products, sale prices apply to the purchase side only.
- Coupons: WooCommerce coupons work on rentals as on any other product, whatever the rental dates. A 10% coupon takes 10% off the rental.
Common issues
The rental total isn’t what I expected
Check, in order: a total override for that length, a pricing tier, Price + additional periods %, a sale price, a variation using its parent’s price because its own is empty, and any advanced pricing code. Remember that days are counted inclusively.
The price near the product title doesn’t match the total
That’s expected: the displayed price is a starting price and doesn’t include overrides, tiers or advanced pricing. Use a Price display override for custom text.
The cart total is higher than the rental form’s total
Add-on fees and in-person pick up and return fees are added in the cart. The rental form says so under its total when a product has them.
Pricing tiers or total overrides don’t show
They depend on the pricing type: neither is available for Period selection, and tiers only show for Period with a 1-day pricing period or pricing period multiples on. See the Pricing tab reference.
Keep learning
- Set up a rental product (every pricing field, with defaults)
- Security deposits
- Create rental bundles (one price for a kit)
- Rental Products developer reference (custom pricing code)
Need help choosing a pricing model? Contact support. We’re happy to advise based on your rental business.