A spreadsheet full of products isn’t a store until the images arrive. Importing products with images to WooCommerce means getting featured photos, galleries, alt text, and variation images into the right product records, in the right order, without duplicates.

Product images are where imports usually go wrong. URLs break, galleries land out of order, and variation photos attach to the wrong variation. I tested four product import plugins on the same messy catalog to see which ones handle those cases without manual cleanup.

In a hurry? Here’s how the four product import plugins compare:

Plugin	Image Sources	File Formats	Price
WP All Import	URLs, media library, server folder, FTP	CSV, XML, Excel, Google Sheets, JSON	From $169/yr
Import WP	URLs, local folder, FTP, Media Library	CSV, XML	Free / Pro $59 per site
Product CSV Import Suite	URLs and filenames in one column	CSV	$59/yr
Product CSV Importer and Exporter	URLs and filenames in one column	CSV	Free

Best Plugins for Importing Products with Images into WooCommerce

1. WP All Import
2. Import WP
3. Product CSV Importer and Exporter
4. Product CSV Import Suite

1. WP All Import

WP All Import is a product import plugin for WooCommerce that provides the shortest path from spreadsheet to store. Its Automatic Setup is the fastest way I’ve found to import products with images. You upload the file, choose WooCommerce Products, and the plugin maps every column to the right product field for you. This speeds up the import process and prevents common errors that come with manual mapping. At the end of the auto-mapping process, you get a summary card that shows how many fields were mapped and a confidence score for the match. You can run the import as-is or open the pre-filled template to adjust anything.

My Experience Using WP All Import

My test file was the kind that normally takes an afternoon of cleanup. WP All Import’s Automatic Setup detected the variable product structure on its own, and the Images section pulled from all three of my sources in one pass. One cell held an entire gallery separated by commas; WP All Import split it on a separator character I chose and imported each image in order, setting the first as the featured image. When my deliberately broken URL failed to download, the plugin placed that product in Draft instead of publishing it half-finished.

What I Liked

• WP All Import’s Automatic Setup maps the file for you, so a clean import finishes in minutes
• Images come from URLs, the Media Library, or the wpallimport files folder, in the same import
• Galleries, alt text, titles, captions, and descriptions all map in the Images section
• Variable products import in a single file through four linking methods
• The Frontend preview shows the real product page, gallery included, before anything goes live
• Scheduled imports and re-runnable templates keep recurring feeds updated without repetition
• Inline PHP and XPath handle messy supplier feeds no other plugin in this list can parse

What I Didn’t Like

• The function editor and XPath take a session to learn, though Automatic Setup means most imports never need them.

Pricing

WP All Import’s WooCommerce Import Package costs $169/yr.

Recommended For

Any store that imports products with images more than once. For a one-time migration of a tidy catalog, WP All Import is still the fastest route because the setup does the mapping for you. For supplier feeds, variable catalogs, or files with multiple image sources, it’s the only plugin here that doesn’t ask you to compromise.

2. Import WP

⭐

Rating: 4.4/5 on WordPress.org across 25+ reviews

💰

Pricing: Free core plugin; Pro from $49/year for 1 site

🎯

Best For: Stores running straightforward CSV and XML product imports on a budget

Import WP is a WordPress import plugin with a free WooCommerce add-on for product imports. It works with CSV and XML files fetched from a remote URL, an FTP server, Google Sheets, or a manual upload. It comes with a visual data selection tool to map columns to product fields, and a Product Gallery section handles the image side of the import.

My Experience Using Import WP

Setting up a product import took a few runs to get right, since every field is mapped by hand through the dropdown selection tool. Image mapping worked through the Product Gallery section: I pointed it at a URL column, enabled the meta fields, and got titles and alt text onto the images. Import WP also checked the Media Library first and reused existing images instead of downloading duplicates, which I appreciated on the re-run.

What I Liked

• The core plugin and the WooCommerce product add-on are both free
• Images can be pulled from remote URLs, FTP, the local filesystem, or the Media Library
• A media library check prevents duplicate image downloads on repeated imports
• Image title and alt text map through the gallery meta fields
• Category hierarchies import with a simple separator

What I Didn’t Like

• No Excel support; the plugin is CSV and XML only
• Scheduled imports and custom field mapping sit behind the Pro upgrade
• Field mapping is manual, column by column, with no automatic setup step

Pricing

Import WP is free from the WordPress.org plugin directory. Import WP Pro costs $49/yr for a single site and adds custom post types, custom fields, and scheduled imports.

Recommended For

Stores running simple recurring CSV or XML product imports who want to spend nothing. It covers simple images and galleries well, but you’ll outgrow it the moment your file needs transformation or Excel support.

3. Product CSV Importer and Exporter

⭐

Rating: No available ratings on WordPress.org

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Pricing: Free, built into WooCommerce core

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Best For: One-time imports of simple product catalogs

The Product CSV Importer and Exporter is the free tool built into WooCommerce since version 3.1. It’s located under Products > All Products > Import. You can use it to import simple, variable, grouped, external, virtual, and downloadable products from a CSV file, with column mapping handled through dropdowns.

My Experience Using the Product CSV Importer and Exporter

The Product CSV Importer and Exporter expects the work done before the import starts. The pipe-separated cells came through as a featured image plus a gallery, and the import itself completed without errors. The walls appeared once I checked the details. Alt text and captions didn’t come through, my variable products carried one image each, and the row with the broken URL published anyway.

What I Liked

• Free and already installed with every WooCommerce store
• One CSV imports six product types, images included
• Pipe-separated image cells support multiple images per product
• The images column accepts both external URLs and Media Library filenames
• The standard column schema is documented in full by WooCommerce

What I Didn’t Like

• No alt text, captions, or gallery metadata in the import
• One image per variation, with no multi-image variation support
• No scheduling, no remote file fetching, and large catalogs can hit server timeouts

Pricing

Free. There’s nothing to buy, install, or configure beyond WooCommerce itself.

Recommended For

One-time imports of straightforward catalogs. If your images live at stable URLs and you don’t need metadata, this tool does the job, and WP All Import remains the upgrade path when the file stops being simple.

4. Product CSV Import Suite

⭐

Rating: 2.8/5 on WooCommerce.com

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Price: $59/year for 1 site

🎯

Best For: Stores importing data tied to specific WooCommerce extensions like Product Vendors and Brands

Product CSV Import Suite is an official paid extension from WooCommerce. It’s aimed at stores whose product data goes beyond standard fields: custom fields, custom taxonomies, and data tied to extensions like Product Vendors, WooCommerce Brands, Google Product Feed, and WooCommerce Photography. It also handles bulk updates by merging changes from a CSV into existing products.

My Experience Using Product CSV Import Suite

Variable products are the catch here. The Suite requires two separate files and two import runs: parents first, then a variations CSV linked by parent SKU. Images import through a pipe-separated column of URLs or filenames, and filename matching only works if the images were uploaded to the Media Library in the same month as the import. My gallery order survived, but the multi-step flow and strict column naming made this the slowest setup I tested.

What I Liked

• First-party support from the WooCommerce team itself
• Imports custom fields and custom taxonomies without code
• Extension data like vendor assignments and brand names import in the same pass
• Merge updates refresh existing products by ID or SKU
• Export limits and row skipping keep huge catalogs manageable

What I Didn’t Like

• Variable products need two CSVs and two import runs
• The CSV must follow the Suite’s own column headers exactly
• Filename-based images must already sit in the Media Library

Pricing: $59/yr, or $94.40 for a two-year plan.

Recommended For

Stores already invested in specific WooCommerce extensions whose data has to round-trip through an import. For everything else, WP All Import covers the rest with one file instead of two.

Which Plugin Should You Use to Import Products with Images to WooCommerce?

For most stores, WP All Import is the answer. It’s the fastest option on a clean file, because Automatic Setup maps your columns and imports your images without manual work. It’s also the only plugin here that handles XML supplier feeds, multi-source images, and variable products in a single import when the file gets complicated.

The image handling is what separates it in practice. One WP All Import import pulls images from external URLs, the Media Library, and the wpallimport files folder at the same time. Gallery order survives a comma- or pipe-separated cell intact, with the first image set as the featured image. Alt text, titles, captions, and descriptions map in the same pass. A failed download can drop the product to Draft instead of publishing it with missing images, and re-runs check for existing images so duplicates never pile up. For a store syncing a supplier catalog on a schedule, those details are the whole job.

The other plugins each trade away at least one of those capabilities. The Product CSV Importer and Exporter, which ships free with WooCommerce, imports images from a single pipe-separated column of URLs or filenames and offers no image metadata, no scheduling, and one image per variation. Import WP pulls images from URLs, FTP, or the Media Library and reuses existing files on re-runs, but reads only CSV and XML files and leaves data modification to custom code. Product CSV Import Suite imports extension data and custom fields, but variable products require two CSVs, and filename-based images only match against files already uploaded to the Media Library in the same month.

If your imports are recurring, your images come from more than one source, or your catalog includes variable products, WP All Import is the plugin that will still be doing the job a year from now.

Common Questions About Importing Products with Images to WooCommerce

Can you import products with images into WooCommerce for free?

Yes. The Product CSV Importer and Exporter that ships with WooCommerce imports products with images from a CSV column at no cost. WP All Import also offers a free version, and its pro version add automatic field mapping, multiple image sources, and full image metadata for catalogs that outgrow the built-in tool.

How do I import multiple images per product into WooCommerce?

1. Put all image URLs for a product in one cell, separated by a character like a comma or pipe
2. Upload the file in WP All Import and choose WooCommerce Products
3. Open the Images section and set that character as the separator
4. Run the import; the first image becomes the featured image and the rest form the gallery

Can I import product images from a URL into WooCommerce?

WP All Import downloads product images from external URLs and attaches them to the imported products automatically. Multiple URLs can share one cell separated by a character you choose, and images can also come from the Media Library or the wpallimport files folder in the same import.

Can WooCommerce import variable products with their images?

WP All Import imports variable products with their images in a single file, linking each variation to its parent and attaching the right image to each variation automatically. Four linking methods, including parent SKU and XML child elements, mean the source file doesn’t need a rigid structure.

What file formats can I use to import products with images to WooCommerce?

WP All Import imports products with images from CSV, XML, Excel, and Google Sheets files, with uploads up to 256 MB. Image handling works the same in every format, whether the images arrive as URL lists, Media Library filenames, or files pre-uploaded to the server.

Further Reading

• How to Export and Import WooCommerce Products
• How to Export and Import Variable Products in WooCommerce