COMPARISON

Stripe vs PayPal Fees — Which Processor Costs Less?

Stripe's standard rate is 2.9% + $0.30 per charge. PayPal's commercial rate is 3.49% + $0.49. See the exact dollar gap across a few example charges, then plug in your own amount below.

Verified August 3, 2026

Official rates Manually verified

Verified August 3, 2026

Official rates Manually verified

Sale amount	Stripe net	PayPal net	Difference
$100.00	$96.80	$96.02	Stripe nets $0.78 more
$500.00	$485.20	$482.06	Stripe nets $3.14 more
$1000.00	$970.70	$964.61	Stripe nets $6.09 more

Stripe's lower percentage and lower fixed fee mean it costs less than PayPal at every transaction size on paper. The real decision usually isn't the fee gap, though — it's checkout conversion. PayPal's brand recognition converts some buyers who wouldn't otherwise enter card details, and many businesses offer both to capture buyers who prefer one over the other, absorbing the small fee difference as a cost of maximizing completed checkouts.

Try your own numbers

Stripe

How Stripe fees work

Stripe's standard processing rate is 2.9% + $0.30 per successful card transaction, deducted automatically before the remainder settles to your bank account.

Learn more →

STRIPE · STANDARD US

✓ 2026 rates ✓ Free ✓ Instant

Charge amount What you're charging the customer

Cost of goods / service What this cost you to deliver

Refine your rate — category, store tier, ads, payout method

International card Adds 1.5% for cards issued outside the US (total ≈4.4% + $0.30)

Standard US online (card-not-present) rate: 2.9% + $0.30 per successful charge. Cards issued outside the US add a 1.5 percentage point cross-border fee (≈4.4% + $0.30 total) — toggle above. Currency conversion adds a further ~1%; ACH (0.8%, capped at $5), in-person Terminal (2.7% + $0.05) and manually-keyed (3.4% + $0.30) rates differ. Check your Stripe dashboard for your exact negotiated rate.

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YOU RECEIVE —

$0.00

Enter your charge amount to see your profit

You keep 100% Fees 0%

See full breakdown Hide full breakdown

Charge amount

$0.00

Platform fees

−$0.00

Cost of goods / service

−$0.00

Net profit

$0.00

Margin —

ROI Add cost of goods / service

Want a specific margin instead? Solve for the price you need to charge →

Fee breakdown

Enter your charge amount to get personalised insights.

PayPal

How PayPal fees work

PayPal's commercial transaction rate is 3.49% + a fixed fee (commonly $0.49 in the US), deducted from each payment you receive for goods or services.

Learn more →

PAYPAL · STANDARD US

✓ 2026 rates ✓ Free ✓ Instant

Payment amount What you're invoicing or charging

Cost of goods / service What this cost you to deliver

Refine your rate — category, store tier, ads, payout method

Cross-border transaction Adds an approximate cross-border fee for international buyers

Commercial transactions (goods & services) rate for a standard US PayPal Business/Checkout account: 3.49% + $0.49 domestic. Cross-border transactions add a separate cross-border fee (typically 0.5–1.5% depending on country) plus currency conversion if applicable — the toggle above models a mid-range estimate. Micropayments and nonprofit rates differ.

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YOU RECEIVE —

$0.00

Enter your payment amount to see your profit

You keep 100% Fees 0%

See full breakdown Hide full breakdown

Payment amount

$0.00

Platform fees

−$0.00

Cost of goods / service

−$0.00

Net profit

$0.00

Margin —

ROI Add cost of goods / service

Want a specific margin instead? Solve for the price you need to charge →

Fee breakdown

Enter your payment amount to get personalised insights.

FAQ

Common questions

Is Stripe cheaper than PayPal?

For a typical domestic charge, yes — Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 beats PayPal's 3.49% + $0.49 at every transaction size. On a $100 charge, that's $96.80 net on Stripe vs $96.02 on PayPal.

Does PayPal have any fee advantage over Stripe?

Not on the standard published rate — but PayPal's checkout conversion can be higher for buyers who trust it more than entering a card number directly, which can outweigh a small per-transaction fee gap depending on your audience.

Do international fees change the comparison?

Both add a surcharge for cross-border transactions — Stripe roughly 1% for international cards, PayPal roughly 0.5–1.5% for cross-border buyers. Toggle the checkbox in either calculator below to model an international customer.

Can I negotiate a better rate with either processor?

Yes, at sufficient volume both Stripe and PayPal offer custom/negotiated pricing below the published standard rate — this comparison uses the public rate available to any new account.

KEEP GOING

More ways to compare.

STRIPE

The full Stripe calculator with international-card toggle and reverse math.

OPEN → PAYPAL

The full PayPal calculator with cross-border toggle and reverse math.

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