PayPal Business Fees 2026: Every Rate Explained and Compared
PayPal business fees in 2026: 3.49% + 49¢ on Checkout, 2.99% + 49¢ on cards, 2.29% + 9¢ in person, $15 disputes, 1.5% abroad, costed against Stripe and Square.
PayPal charges a US business 3.49% plus 49 cents on PayPal Checkout, Guest Checkout and Venmo payments, 2.99% plus 49 cents on cards taken through invoices, payment links and Apple Pay, and 2.29% plus 9 cents on in-person and QR code payments. International payments add 1.50%, disputes cost $15 and there is no monthly fee. On $10,000 of online sales a month, PayPal Checkout costs $471.50 and Stripe $365, our arithmetic from each schedule.
Every PayPal rate on this page was read on PayPal's US merchant fee page, which PayPal dates October 1, 2026, on October 26, 2026. The schedule runs to several dozen tables because PayPal prices by payment type, not by plan: the same $40 sale costs 2.52% at a card reader, 4.22% through a payment link and 4.72% through the checkout button. This page sorts the rates a US seller will meet, works each one through at a fixed monthly volume, then prices that volume on Stripe and Square. The head-to-head with Stripe at a different basket size is in Stripe vs PayPal fees.
Toolradar data: Toolradar, the software directory we run, tracks 194 payment processing tools as of October 25, 2026 on its payment processing ranking, and PayPal is listed as an alternative to 36 of them, the 8th most cross-shopped tool in the category. Only 56 of the 194 publish a self-serve price, and their median cheapest paid plan is $59.45 a month; PayPal's standard account has no monthly fee at all. The directory record is PayPal on Toolradar.
PayPal business fees at a glance
| Payment type (USD, read October 26, 2026) | Rate | Effective cost on a $40 sale |
|---|---|---|
| PayPal Checkout, Guest Checkout, Pay with Venmo | 3.49% + 49¢ | $1.89, or 4.72% |
| Standard credit and debit cards, Apple Pay and other wallets (invoices, payment links) | 2.99% + 49¢ | $1.69, or 4.22% |
| Card present at a PayPal point of sale, and QR code payments | 2.29% + 9¢ | $1.01, or 2.52% |
| Manually keyed card at the point of sale | 3.49% + 9¢ | $1.49, or 3.72% |
| PayPal Pay Later (installments) | 4.99% + 49¢ | $2.49, or 6.22% |
| Micropayments pricing, on application | 4.99% + 9¢ | $2.09, or 5.22% |
| Pay by Bank (ACH) on an invoice | 1%, capped at $10 | $0.40, or 1% |
| Goods and services payment sent to you by another PayPal user | 2.99%, no fixed fee | $1.20, or 2.99% |
| Donate button | 2.89% + 49¢ | $1.65, or 4.12% |
| Confirmed charity rate | 1.99% + 49¢ | $1.29, or 3.22% |
| International surcharge, any payment type | +1.50% | +$0.60 |
| Currency conversion spread | 3% on conversions of received funds, 4% when you pay or send in another currency | Applied inside the exchange rate |
| Standard dispute fee | $15 ($30 for high-volume dispute accounts) | |
| Chargeback on a card payment not made through a PayPal account | $20 | |
| Refund | No fee, but the original transaction fee is not returned | |
| Standard withdrawal to a linked bank account | Free | |
| Instant withdrawal | 1.50%, minimum 50¢ |
The effective-cost column is our arithmetic and the point of this page: the 49 cent fixed fee is what makes PayPal expensive on small sales, and it does not shrink as the sale does. On that sale it is already more than a quarter of the fee. For the full card-rate picture across processors, see credit card processing fees 2026.
Which PayPal rate applies to your sale?
PayPal's fee depends on the product the buyer paid through, and a single business usually mixes three of them.
- Checkout button and Venmo, 3.49% plus 49 cents. The yellow button on your site, Guest Checkout by card without a PayPal account, and Pay with Venmo all carry the highest standard rate. This is the price of PayPal's buyer base: you pay half a point more than the card rate for the buyer who would not type a card number.
- Cards through invoices, payment links and wallets, 2.99% plus 49 cents. A card entered on a PayPal invoice, a payment link, or paid with Apple Pay costs 50 basis points less than the button. On the $10,000 month below that difference is $50, so a business that can steer buyers to a link or invoice keeps it.
- In person and QR, 2.29% plus 9 cents. PayPal's point of sale product carries its cheapest rate, and the 9 cent fixed fee is a fifth of the online one. Keyed-in cards at the reader jump to 3.49% plus 9 cents, so a card on file is best charged through an invoice instead.
- Pay Later, 4.99% plus 49 cents. The installment option costs 1.5 points more than the button. PayPal funds the installments, and the seller pays for the conversion lift.
Advanced integrations get their own tables. PayPal Online Payment Services prices Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments at 2.89% plus 29 cents, Virtual Terminal at 3.39% plus 29 cents, Payments Pro at 2.89% plus 49 cents, and ACH at 0.80% capped at $5; an interchange-plus option passes card network costs through plus 0.49% and 39 cents. Payflow Pro costs $25 a month plus 10 cents a transaction, Payflow Link 10 cents a transaction with no monthly fee. These need an application and suit a developer-built checkout, not a Shopify store.
What $10,000 a month costs on each PayPal rate
We priced one month of sales at that volume, taken as 250 payments averaging $40, the kind of month a small online shop or a service business with weekly clients has. The volumes are our assumption; every rate is PayPal's.
| How the $10,000 arrives | Percentage fee | Fixed fees (250 x) | Monthly total | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PayPal Checkout button or Venmo | $349 | $122.50 | $471.50 | 4.72% |
| Cards on invoices, links or Apple Pay | $299 | $122.50 | $421.50 | 4.22% |
| Card present at the point of sale | $229 | $22.50 | $251.50 | 2.52% |
| Pay Later on every sale | $499 | $122.50 | $621.50 | 6.22% |
| Pay by Bank on invoices | $100 | $0 | $100 | 1% |
| Checkout button, with $2,000 of it from abroad | $349 + $30 international | $122.50 | $501.50 | 5.02% |
The spread between the dearest and cheapest PayPal rate on the same month is $521.50, Pay Later against Pay by Bank. Two practical reads. A service business that invoices can offer Pay by Bank and cut its PayPal cost by three quarters against cards, provided clients accept a bank transfer and the $10 cap makes large invoices nearly free: a $5,000 invoice costs $10 by ACH and $149.99 by card. And the international row understates the cost for foreign-currency sales, because the 1.50% surcharge is joined by a 3% conversion spread the moment you convert the balance to dollars, which lifts the all-in cost of a converted euro payment of that size above 8%.
When micropayments pricing beats the standard rate
PayPal offers a micropayments rate of 4.99% plus 9 cents on application. Setting it equal to the checkout rate of 3.49% plus 49 cents, our algebra puts the break-even at $26.67: below that sale size the micropayments rate is cheaper, above it the standard rate is. A digital goods seller taking 1,000 sales of $10 a month pays $589 on micropayments pricing and $839 on standard checkout, a $250 difference; the shop's basket should stay on the standard rate.
The fees that are not on the rate card
- Disputes. A dispute filed through a buyer's PayPal account costs the standard fee whether you win or lose, and accounts PayPal flags as high-volume for disputes pay $30. Card chargebacks outside the PayPal checkout cost $20. Five disputes in a month on that shop add $75 to the checkout bill.
- Refunds keep the fee. A refund costs nothing to issue, but PayPal keeps the fee it charged on the original sale. A refunded $40 checkout sale costs the seller $1.89 for nothing; a 5% refund rate on the shop above is about $24 a month in fees on money returned, our arithmetic.
- Currency conversion. The 3% spread on converting received foreign currency sits inside the exchange rate, so it never appears as a line item. Holding a euro balance and paying euro suppliers from it avoids the conversion; most US sellers convert.
- Instant withdrawals. Moving money to your bank in minutes costs 1.50% with a 50 cent minimum, up to $25,000 per transfer. The standard transfer is free, so the instant option is a convenience charge of a cent and a half on every dollar if used habitually.
- Payouts. Sending money to many recipients (contractors, marketplace sellers) costs 2% capped at $1 per US payout, or a flat 25 cents through the Payouts API. International payouts are 2% capped at $20.
- Subscriptions and add-ons. The invoicing subscription service is $14.99 a month, the optional account monitoring service $19.95 a month after a $29.95 setup fee, and paying with crypto costs the seller 1.5% since August 1, 2026.
- Store Cash campaigns. Sales where the buyer applies a PayPal Store Cash offer carry an 8% campaign fee on top of the transaction fee.
PayPal vs Stripe vs Square on the same month of sales
The same 250 sales of $40, priced on each vendor's standard US rate as read on October 26, 2026 on Stripe's pricing page and Square's pricing page. None of the three charges a monthly fee on the plan used here.
| Scenario, the same 250 sales | PayPal | Stripe | Square (free plan) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online card checkout | $471.50 on the button; $421.50 on a link or invoice | $365 (2.9% + 30¢) | $405 (3.3% + 30¢); $365 through the API |
| In person at a reader | $251.50 (2.29% + 9¢) | $282.50 (2.7% + 5¢) | $297.50 (2.6% + 15¢) |
| ACH on an invoice | $100 (1%, $10 cap) | $80 (0.8%, $5 cap) | $100 (1%, $1 minimum, no cap on the free plan) |
| International card surcharge | +1.50%, plus a 3% conversion spread | +1.5%, plus 1% if conversion is needed | Not priced here |
| Dispute fee | $15, $30 high volume | $15 received, plus the same again to counter, refunded if won | Not priced here |
PayPal loses online and wins at the counter. Its checkout button is $106.50 a month dearer than Stripe on this basket, and still $56.50 dearer on the cheaper card-via-link rate, almost entirely because of the 49 cent fixed fee against Stripe's 30 cents. In person the order flips: PayPal's 2.29% plus 9 cents beats Stripe Terminal by $31 and Square's free plan by $46 a month. Square only closes that gap on its $49 and $149 plans, priced in Square fees, and Stripe's full online model is in Square vs Stripe. Cross-border sellers should weigh the conversion spread first: Stripe's 1% conversion fee against PayPal's 3% matters more than the matching 1.5% surcharge, and Payoneer vs PayPal covers receiving foreign currency without converting.
For a US business the decision usually comes down to who the buyer is. PayPal's rate buys access to buyers who will not enter a card, and whether the button lifts conversion enough to cover the gap is something your own checkout data has to show, not the fee page. If your buyers already pay by card without hesitation, Stripe or Square's API rate saves 1 to 1.5 points on every online sale. Our best credit card processing companies ranking covers the processors that undercut all three on volume, and Venmo fees explains what the Venmo side of a PayPal business account charges.
Frequently asked questions
What are PayPal's fees for a business account in 2026?
A US business pays 3.49% plus 49 cents on PayPal Checkout, Guest Checkout and Venmo payments, 2.99% plus 49 cents on cards through invoices, payment links and Apple Pay, 2.29% plus 9 cents for in-person and QR payments, and 4.99% plus 49 cents for Pay Later. International payments add 1.50%, disputes carry a flat fee and there is no monthly fee, per PayPal's fee page dated October 1, 2026.
How much does PayPal charge on $10,000 of sales?
It depends on how the money arrives. Taken as 250 online checkout payments, that volume costs $471.50 a month; the same sales by card through invoices or links cost $421.50, at a card reader $251.50, and by Pay by Bank on invoices $100. These are our arithmetic from PayPal's printed rates.
Does PayPal have a monthly fee for business accounts?
No. The standard business account has no monthly fee and bills per transaction. Monthly charges exist only on optional products: Payflow Pro at $25, the invoicing subscription service at $14.99 and the account monitoring service at $19.95 plus a $29.95 setup fee.
Is PayPal cheaper than Stripe?
Not online. On the 250-sale month costed above, PayPal Checkout costs $471.50 against $365 on Stripe, and PayPal's card-via-link rate still costs $56.50 more. PayPal is cheaper in person, where its 2.29% plus 9 cents beats Stripe Terminal's 2.7% plus 5 cents by $31 a month on the same volume.
What does PayPal charge for international payments?
An extra 1.50% on top of the domestic rate for any payment from a buyer PayPal identifies as a resident of another market, so a checkout sale from abroad costs 4.99% plus 49 cents. If the payment arrives in a foreign currency and you convert it, PayPal adds a 3% currency conversion spread inside the exchange rate; sending or paying in another currency carries a 4% spread.
How much is a PayPal dispute fee?
$15 per dispute on payments made through a buyer's PayPal account or a PayPal checkout, rising to $30 for accounts PayPal classifies as high-volume for disputes, and $20 for a card chargeback outside the PayPal checkout. The fee applies in the transaction's currency and is charged regardless of the outcome.
Does PayPal refund its fee when I refund a customer?
No. Issuing a full or partial refund is free, but the transaction fee PayPal collected on the original payment is not returned, so a refunded $40 checkout sale still costs $1.89.
Sources and method
We read PayPal's US merchant fee page on October 26, 2026 (PayPal's own "last updated" date on it is October 1, 2026), covering the commercial, invoicing, point of sale, payouts, micropayments, dispute, chargeback, currency conversion and withdrawal tables. Competitor rates come from Stripe's US pricing page and Square's US pricing page, read the same day. All figures are US list rates in US dollars before any negotiated or volume pricing. The monthly bills multiply printed rates by a sales mix we chose (250 payments of $40), and the micropayments break-even solves the two rate formulas for the sale size where they meet. The Toolradar figures come from the payment processing ranking and PayPal on Toolradar, with Stripe and Square listed there too.
This page is general information, not personalized financial advice. Confirm current rates and terms with PayPal, Stripe and Square before you open an account or change your checkout; PayPal announces fee changes on its policy updates page.
Cite this: Finpresso, "PayPal Business Fees 2026: Every Rate Explained and Compared", November 2026.
Related reading: Stripe vs PayPal fees, Square fees, Square vs Stripe, Payoneer vs PayPal, Venmo fees, Wise fees, credit card processing fees 2026, best credit card processing companies, best B2B payment platforms and business banking fees 2026.
Some offers on this page may be paid placements or contain affiliate links.
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