Stripe vs PayPal Fees: Which Is Cheaper in 2026?
Online, Stripe almost always wins. At the counter, PayPal can flip it. And for international sales, the gap turns into a chasm. Here's the side-by-side that actually answers it for your business.
The Short Answer
If you take card payments online, Stripe is cheaper: 2.9% + $0.30 versus PayPal Checkout's 3.49% + $0.49. On a $100 sale that's $3.20 with Stripe against $3.98 with PayPal, and the gap only widens as your volume grows.
But "cheaper" depends on how you sell. In person, PayPal's Zettle reader (2.29% + $0.09) undercuts Stripe Terminal (2.7% + $0.05) on percentage. Internationally, Stripe pulls far ahead, because PayPal's currency conversion is roughly 4% to Stripe's 1%. And for tiny payments under about $10, PayPal's Micropayments tier can beat both.
So the honest answer is: it depends on your channel and your customers. The table below settles it line by line.
Stripe vs PayPal: The Fee Table
US standard-plan rates as of 2026. Confirm current numbers on each provider's pricing page before you commit, since both adjust pricing periodically.
Green marks the cheaper option for each line. Run your own ticket size through both calculators:
Where Stripe Wins
- Online card rate.
- A flat 60 basis points and 19 cents cheaper per transaction than PayPal's standard checkout, real money once you're doing hundreds of sales a month.
- International and multi-currency.
- This is the blowout. PayPal's ~4% conversion versus Stripe's ~1% means a converted foreign sale can hit nearly 9% on PayPal against roughly 5.4% on Stripe.
- Cheap ACH.
- Stripe's 0.8%-capped-at-$5 bank debit has no real PayPal equivalent. For large B2B invoices it's decisive.
- Subscriptions and developer tooling.
- Stripe Billing, metered usage, and a genuinely excellent API make recurring revenue far easier to build and run.
- Lower dispute fee.
- $15 versus PayPal's $20, and Stripe's Radar fraud tooling is strong out of the box.
Where PayPal Wins
- Checkout conversion.
- The hardest one to put on a spreadsheet, and often the most valuable. A lot of shoppers trust the PayPal button and will abandon a card form they don't recognize. A few extra percentage points of completed checkouts can outweigh a slightly higher rate.
- In-person rate.
- Zettle's 2.29% + $0.09 is the lowest card-present rate in this comparison, good for cafes, markets, and pop-ups.
- Micropayments.
- If your average sale is under ~$10 (digital goods, tips, small downloads), PayPal's 4.99% + $0.09 tier beats any flat 2.9% + $0.30, where the fixed 30 cents dominates.
- Zero-code setup.
- You can be taking payments through PayPal without touching a line of code or hiring anyone, a real advantage for non-technical sellers.
If adding PayPal lifts your completed-checkout rate by even 2-3%, that extra revenue can dwarf the difference between a 2.9% and a 3.49% fee. Conversion beats basis points more often than merchants expect.
Worked Examples
A $100 domestic online sale
Stripe: $3.20. PayPal standard checkout: $3.98. PayPal advanced card: $3.48. Stripe wins by $0.78, about $780 a year if you do a thousand of these.
A $40 in-person coffee-shop sale
PayPal Zettle: $1.01 (2.29% + $0.09). Stripe Terminal: $1.13 (2.7% + $0.05). PayPal wins at the counter: small per ticket, but it compounds across a busy day.
A $200 international sale with conversion
Stripe (2.9% + 1.5% + 1% ≈ 5.4% + $0.30): about $11.10. PayPal (3.49% + 1.5% + 4% ≈ 8.99% + $0.49): about $18.47. Stripe saves over $7 on a single sale, and this is where cross-border sellers feel the difference most.
A $5 digital download
Stripe (2.9% + $0.30): $0.45, 9% of the sale, because the fixed 30 cents hurts. PayPal Micropayments (4.99% + $0.09): $0.34. For tiny tickets, PayPal's micro tier wins clearly.
Which Should You Choose?
- Choose Stripe if
- you sell online, run subscriptions, ship internationally, want cheap ACH on invoices, or have any developer resource. It's the default for SaaS and modern e-commerce.
- Choose PayPal if
- buyer trust drives your conversions, you sell in person with Zettle, your tickets are tiny, or you want to start without code.
- Choose both if
- you run a storefront. Stripe-powered card fields plus a PayPal button is an extremely common setup: you capture the rate-sensitive buyers and the PayPal loyalists, and pay each fee only on what it processes.
Want the mechanics behind every number above, interchange, assessments and markup? Start with the pillar guide, or read our full Stripe breakdown:
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Stripe cheaper than PayPal?
For standard online card payments, yes: 2.9% + $0.30 versus PayPal Checkout's 3.49% + $0.49 ($3.20 versus $3.98 on $100). PayPal's in-person Zettle rate (2.29% + $0.09) can beat Stripe at the counter, and its 2.99% advanced-checkout rate narrows the online gap.
Which is cheaper for international sales?
Stripe, usually by a lot. Both add ~1.5% for an international card, but PayPal's currency conversion is ~4% versus Stripe's ~1%. A converted international sale can reach nearly 9% all-in on PayPal versus ~5.4% on Stripe.
Does Stripe or PayPal have monthly fees?
Neither, on its standard plan: both are pure pay-per-transaction with no setup or monthly fee. You only pay more if you opt into add-ons like PayPal Micropayments or Stripe's Billing and advanced Radar.
Should I use Stripe or PayPal for my small business?
Stripe if you sell online, run subscriptions, need cheap ACH or international handling, or have a developer. PayPal if you want buyer trust at checkout, sell in person with Zettle, or take very small payments. Many businesses simply offer both.
Can I offer both Stripe and PayPal?
Yes, and many stores do. A PayPal button alongside Stripe-powered card fields can lift conversion, since some shoppers only trust the PayPal flow. You pay each provider's fee only on the transactions it processes.
Key Takeaways
- Online: Stripe wins (2.9% + $0.30 vs 3.49% + $0.49).
- In person: PayPal Zettle wins (2.29% + $0.09 vs 2.7% + $0.05).
- International: Stripe wins big (~1% conversion vs PayPal's ~4%).
- Tiny tickets: PayPal Micropayments wins under ~$10.
- Don't ignore checkout conversion: offering both is often the smartest move.
Compare on Your Own Numbers
The winner depends entirely on your mix of channels, ticket sizes, and customers. Drop your real numbers into both calculators, weigh in checkout conversion, and remember that running both is a perfectly good answer.
Compare Stripe and PayPal Fees
See exactly what each one charges on your transaction sizes.
Related Calculators & Guides
Cut your Etsy, eBay, Amazon, Depop, StockX and Poshmark seller fees in 2026 — the fees you can avoid, platform-by-platform tactics, and the payout cost most sellers miss.
Etsy vs eBay vs Poshmark seller fees compared for 2026 — what each platform is for, and which keeps the most of your sale.
How card processing fees actually work — interchange, assessments, and processor markup — plus pricing models and ways to lower your effective rate.
Calculate PayPal's fee on any transaction amount.
Browse fee calculators for every major processor.
What it costs to take money from overseas customers, route by route.
Sources & References
Provider pricing and exchange rates are set by the companies named and can change. Figures in this guide are checked against these official sources — always confirm the live rate before you transact.