PayPal Fees at a Glance
PayPal charges its fees on the total payment received.
| Fee | Percentage | Flat | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial transaction | 3.49% | $0.49 | — |
Fees That Apply in Some Cases
| Fee | Percentage | Flat | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| International | 1.5% | — | Cross-border surcharge |
| Currency conversion | 4% | — | PayPal’s FX spread |
What You Keep
The flat component is what makes small sales expensive. The same fee schedule costs a very different effective rate depending on the order size:
| Sale | Fees | You receive | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5.00 | $0.66 | $4.34 | 13.29% |
| $20.00 | $1.19 | $18.81 | 5.94% |
| $50.00 | $2.24 | $47.77 | 4.47% |
| $100.00 | $3.98 | $96.02 | 3.98% |
| $500.00 | $17.94 | $482.06 | 3.59% |
Goods and Services vs Friends and Family
The 3.49% + 49¢ rate applies to commercial "goods and services" payments. Friends-and-family transfers funded by balance or bank are free — and carry no buyer or seller protection, which is exactly why asking a customer to pay that way is against PayPal's terms and leaves you with no recourse.
| Payment type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Goods and services (US) | 3.49% + 49¢ |
| Micropayments (under $10, must opt in) | 4.99% + 9¢ |
| Charity (registered, verified) | 1.99% + 49¢ |
| Cross-border | +1.5% |
| Currency conversion | ~4% above the base rate |
Charging to Hit a Target Payout
Adding 3.49% to your price under-recovers, because the percentage then applies to the larger amount as well. The correct gross-up divides:
``
charge = (target + flat fees) ÷ (1 − percentage rate)
``
| To receive | Charge |
|---|---|
| $100.00 | $104.12 |
| $1,000.00 | $1,036.67 |
Reducing What You Pay
- Raise average order value. The flat fee is fixed, so bundling two $20.00 orders
- Watch the optional surcharges. International and currency-conversion fees stack on top
- Negotiate at volume. Most processors will discuss custom rates once you are processing
- Do not migrate for 0.2%. The engineering and support cost of changing platforms
US standard rate for goods and services. Micropayment and charity rates differ.
PayPal Against Every Other Channel
What each platform takes from the same $100 sale:
| Platform | Effective rate | You keep |
|---|---|---|
| Airbnb | 3.00% | $97.00 |
| BigCommerce | 3.08% | $96.92 |
| Stripe | 3.20% | $96.80 |
| Shopify | 3.20% | $96.80 |
| Square | 3.20% | $96.80 |
| GoFundMe | 3.20% | $96.80 |
| Podia | 3.20% | $96.80 |
| Wix | 3.20% | $96.80 |
| PayPal | 3.98% | $96.02 |
| Lemon Squeezy | 5.50% | $94.50 |
| Paddle | 5.50% | $94.50 |
| Squarespace | 6.20% | $93.80 |
| Ko-fi | 8.20% | $91.80 |
| Buy Me a Coffee | 8.20% | $91.80 |
| Kickstarter | 8.20% | $91.80 |
| Teachable | 8.20% | $91.80 |
| Indiegogo | 8.30% | $91.70 |
| Etsy | 9.95% | $90.05 |
| Upwork | 10.00% | $90.00 |
| Gumroad | 10.00% | $90.00 |
| Patreon | 11.20% | $88.80 |
| Whatnot | 11.20% | $88.80 |
| StockX | 12.00% | $88.00 |
| Substack | 13.20% | $86.80 |
| Mercari | 13.40% | $86.60 |
| eBay | 13.55% | $86.45 |
| Bandcamp | 14.70% | $85.30 |
| Amazon FBA | 18.22% | $81.78 |
| Fiverr | 20.00% | $80.00 |
| Poshmark | 20.00% | $80.00 |
| DoorDash | 30.00% | $70.00 |
The Rate Is Not Fixed
PayPal's effective rate on a $10 sale is 8.39%, and on a $1,000 sale it is 3.54%. The flat component does not scale, so raising average order value lowers your effective rate without negotiating anything.
| Sale | Fees | You keep | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10 | $0.84 | $9.16 | 8.39% |
| $100 | $3.98 | $96.02 | 3.98% |
| $1,000 | $35.39 | $964.61 | 3.54% |