Skip to content
PayoutCost
ES · Español

Stripe vs PayPal

Both take card payments and both publish a headline rate that looks close to the other. The difference is in the two layers under it: the surcharge for a foreign card and the markup on converting the currency.

By Biel Vazquez · Rates verified

Short answer

Stripe is cheaper in every case we model. On a $5,000.00 payment from a US client to a Spanish business, PayPal takes $387.50 and Stripe $254.60. PayPal only earns its higher price when the buyer will not pay any other way.

Where the gap comes from

Start with the base rate. For a business in the eurozone, Stripe charges 1.5% plus a small fixed fee on a European card; PayPal charges 2.9%. Even with no border and no currency in the way, a €1,000.00 payment from Germany to Spain costs €15.25 on Stripe and €29.35 on PayPal.

Then the card crosses a border. Both add a surcharge when the card was issued outside your region, and both charge it on the gross amount, on top of the base rate. On the $5,000.00 US payment that is $82.50 at Stripe and $99.50 at PayPal.

The conversion is where PayPal pulls away. Stripe adds 2% for European and UK accounts; PayPal adds 3% for European accounts and 4% for US ones, and applies it after the percentage fee, to what is left. The two compound. On the same payment PayPal's conversion alone is $142.65, against $96.85 at Stripe.

What PayPal sells for the difference is reach. Almost every online buyer already has an account, and some will only pay with it. Its buyer protection also means disputes tend to go the buyer's way, which matters if you sell services where "delivered" is hard to prove.

What each one takes from a $5,000.00 payment

PaymentStripePayPalCheaper
US client → US business$5,000.00 invoice$145.302.91%$174.993.5%Stripe
US client → Spanish business$5,000.00 invoice$254.605.09%$387.507.75%Stripe
US client → UK business$5,000.00 invoice$254.555.09%$387.467.75%Stripe
German client → US business€5,000.00 invoice€268.105.36%€439.998.8%Stripe

All four fee layers included. Stripe is cheaper in 4 of 4 payments, PayPal in 0. Try your own route on the map.

Choose Stripe if…

  • You invoice clients or sell on your own site and your clients can pay by card.
  • Your clients are in other countries, so the surcharge and the conversion apply.
  • You are in the EEA or the UK, where Stripe's base rate is among the lowest.
  • You use software that already has Stripe built in (invoicing, a shop, a booking tool).

Choose PayPal if…

  • Your buyers will only pay with PayPal, as on some marketplaces and with many consumers.
  • The sale is small and one-off, and the trust of a PayPal button makes the difference.
  • You already spend from a PayPal balance in the same currency, so nothing is converted.

How each one is priced, layer by layer (account in the EEA)

Fee layerStripePayPal
Card or receiving fee1.5% + 0.252.9% + 0.35
Cross-border surcharge1% UK · 1.65% international1.29% UK · 1.99% international
Currency conversion2%3%
Payout to bankfreefree

Sources: Stripe · PayPal. Fixed amounts in the account currency.

Questions

Is Stripe cheaper than PayPal for international payments?

Yes. With all four fee layers counted, Stripe costs 5.09% of a $5,000.00 US payment into a Spanish account and PayPal 7.75%. For a German client paying a US business the figures are 5.36% and 8.8%.

Why is PayPal so expensive when the client pays in another currency?

Because its conversion markup (3% to 4% depending on your account's country) is applied after the percentage fee and the cross-border surcharge, so the layers compound instead of simply adding up.

Can I offer both?

Yes, and many sellers do: PayPal for the buyers who insist on it, Stripe for everyone paying by card. If the client is a business, offering a bank transfer to an account with local details is cheaper than either.

Related guides

All guides