These are the four names that come up every time a freelancer asks how to get paid by a client abroad. They do different jobs: PayPal and Stripe take cards, while Wise and Payoneer give you local bank details so the client pays by transfer. Here are all four on the same invoices, so you can see what each one keeps.
What each one costs, invoice by invoice
Published rates, checked on 25 October 2026. With PayPal and Stripe the client pays by card; with Wise and Payoneer, by transfer to your local details. The cheapest in each row is in bold.
| Invoice | PayPal | Stripe | Wise | Payoneer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freelancer in Spain, US client, $2,000 | $155.21 (7.76%) | $101.98 (5.1%) | $5.80 (0.29%) | $43.76 (2.19%) |
| Freelancer in Spain, UK client, £1,500 | £106.30 (7.09%) | £66.99 (4.47%) | £4.95 (0.33%) | £32.82 (2.19%) |
| Freelancer in Spain, German client, €1,000 | €29.35 (2.94%) | €15.25 (1.52%) | €0.00 (0%) | €11.50 (1.15%) |
| US freelancer, US client, $1,000 | $35.39 (3.54%) | $29.30 (2.93%) | $0.00 (0%) | $11.50 (1.15%) |
| UK freelancer, US client, $2,500 | $193.87 (7.75%) | $127.37 (5.09%) | $8.25 (0.33%) | $54.70 (2.19%) |
Which one is cheapest
Wise, on all five invoices. With the US client, getting $2,000 costs you $5.80 with Wise, $43.76 with Payoneer, $101.98 with Stripe and $155.21 with PayPal. For a retainer client paying that every month, the gap between Wise and PayPal is about $1,792.87 a year.
Between the two card processors, Stripe is cheaper than PayPal in every case. Payoneer sits in the middle: cheaper than any card route, but with a conversion margin and an annual fee that Wise does not charge.
- Card fee
- Cross-border
- Conversion
- Payout
Why the gap is so large
- A card pays three layers: the base rate, the international card surcharge and the currency conversion. With a client abroad, all three stack.
- A local transfer skips two of them: the client sends a domestic payment in their own country (ACH in the US, Faster Payments in the UK, SEPA in the EU) and you only pay for the conversion, if there is one.
- The conversion margin weighs the most: PayPal adds 3% over the market rate on European accounts; Wise converts at the mid-market rate and shows its fee separately.
When to pick each one
| Pick | If… |
|---|---|
| Wise | the client can pay by bank transfer and you want the lowest cost. It is the default for repeat clients. |
| Payoneer | you are paid by marketplaces that pay out to Payoneer (Upwork, Fiverr, Amazon) or the client already uses it. |
| Stripe | you need to take cards: a shop, subscriptions, payment links or clients who will not send transfers. |
| PayPal | the client will only pay with PayPal, or it is the first job for someone who does not know you yet. |
For your own amounts and countries, the calculator gives the exact figure. The head-to-head comparisons are in Stripe vs PayPal, PayPal vs Wise and Payoneer or Wise.
Every figure in this guide is calculated from the providers' public pricing pages, with the same function as the calculator. See the methodology for what the model includes and leaves out.