PayPal fee calculator

PayPal charges a percentage plus a fixed fee on a commercial transaction. In the US, the standard PayPal Checkout rate is 3.49% + $0.49. In the UK, the standard commercial transaction rate is 2.9% + £0.30. The fixed fee is based on the currency received; the calculator shows the USD and GBP fixed fees.

International transactions add a percentage. US commercial transactions add 1.5%; UK transactions from outside the EEA add 1.99%, while EEA senders add 1.29%. The calculator’s single international switch uses the non-EEA rate and says so. Currency conversion is a separate add-on: 3%, or 4% when paying in another currency. Standard US card payments are 2.99% + $0.49, Goods & Services is 2.99% with no fixed fee, and both are selectable. Receiving a different currency also carries a fixed fee: for example, £0.39 for GBP received on a US account, or $0.30 for USD received on a UK account. Figures are from PayPal’s merchant fee pages, checked in October 2026.

Default US PayPal Checkout rate, no international surcharge and no currency conversion. Generated from the same schedule as the calculator.

At $10 the fee is $0.84 (3.49% = $0.349, rounded to $0.35, plus $0.49), leaving $9.16. The fixed fee is why a $5 sale loses a larger share than a $50 sale.

Goods & Services is the rate most small creators meet when they send a PayPal.me link, an invoice or a payment request rather than using a full checkout. On the US merchant rate it is 2.99% with no fixed fee on that line. A $10 sale leaves $9.70, a $25 sale leaves $24.25 and a $100 sale leaves $97.01. PayPal.me and personal-account payments can carry a fixed fee, so check the amount shown before sending.

Do not use “friends and family” for a sale to avoid the fee. It has no buyer or seller protection, it is not designed for goods or services, and using it to sell breaks PayPal’s terms. If a buyer sends a sale payment that way, both sides lose the protection they think they have.

A standard withdrawal to a linked bank account is free. An instant transfer to an eligible debit card costs 1.5% with a $0.50 minimum on the US business rate. Transfer $100 and the fee is $1.50; transfer $20 and the 1.5% is $0.30, so the $0.50 minimum applies.

The UK merchant page does not list an instant-transfer rate, so the add-on is US-only. The fee is a payout cost, not a sale cost; the calculator applies it to the example sale so you can see it beside the transaction fee.

The UK standard commercial rate is 2.9% + £0.30. The guest card rate is much lower at 1.2% + £0.30, for a card payment from a buyer without a PayPal account. Pay in 3 / BNPL is 3.9% + £0.30; micropayments are 5% + £0.05. EEA senders add 1.29%; senders outside the EEA add 1.99%.

PayPal also has a tiered plan on request: 2.9% up to £4,000 of eligible monthly volume, 2.4% from £4,000 to £8,000, and 2.1% above £8,000. The standard rate applies until PayPal confirms enrolment, so do not assume the lower tier.

Refunds are free to issue, but the original fee is not returned. Refund a $10 Checkout payment and the creator is still down $0.84. A chargeback is $20 in the US or £14 in the UK. A standard dispute is $15 or £12; the high-volume dispute fee is $30 or £24. These are not part of the per-sale calculator because most sales do not have one.

A chargeback is $20 in the US or £14 in the UK. A standard dispute is $15 or £12; the high-volume dispute fee is $30 or £24. Refunds have no separate fee, but the original fee is not returned. The UK tiered rate, invoice fees and the fixed fee for receiving another currency are explained above or in the fee table. They are real costs; they are not in the per-sale result because they do not apply to every sale.

PayPal Checkout is the more expensive default at every price here. Stripe’s standard US card rate is 2.9% + $0.30; PayPal Checkout is 3.49% + $0.49.

At $100 PayPal charges $3.98 and Stripe $3.20, so Stripe leaves $0.78 more. PayPal can still be the better choice when the buyer already has a balance or strongly prefers it. See the Stripe fee calculator for ACH, Klarna, Billing and the other Stripe lines.

Micropayments charge 4.99% + $0.09 in the US and 5% + £0.05 in the UK. That lower fixed fee is better than Checkout below about $26.67 in the US and about £11.90 in the UK. Above those prices the standard percentage wins. The payment method select switches between them.

The reverse mode solves price = (target + fixed fee) ÷ (1 − percentage). In the US, to receive $100 after the standard PayPal Checkout fee, charge $104.13. The result is rounded up to the cent so the net reaches the target.

Use it when a client or a target income sets the number. It is the same arithmetic as working backwards from a payout, without a spreadsheet.

Keep the payment domestic where you can. The international surcharge is 1.5% in the US and 1.99% in the UK outside the EEA. A domestic buyer avoids it entirely.

Know which rate your checkout uses. PayPal has different rates for Checkout, Goods & Services, standard card payments, Pay Later, Venmo and micropayments. The payment method select uses the published rate for each; the fee table lists the rest.

Do not let small prices hide the fixed fee. On a $5 sale, $0.49 is almost 10% before the percentage fee. A $5 product and a $25 product do not have the same margin.

Remember what PayPal does not do. It processes the payment; it does not host the product page, deliver the file or bring the buyer. Those are separate costs, and a lower percentage is not a lower total cost if you still have to build the rest.

PayPal is the right choice when your buyers already use it or when you need a payment button on a site you already have. It is familiar, widely accepted and does not require you to change your checkout. You keep the customer relationship.

Unlockable is the shorter route when the product is one file and the buyer already knows you. It includes delivery, capped and expiring links and card processing, and the buyer pays the 10% privacy and security fee on top. It is not a PayPal replacement for subscriptions or invoicing; it is a narrower product for one paid link. See Unlockable’s pricing and the platform comparison.

See how to sell without a website and how to deliver digital products, compare PayPal vs Stripe fees, or see every platform at once.