PayPal Fee Calculator
Calculate PayPal transaction fees for goods and services payments, and how much to charge to receive a specific net amount.
PayPal’s fee structure (2024 US)
PayPal raised its Goods and Services rate from 2.9% + $0.30 to 3.49% + $0.49 in 2022, then held it through 2024. That bumped PayPal from “the same as Stripe” to “noticeably more expensive than Stripe” for most online merchants. The pricing tier you choose matters:
| Transaction type | Rate |
|---|---|
| Goods and Services (domestic) | 3.49% + $0.49 |
| Goods and Services (international) | +1.5% surcharge (total 4.99% + $0.49) |
| Currency conversion | +3% to 4% spread on PayPal’s exchange rate |
| Friends and Family (US) | Free (zero buyer/seller protection) |
| QR Code payments (in person) | 2.29% + $0.09 |
| Micropayments tier (apply directly) | 4.99% + $0.09 (under-$10 average) |
The math
fee = amount × rate + $0.49 (or $0.09 for micropayments) net = amount − fee
A $100 G&S domestic transaction: $100 × 0.0349 + $0.49 = $3.98 fee, $96.02 net. Compare to Stripe at $3.20 — PayPal costs roughly $0.78 more per $100. Multiplied across hundreds of transactions a month, it adds up.
Grossing up the invoice
To receive a target amount net:
invoice = (target + $0.49) ÷ (1 − rate)
To receive exactly $100: invoice = ($100 + $0.49) ÷ 0.9651 = $104.13. The customer pays $104.13, PayPal takes $4.13 in fees, you net $100.
Friends and Family — the trap that ends businesses
F&F is free. The buyer cannot dispute the charge through PayPal Buyer Protection. The seller has no PayPal-mediated recourse if the buyer requests a chargeback through their credit card issuer.
Never accept F&F for a business transaction. PayPal can:
- Freeze your account if their fraud team detects business activity classified as F&F (they call this “tax evasion” and they actively look for it)
- Permanently ban your account
- Hold funds in escrow for 180 days
The 3.49% fee is the cost of access to PayPal’s dispute infrastructure. Skipping it is the cheapest mistake you can make until it’s the most expensive.
Effective rate by transaction size (G&S domestic)
| Amount | Fee | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|
| $5 | $0.66 | 13.3% |
| $10 | $0.84 | 8.4% |
| $25 | $1.36 | 5.4% |
| $50 | $2.24 | 4.5% |
| $100 | $3.98 | 4.0% |
| $250 | $9.22 | 3.7% |
| $1,000 | $35.39 | 3.5% |
| $10,000 | $349.49 | 3.5% |
The $0.49 fixed cost punishes small transactions even harder than Stripe’s $0.30 does. Micropayments tier (4.99% + $0.09) becomes the better option below about $14 — calculate carefully.
PayPal vs Stripe — when to pick which
| Use case | Better choice |
|---|---|
| US-only e-commerce store | Stripe (cheaper, better dev tools) |
| Selling globally to consumers | PayPal (familiar, trusted in 200+ countries) |
| B2B invoicing in US/EU | Stripe Invoicing or direct bank transfer |
| Freelance one-off jobs from international clients | PayPal (sometimes the only option clients trust) |
| High dispute-rate industry | Stripe (better chargeback tools; though both will close risky accounts) |
| Crypto / regulated products | Neither (both refuse most of these) |
Many businesses accept both. PayPal at checkout typically lifts conversion 5 to 15% — many consumers refuse to enter credit card details on unfamiliar sites but happily click “Pay with PayPal.”
Account freezes — PayPal’s notorious risk
PayPal can freeze funds for up to 180 days “to protect the platform.” This happens most often when:
- A new business has its first big sale (sudden volume spike)
- A customer raises a dispute
- The account has irregular login patterns
- Activity moves between F&F and G&S
If $5,000+ of revenue lives in PayPal, sweep it to your bank account weekly. Many small businesses keep PayPal as a checkout option but transfer balances daily to avoid getting trapped during a freeze.
Withdrawal timing
Standard withdrawal: 1-2 business days, no fee. Instant transfer to linked debit card: 1.5% of the amount, $0.25 minimum, $15 maximum. Standard transfer is almost always the right choice.
Tax (US)
PayPal issues 1099-K when transactions exceed federal thresholds (currently $5,000, dropping to $600 in coming years). The 1099 covers G&S only — F&F is invisible to PayPal’s reporting (which is why people abuse it, but see “the trap” above).
How we build and check this calculator
This calculator runs entirely in your browser, so the numbers you enter stay on your device. The math behind it is written by hand and tested against worked examples and standard references before the page goes live.
SuperGlobalCalculator is independently built and maintained. See how we build and verify our calculators.