PayPal Fees: Calculator and Plan Pricing for 2024
PayPal fees are inexpensive for in-person transactions, but its base-plan online rates can add up.
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PayPal’s payment processing fees for small businesses typically range from 2.29% to 3.49% of each transaction, plus a fixed fee ranging from 9 cents to 49 cents. The exact amount you pay depends on your customers’ payment method and whether you mostly accept cards in-person with PayPal POS or online through one of the company’s e-commerce checkout integrations.
Here’s a rundown of PayPal’s fees for small businesses, along with a calculator for estimating how much using PayPal might cost you.
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PayPal fees at a glance
PayPal’s merchant fees page has a dizzying number of pricing details on it. The table below focuses on the fees that are most relevant to small businesses.
Transaction type | Payment processing fee |
|---|---|
In-person or via QR code | 2.29% plus 9 cents. |
Online | 2.59%-3.49% plus 49 cents. |
Invoice | 2.99%-3.49% plus 49 cents. |
Regardless of transaction type, you need to sign up for a free PayPal Business account to process payments with the company.
PayPal POS fees for in-person transactions
PayPal POS is the company’s POS system for accepting card transactions in-person. There’s no monthly fee to use it, but you do have to pay for hardware and processing costs. Here’s what each costs:
» MORE: Top PayPal alternatives
PayPal Checkout fees for online transactions
PayPal Checkout is an integration built for accepting online transactions on your business’s website. There are two different versions of it:
PayPal fee calculator
To calculate how much you’ll pay in processing fees with PayPal, plug in your business’s average transaction total and payment type (e.g., online debit or credit card, PayPal Payments or in-person).
PayPal payment gateway fees
In addition to payment processing services, PayPal offers payment gateways that connect your e-commerce site to your payment processor and allow customers to securely enter their card information online. This is mainly useful for businesses that use a different payment processor instead of PayPal, but need a way to accept payments online and want to allow customers to pay with their PayPal accounts.
Here are more details about each of PayPal’s payment gateway options:
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| Product | Payment processing fees | Monthly fee | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|
 Square NerdWallet Rating Learn more on Square's website | 2.6% + 15¢ in-person; 2.9% + 30¢ online. | $0 Starts at $0/month for unlimited devices and locations. | Learn more on Square's website |
 Helcim NerdWallet Rating Learn more on Helcim's website | 0.40% + 8¢ plus interchange, in-person; 0.50% + 25¢ plus interchange, online. | $0 | Learn more on Helcim's website |
 Stripe Payments NerdWallet Rating Learn more on Stripe's website | 2.7% + 5¢ in-person; 2.9% + 30¢ online. | $0 | Learn more on Stripe's website |
 Shopify POS NerdWallet Rating Learn more on Shopify's website | 2.6% + 10¢ in-person; 2.9% + 30¢ online (Basic plan). | $39 and up for e-commerce plans with POS Lite; Can upgrade to POS Pro for an extra $89. | Learn more on Shopify's website |