π³ PayPal Fee Calculator
2026 US rates: what you keep and what to charge.
Result
Estimates for planning only, not financial advice.
PayPal's 2026 US rates depend on how the customer pays: Checkout and invoicing cost 3.49 percent plus $0.49, standard card payments 2.99 percent plus $0.49, QR and in-person 2.29 percent plus $0.09, and Pay Later 4.99 percent plus $0.49. On a $1,000 Checkout sale the fee is $35.39 and you keep $964.61. To net exactly $1,000, charge $1,036.67.
How to Use This Calculator
Enter the transaction amount and pick the payment type. Choose whether to see your net on a sale at that price, or the grossed-up price to charge so a target amount lands in your account after fees.
Enter the amount and select how the buyer pays. The rate follows the route.
Pick net or gross-up mode depending on whether you set the price or the target.
Read the fee and the answer. For invoicing clients generally, our invoice generator builds the bill.
PayPal's 2026 US Fee Structure
The route matters more than most sellers realize: the same $1,000 costs $35.39 via Checkout but $22.99 via QR code. International sales add 1.5 percent on top, and currency conversion adds a 3 to 4 percent spread. Friends and Family from bank or balance is free but offers no seller protection and violates terms for business use.
Worked Example
$1,000 sale via PayPal Checkout at 3.49 percent plus $0.49: fee = $34.90 + $0.49 = $35.39; net = $964.61. To net exactly $1,000: charge ($1,000 + $0.49) / (1 - 0.0349) = $1,036.67; the fee on that is $36.67 and you keep $1,000.00. The fixed $0.49 barely matters at $1,000 but dominates small sales: on $10 the effective rate jumps past 8 percent.
Reading Your Result
Small transactions get punished by the fixed fee: always compute the effective rate, not just the percent. If most of your sales are under $20, the micropayment math (or a different processor) deserves a look. For larger sales, steer buyers toward cheaper routes: QR/in-person beats Checkout by over a point.
My rule: bake fees into pricing once, deliberately, then stop thinking about them per sale. Add the typical fee to your prices as a cost of doing business rather than surprising buyers with surcharges, which many card-network rules restrict anyway. Review annually: PayPal reprices every year or two, and a point here is real margin. For the broader question of what your business keeps, our margin calculator puts fees in context.
The fee schedule rewards steering customers to cheaper rails. A business doing $50,000 a month through Checkout pays about $17,700 a year in fees; moving half that volume to QR/in-person rates saves roughly $3,000. For online sellers, the lever is different: raising average order value dilutes the fixed $0.49 per transaction. Ten $10 sales cost far more in fees than one $100 sale.
Watch the annual repricing cycle. PayPal has raised US commercial rates several times in recent years, usually with a few months' notice buried in policy updates. Build a yearly fee review into your pricing calendar: export the year's PayPal fee report, compute your true effective rate across all transactions, and compare it against Stripe, Square, or your merchant account. A point of fees is a point of margin.
Estimates for planning only, not financial advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does PayPal charge per transaction in 2026?
US commercial rates: PayPal Checkout 3.49% + $0.49, standard card payments 2.99% + $0.49, QR/in-person 2.29% + $0.09, Pay Later 4.99% + $0.49. International adds 1.5% plus currency spread. Micropayments pricing (5% + $0.05) still exists for eligible merchants: ask support.
Who pays the PayPal fee, buyer or seller?
The seller (recipient) pays. Buyers pay no PayPal fee on domestic purchases. Sellers cannot add a PayPal surcharge in many cases due to card network rules; build it into pricing instead. Passing fees to buyers as surcharges violates card network rules in most cases.
How do I calculate the price to receive a set amount?
Gross up: (target + fixed fee) / (1 - rate). To net $1,000 via Checkout: ($1,000 + $0.49) / 0.9651 = $1,036.67. The calculator's gross-up mode does this for any rate. The formula inverts cleanly: gross = (net + fixed) / (1 - rate), every time.
Why are small PayPal payments so expensive?
The fixed fee ($0.49) dominates small amounts: on a $10 sale it alone is 4.9%, pushing the effective rate past 8%. Route small sales through the cheapest method or batch them. At $5 the effective rate exceeds 13%: micropayments need micropayment pricing.
What is the cheapest way to receive money on PayPal?
For business, QR/in-person at 2.29% + $0.09. Friends and Family from bank/balance is free but has no seller protection and using it for business violates PayPal's terms, risking account limits. Venmo business profiles charge 1.9% + $0.10: cheaper for small in-person sales.
Does PayPal charge for international payments?
Yes: the domestic rate plus a 1.5% international surcharge, plus a 3 to 4% currency conversion spread when currencies differ. International Checkout on $1,000 runs about 4.99% + $0.49 before conversion. Wise and other transfer services beat PayPal on conversion spreads for payouts.
Are PayPal fees tax deductible?
For businesses, yes: payment processing fees are ordinary business expenses deducted on Schedule C or the business return. Keep PayPal's annual fee reports for your records. Sole proprietors deduct them on Schedule C: keep the annual fee summary PayPal emails every January.
How do PayPal fees compare to Stripe?
Roughly similar headline rates (Stripe US is 2.9% + $0.30 for cards), but the details differ by route, international handling, and payouts. Compare on your actual mix of transaction types, not headlines. Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 beats PayPal Checkout on sub-$50 card transactions.
Does PayPal charge a monthly fee?
No monthly or setup fee for standard accounts; you pay per transaction. Some advanced products and chargeback fees add costs, but the core pricing is purely per-transaction. Chargeback fees ($20) and holds are the hidden costs beyond the headline rate.
Can I avoid PayPal fees with Friends and Family?
For genuine personal transfers, yes. For business, no: it violates the terms, removes seller protection, and risks holds or bans. The fee buys dispute handling and buyer trust that win sales. The fee funds buyer protection that lifts conversion: honest sellers net more with it.