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Payment processor and wallet · by PayPal

PayPal Checkout

PayPal's merchant checkout for wallet, card, Venmo and Pay Later payments, with published per-country fees and buyers who already have PayPal accounts.

Visit paypal.com ↗ Alternatives Paid EU region
PayPal Checkout homepage
§1

Overview

PayPal's business checkout offers the PayPal wallet, guest card payments, Venmo (US), Pay Later and local methods through Smart Buttons, hosted checkout or the Orders API. Many buyers already have a PayPal account, which is the main reason sellers add it even when they use another card processor.

Fees depend on the payment type and the country of your PayPal account. In the US, standard card payments are 2.99% + 49¢, while PayPal wallet, guest checkout and Venmo payments are 3.49% + 49¢ and Pay Later is 4.99% + 49¢. International payments add 1.5%.

PayPal is not a merchant of record: you remain the seller and handle tax. For deeper card processing with vaulting and more control, PayPal sells Braintree (now branded PayPal Enterprise Payments) separately.

Before choosing PayPal as your only processor, compare the fixed fee: at 49¢ in the US it takes a larger share of small orders than the 30¢ common elsewhere. Many sellers therefore run PayPal next to a card processor such as Stripe or Braintree and let buyers pick.

§2

Pricing and plans

Plan Price What you get
Standard card payments (US) 2.99% + 49¢ Domestic; +1.5% for international transactions
PayPal Checkout / Guest Checkout / Venmo (US) 3.49% + 49¢ Domestic wallet and guest payments
PayPal Pay Later (US) 4.99% + 49¢ Buy now, pay later
Ireland (EUR), most commercial payments 3.40% + fixed fee Card payment by a buyer without a PayPal account 1.20% + fixed fee; no extra fee for EEA senders

Rates are published per country; the US page (updated May 19, 2026) and the Ireland page (updated March 24, 2025) were read. The US fixed fee is 0.49 USD (0.39 EUR when receiving euros on a US account). International commercial transactions add 1.5% in the US; for Irish accounts, senders from the UK add 1.29% and from outside the EEA 1.99%. The Irish fixed fee amount was not shown on the section read. Currency conversion and dispute fees apply separately.

Source: www.paypal.com/us/business/paypal-business-fees · prices as published, excluding tax.

§3

What it does

PayPal wallet and Venmo
One-click payments for buyers logged in to PayPal, and Venmo for US buyers.
Pay Later
Buy-now-pay-later offers where PayPal takes the credit risk, at a higher fee.
Guest card checkout
Buyers without a PayPal account can pay by card in the same flow.
Subscriptions
Recurring billing plans with PayPal as the payment method.
Invoicing and QR codes
Invoices and QR code payments with their own, lower rates for QR.
§4

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • Buyers recognise and trust the PayPal button
  • Available to businesses in far more countries than most processors
  • No monthly fee on standard rates
  • Venmo and Pay Later from the same integration in the US

Limitations

  • Wallet payments cost more than plain card processing (3.49% + 49¢ in the US)
  • The US fixed fee of 49¢ is higher than the common 30¢, which hurts small orders
  • Fees differ by country and payment type, so blended cost takes work to estimate
  • You stay the merchant of record and handle tax yourself
§5

Who it suits

Good for

  • Stores whose buyers expect a PayPal option
  • Sellers in countries where Stripe is unavailable
  • Adding a second payment method next to a card processor

Look elsewhere if

  • Low-price digital goods where the fixed fee eats the margin
  • Developers who want a single processor with deep API control (see Stripe, Braintree, Adyen)
§6

Alternatives to PayPal Checkout

Tool From Free option Stages
Square Payments Payment processor (in-person and online)
Usage-based Paid
Paystack Payment gateway (Africa)
Usage-based Paid
Polar Merchant of record with usage billing
Usage-based Paid
Dodo Payments Merchant of record with usage billing
Usage-based Paid
Mollie Payment processor (Europe)
Usage-based Paid
Stripe Payments Payment processor (API-first)
Usage-based Paid

All payments and billing →

§7

Questions

What are PayPal's fees for a US business?

2.99% + 49¢ for standard card payments and 3.49% + 49¢ for PayPal Checkout, guest checkout and Venmo, with 1.5% more for international payments.

Is PayPal a merchant of record?

No. You remain the seller and are responsible for sales tax and VAT.

Does PayPal charge a monthly fee?

No monthly fee applies to the standard commercial transaction rates; you pay per payment received.

Sources read for this page