PayPal Fee Calculator
Calculate PayPal fees for domestic and international payments, invoices, and micropayments — plus the inverse charge to net your target amount. Free.
PayPal's fees differ by transaction type — standard online (3.49% + 49¢), invoices, QR codes, and international all price differently, and the fixed fee jumps for cross-border. This calculator covers each scenario so a $100 invoice nets what you actually expect.
The inverse mode answers the freelancer question: how much to invoice so that, after PayPal takes its cut, you receive your target amount. It also compares the same payment through six other processors, since switching providers is often the cheapest margin improvement available.
100% in-browser · no upload · no signup · nothing you paste or drop here leaves your device
Payment Processor Compare
Stripe vs PayPal vs Square — see what you actually keep per $1,000 in sales
Payment processor rates are standard published rates as of 2026. Actual rates may vary based on volume, risk assessment, and negotiated agreements. International transaction fees and currency conversion fees not included. Always confirm current rates on the processor's website.
How processor fees are really built — illustrated
Every card processor prices the same three layers: a percentage of volume (Stripe and Shopify 2.9%, PayPal 3.49%, Square 2.6%), a flat fee per transaction (typically $0.10–$0.49), and per-event charges for chargebacks ($15–$25 each). This tool models all of it: total = volume × % + (volume ÷ avg transaction) × fixed + chargebacks + intl surcharge + monthly fee, then ranks processors by that total so you can see the effective rate you really pay per $1,000 of sales. Because the fixed per-transaction line scales with transaction count, a high-volume store with small carts is where the biggest spread between processors appears.
At 20 transactions of $50 each, the 2.9% + $0.30 Stripe-style fee yields $29.00 + $6.00 = $35.00 — a 3.5% effective rate before chargebacks and FX.
Lena runs an online shop doing $10,000/month in 200 transactions of $50 each, with 10% of volume international and a 1% chargeback rate. She compares Stripe (2.9% + $0.30, $15 chargebacks) against Wise Business (1.4% + $0.45, no chargeback fee).
- Percentage fee:Stripe: 2.9% × $10,000 = $290.00 · Wise: 1.4% × $10,000 = $140.00.
- Per-transaction fee:200 × $0.30 = $60.00 (Stripe) vs. 200 × $0.45 = $90.00 (Wise) — the flat line favors Stripe.
- Chargebacks + FX:Stripe: 2 chargebacks × $15 = $30 + 1.5% on $1,000 intl = $15 · Wise: $0 + $15.
- Total & verdict:Stripe ≈ $395 (3.95% effective) vs. Wise ≈ $245 (2.45%). Wise saves Lena ~$150/mo, ~$1,800/yr — enough to matter at volume.
About this PayPal fee calculator
This page covers how much does paypal take, paypal invoice fee calculator, paypal international fees, paypal vs stripe fees — all the same underlying task as PayPal fee calculator. The tool above is FreeToolHub's payment compare embedded in full: every feature works right here, and nothing you process is uploaded to any server.
Related pages
- Stripe Fee Calculator — Stripe fee calculator
Frequently asked questions
How much does PayPal charge to receive money?
US standard online transactions: 3.49% + $0.49 fixed; invoice payments 3.49% + $0.49; QR-code transactions less; international payments add percentage points plus higher fixed fees. On a $100 domestic online sale, expect $3.98 in fees, netting $96.02.
How do I calculate the inverse PayPal fee?
Charge (target + fixed fee) ÷ (1 − percentage). To net $100 at 3.49% + 49¢: $100.49 ÷ 0.9651 = $104.12. Simply adding 3.49% to $100 undercharges because the percentage applies to the larger surcharged total — the calculator does the correct math in one step.