PayPal Fee Calculator

PayPal has no single fee. The rate depends on how the money arrives (a goods and services payment, a checkout button, a card form, an invoice, a QR code or a personal payment), and a buyer abroad adds an international fee. Every rate below comes from PayPal's own fee pages, the primary source for its prices.

PayPal's 2026 US fee schedule at a glance

Standard rates for a US account receiving US dollars, checked October 12, 2026. PayPal can change them at any time, so treat this as a dated snapshot. The fixed fee is $0.49 unless the row shows another amount.

Two rows catch sellers out. A buyer paying from a PayPal account through your website's checkout button costs 3.49% + $0.49, while the same buyer sending a goods and services payment costs 2.99% with no fixed fee. PayPal lists a 1.50% international fee for all invoice payment types without saying how it combines with the $10 bank cap, so the calculator treats bank-paid invoices as domestic only.

The PayPal fee formula

Every result in the calculator comes from three lines:

The percentage rate includes the 1.50% international fee when the buyer is abroad, and the fee is rounded to the cent. The reverse result is rounded up to the next cent so you are never short, which is why you may see one cent more than your target. A cap replaces the percentage once reached: an invoice paid by bank costs $10.00 at $1,000 and at $50,000 alike. Compare methods by the effective rate, fee divided by payment: a $5 Checkout payment carries a $0.66 fee (13.20%), while at $10,000 the same pricing works out to 3.49%.

Worked example: a $480 goods and services sale

You sell a used camera lens for $480 and the buyer pays from their PayPal account as a goods and services payment:

Through a Checkout button on your website the fee would be $480 × 3.49% = $16.75 plus $0.49, or $17.24, leaving $462.76. Both are payments for goods, so both can qualify for Purchase Protection and both count toward Form 1099-K. A Friends and Family payment would be free from a bank account, but PayPal defines it as personal and its help center lists it as not eligible for Purchase Protection.

Worked example: invoicing a $1,200 client

A freelance designer sends a $1,200 PayPal invoice. What PayPal keeps depends on how the client pays it:

• PayPal balance, Venmo or guest checkout: $1,200 × 3.49% = $41.88, plus $0.49 = $42.37. The designer receives $1,157.63.
• Card or Apple Pay: $1,200 × 2.99% = $35.88, plus $0.49 = $36.37. The designer receives $1,163.63.
• Bank (ACH): 1% would be $12.00, but the fee is capped at $10.00. The designer receives $1,190.00.

Pay by bank saves $32.37 here, and on a $5,000 invoice it still costs $10.00 against $174.99 for the PayPal option. For large invoices it is the cheapest choice in PayPal's invoice pricing.

Worked example: selling abroad, currencies and conversion

A UK buyer pays a US seller $300 through Checkout. The international fee lifts the rate to 4.99%: $300 × 4.99% = $14.97, plus $0.49, a $15.46 fee leaving $284.54, against $10.96 for a US buyer. International means buyer and seller are registered in different markets, whatever the currency.

Paid in euros, the fixed fee follows the currency received: 0.39 EUR. A €200 international Checkout payment costs €9.98 + €0.39 = €10.37, leaving €189.63. Converting that to dollars inside PayPal carries a 3.00% spread in the exchange rate, roughly €5.69, so about €183.94 worth of dollars arrives. A buyer paying in a currency other than the listing currency faces a 4.00% spread. Standard fixed fees by currency received:

The forint, yen and New Taiwan dollar are zero-decimal currencies at PayPal, so the calculator rounds their fees to whole units.

PayPal fees at common amounts

Computed with the calculator's rounding. The last column shows the fixed fee at work: the effective Checkout rate falls from 13.20% at $5 to 3.49% at $10,000.

Other common methods at the same amounts. The Pay Later column doubles as international Checkout, since 3.49% plus 1.50% equals the 4.99% Pay Later rate.

How much to ask for to receive a set amount

Freelancers quoting a net figure and sellers pricing to cover fees need the reverse: divide the target plus the fixed fee by one minus the rate and round up. For $500 through Checkout, (500 + 0.49) ÷ 0.9651 = 518.5887, so ask for $518.59, which leaves exactly $500.00 after the $18.59 fee.

Use these figures to set prices and quotes. PayPal's user agreement does not allow a surcharge or other fee for accepting PayPal, so a charge added only for buyers who choose PayPal is out; a price that covers your costs for every buyer is fine.

Goods and services or Friends and Family?

PayPal defines a Friends and Family payment as a personal transaction that is not for goods or services. Between US accounts it is free from a PayPal balance or bank account; by card it costs the sender 2.90% + $0.30, so $100 costs $103.20. Abroad it adds 5%, at least $0.99 and at most $4.99: $4.99 on $300 from a bank, $13.99 on $300 by card. The recipient always gets the full amount.

For a sale it is a false economy. The buyer loses Purchase Protection, and the payment type changes nothing about taxes: the IRS treats genuine gifts and repaid shared expenses as non-taxable, while income from selling goods or services is taxable however it was paid.

PayPal fees, Form 1099-K and your taxes

Payment apps such as PayPal report payments for goods and services on Form 1099-K. Under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21) the federal threshold is again more than $20,000 in gross payments and more than 200 transactions in a calendar year, and the IRS says the change is retroactive. Both tests must be met, states may set lower thresholds, and a platform may send a form for less.

The form shows the gross amount, not adjusted for fees, refunds, shipping or discounts. Report the gross and deduct fees and refunds as expenses (on Schedule C for sole proprietors). Income is reportable with or without a form, and gifts or a roommate's share of rent should not appear on one. A seller paid 240 times $100 through Checkout in 2026 passes both tests; fees of 240 × $3.98 = $955.20 are deducted from the $24,000 on the form, rather than reporting only the $23,044.80 that reached the bank.

How to use this calculator

1. Pick the question: "Fee on a payment" if you know what the buyer pays, "Amount to ask for" if you know what you want to keep.
2. Enter the amount in the currency you receive.
3. Choose how you get paid. The rate line under the menu shows what is applied; "Custom rate" covers negotiated pricing.
4. Set currency and location, ticking "Buyer is outside the US" for international payments.
5. Read the result: what you receive or should ask for, the fee split into parts, and the same payment priced across nine methods.

It is built for online sellers, freelancers who invoice through PayPal, nonprofits taking donations, market vendors using QR codes, and friends deciding whether a card-funded payment is worth it.

Key terms

• Commercial transaction: PayPal's term for a payment to buy or sell goods or services.
• Goods and services payment: PayPal's "Send/Receive Money for Goods and Services", account to account, at 2.99%.
• PayPal Checkout: the PayPal button on a website or app, at 3.49% + $0.49.
• Fixed fee: the per-transaction amount added to the percentage, set by the currency received.
• International transaction: a payment between accounts in different markets; commercial ones add 1.50%.
• Conversion spread: the margin in PayPal's exchange rate, 3.00% or 4.00%.
• Effective rate: total fee divided by the payment.
• Form 1099-K: the information return platforms file for goods and services payments above the federal threshold.

What changes your fee, and how to pay less

• The payment type. The same $480 costs $14.35 as a goods and services payment and $17.24 through Checkout.
• Where the buyer lives. An international buyer adds 1.50%, turning $10.96 into $15.46 on $300.
• The payment size. The fixed fee is 9.8% of a $5 sale before the percentage even starts.
• Refunds and disputes. PayPal keeps the original fee on refunds, and disputes and chargebacks add their own fees.

To pay less, offer pay by bank on large invoices, combine small orders into one payment, and keep foreign currency in its own balance instead of converting every sale. If your average sale is small, micropayments pricing (4.99% + $0.09, on application) beats Checkout below about $26.67: $1.09 instead of $1.19 on $20. Eligible charities can apply for the 1.99% + $0.49 rate, and standard transfers to your bank are free.

Limitations and related calculators

The calculator applies PayPal's published standard rates as of the dates above. It ignores negotiated, Interchange Plus Plus and Braintree pricing, dispute and chargeback fees, and the extra percentage PayPal may charge high-risk accounts. PayPal's rounding can differ by a cent, the conversion figure is an estimate, and nothing here is tax advice.

Turn prices and costs into margins with the Margin, Markup and Profit Margin calculators, and see how many sales cover fixed costs with the Break-Even Calculator. Amazon sellers can compare the FBA Calculator. For taxes, use the Self-Employment Tax and Estimated Tax calculators and the Sales Tax Calculator; check foreign prices with the Currency Converter. If you offer terms such as 2/10 net 30, the Early Payment Discount Calculator shows what that discount costs.

Sources

• PayPal, Merchant Fees, United States (last updated October 1, 2026; checked October 12, 2026).
• PayPal, Consumer Fees, United States (last updated May 19, 2026; checked October 12, 2026).
• PayPal, User Agreement, section "No surcharges" (last updated September 14, 2026).
• PayPal Help Center, Does PayPal cover my purchase if there's a problem?
• PayPal Developer, Currency codes (zero-decimal currencies).
• Internal Revenue Service, IR-2025-107: Form 1099-K threshold under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill reverts to $20,000 (October 23, 2025).
• Internal Revenue Service, Understanding your Form 1099-K.
• Internal Revenue Service, What to do with Form 1099-K.
• Internal Revenue Service, Form 1099-K FAQs: General information.