Stripe vs PayPal 2026: Fees, Payouts, Disputes and Holds Compared

On online card sales Stripe charges 2.9% plus 30 cents, while PayPal charges 3.49% plus 49 cents when the buyer pays with the PayPal button, Venmo or guest checkout, and 2.89% plus 29 cents when you take cards through its Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments product (as of November 2026). On a $2,000 order that is $58.30 at Stripe, $70.29 on the PayPal button and $58.09 on PayPal cards. So the fee gap between the two comes mostly from which payment button the buyer clicks, not from the company name. This guide compares fees, payouts, holds and reserves, disputes, checkout options, fraud tools and international selling using each company’s own pages.

I wrote this at Ecommerce Paradise for store owners deciding how to get paid, and every figure comes from stripe.com, docs.stripe.com or paypal.com pages that I read in October and November 2026. Where a page did not show a number I say so. Your account may have custom terms, rates change, and this is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice, so check the provider before you decide.

Stripe vs PayPal at a Glance (as of November 2026)

This table uses US rates in US dollars for a US business. PayPal rates come from its business fees page, which showed an update date of October 1, 2026, and Stripe rates come from its pricing page and local payment methods page.

Two things stand out. First, the card rates are close, and PayPal’s Advanced card product is a few cents cheaper than Stripe on large orders because its fixed fee is 29 cents against 30 cents. Second, the PayPal button costs a full 0.59 points more than a Stripe card plus 19 cents more per order, which is the price of the buyer using a wallet they already trust. I list what I could not find in a section further down.

How I Sourced This Comparison

I took every fee, feature and date from official pages and used no review sites for facts. Stripe’s figures start with its pricing page, supported by its local payment methods pricing. PayPal’s start with its business fees page, and the rest come from the help articles and documentation listed at the end.

Some PayPal pages block automated readers or load their content with JavaScript. Where a page returned nothing I write “not shown on the pages I could load” rather than guess. Two PayPal help articles also describe dispute timing slightly differently, and I flag that where it comes up. Anything labeled an example is my own arithmetic from the published rates, not a quote, and opinion is labeled as opinion.

Processing Fees in Detail

Online cards and wallets

Stripe has one headline online rate: 2.9% plus 30 cents on a successful domestic card or wallet payment. PayPal splits its rate by how the buyer pays. A buyer who clicks the PayPal button, Venmo or guest checkout costs you 3.49% plus 49 cents, a card payment through its standard product is 2.99% plus 49 cents, and the Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments product is 2.89% plus 29 cents.

PayPal also lists an Interchange Plus Plus option for card payments at the card networks’ pass-through costs plus 0.49% and 39 cents. I cannot show you what that comes to, because interchange varies by card, and the page does not give an average. If you process a large volume, ask PayPal for a quote and compare it with a Stripe quote.

Pay later, bank payments and in person

Buy now, pay later costs more on both. Stripe lists Klarna at 5.99% plus 30 cents in the US and Affirm at 6% or 7.99% plus 30 cents, depending on the plan. PayPal lists Pay Later at 4.99% plus 49 cents. On a $1,000 order that is $60.20 for Klarna through Stripe against $50.39 for Pay Later through PayPal, so check which option your buyers actually use before you compare.

For bank payments, Stripe lists ACH Direct Debit at 0.8% capped at $5.00, with a two-day option at 1.2%. PayPal lists Pay by Bank on invoices at 1% capped at $10.00. Face to face, Stripe Terminal is 2.7% plus 5 cents and PayPal’s card-present rate is 2.29% plus 9 cents. If your store is online only, the in-person rows will not matter to you.

International sales and currency conversion

Both add 1.5% to international sales. Stripe adds another 1% when it has to convert currency. PayPal states a conversion spread of 4% when a buyer pays in a currency other than the listing currency, and 3% for other conversions, and it notes that the figure may be shown differently during a transaction. PayPal also says the fixed fee for international sales depends on the currency you receive, and the dollar figures on its page apply to dollar receipts.

One more PayPal line to know about: the page says PayPal may raise your rate by up to 5.00% per transaction for additional risk factors, with 30 days’ notice, and by 1.00% if you fail to implement Express Checkout. I did not see an equivalent surcharge on Stripe’s standard pricing, though accounts on custom pricing follow their own fee schedule.

Plans and Monthly Costs

Stripe’s pricing page says there are no setup fees, monthly fees or hidden fees, including closure fees, on standard pricing. Optional products add cost: Payment Links with a custom domain are $10 a month, and Radar, Billing and Tax have their own prices. Stripe Billing, for example, starts at $620 a month on a one-year contract or 0.7% of billing volume pay as you go, so a store selling one-off products will rarely need it.

PayPal lists no monthly fee for Advanced card payments and ACH services. Older-style products carry monthly fees: Payments Advanced is $5 a month, Payments Pro is $30 a month, and the invoicing subscription is $14.99 a month. Most small online stores will not pay any of these, but check which product your store platform connects to before you assume.

Payouts and Cash Flow

Stripe says it typically schedules your first payout within 7 to 14 days after your first live payment, depending on your industry, country and risk level. After that, its settlement table lists 2 business days for the United States, and you can choose daily, weekly, monthly or manual payouts. Manual payouts started before 5 pm Eastern can be same day in the US under the stated conditions. Instant Payouts cost 1.5% with a 50 cent minimum and usually arrive within 30 minutes, but new users are not immediately eligible.

PayPal works differently: your sales land in a PayPal balance, and you move money out when you choose. Its help center says a standard bank transfer is free and typically takes 1 business day, though it can take 1 to 3, and an instant transfer costs 1.5% with a 50 cent minimum, up to $25,000 per transaction. I did not find a page stating exactly when a normal sale becomes available in the balance, and held payments, covered next, are not available until released.

Holds and Reserves

Holds and reserves are where processor terms stop being a fee comparison and start being a cash flow question. Neither company publishes the odds that your account will be affected, and I make no prediction here. What the documents say is below.

PayPal’s user agreement says risk-based holds generally remain in place for up to 21 days, and it may release a payment earlier. It says it can hold funds for a disputed payment until the matter is resolved, but no longer than 180 days. For business accounts, it describes a reserve that PayPal may place when it sees high risk, based on factors such as time in business, industry chargeback rates, processing history, delivery times and dispute rates. Its example of a rolling reserve is 10% held for a 90-day rolling period, and reserved funds show as pending.

Stripe’s services agreement defines a reserve as collateral that Stripe holds to cover liabilities you incur, and says it can set off amounts you owe against a reserve, your balance or your bank account. It also lets Stripe suspend or close an account on stated grounds. Stripe’s Radar documentation lists “dynamic reserves” as a feature of account-risk tools for platforms. I did not find a plain-language page on Stripe giving a typical reserve size or length, so I cannot compare the two on that point.

The practical advice is the same for both: keep a cash buffer, ship and document orders promptly, and do not build a store whose bills depend on payouts arriving on day two. A new store selling expensive items is exactly the profile that gets reviewed, so plan for slower first payouts. If you ever need a different kind of account, my guide to high-risk merchant accounts explains the options.

Disputes and Chargebacks

On Stripe, when a cardholder disputes a charge, Stripe debits the disputed amount plus a dispute fee from your balance, and the funds stay held for the whole process. The pricing page lists a $15.00 dispute received fee, which Stripe says it does not return outside Mexico, plus a $15.00 countered fee if you respond, which comes back if you win. An appeal is another $15.00, and Smart Disputes charges 30% of the amount for each dispute it wins. Card networks typically allow 120 days to dispute, you usually get 7 to 21 days to respond, and the whole process can take 2 to 3 months. Stripe facilitates the case but the cardholder’s bank decides.

PayPal handles two kinds of disputes. A buyer can dispute inside PayPal, and PayPal’s help article says you must respond within the first 10 days. The dispute stage lasts 20 days, and the disputed amount is held during review. One help page says PayPal usually decides a claim within about 10 days and another says claims usually take about 30 days, so I would plan for the longer one. If the buyer goes to their card issuer instead, it becomes a chargeback, and the fee page lists a $20.00 chargeback fee for payments not processed through a PayPal account or guest checkout, a $15.00 standard dispute fee and a $30.00 high volume dispute fee.

PayPal Seller Protection can change the outcome for eligible payments. It covers unauthorized transaction claims and item not received claims, requires a US primary address, tracking that matches the shipping address on the transaction details, and a prompt reply to PayPal’s requests. It excludes “significantly not as described” claims, and PayPal decides eligibility at its sole discretion. Stripe has no direct equivalent on the pages I read.

For a full breakdown, see my post on PayPal chargeback protection. The matching post on Stripe chargeback protection covers the other side.

Checkout Options and Conversion

Stripe is a toolkit. It offers Checkout (a prebuilt payment page, hosted or embedded), Payment Links for no-code selling, Elements for a fully custom form, and Link for one-click checkout with saved details. Its payments page says you can access more than 125 payment methods, cross-border payments in more than 135 currencies, and that Checkout users see average payment growth of 2x, which is Stripe’s own marketing claim and not something I tested.

PayPal is a recognizable button first. Its accept-payments page says you can offer customers up to 400 million users the choice of PayPal, Venmo, Pay Later or cards, and it cites that number to its Q1 2026 earnings. Venmo is for US businesses only. It also offers payment links and buttons, invoices, a virtual terminal and Fastlane, which recognizes returning guest shoppers. The page mentions Apple Pay and Google Pay for in-person Tap to Pay, and the fee page lists third-party wallets on invoices and payment links at 2.99% plus 49 cents.

My opinion, labeled as such: for a high-ticket store, the button matters more than the pennies. A shopper spending $1,500 on an unfamiliar site often wants a payment method they already trust, and PayPal gives that. If you can show both a card form and a PayPal button, you cover both kinds of buyer, which is how many stores run.

One setup point: a US Stripe account cannot take PayPal through Stripe, because Stripe’s PayPal page lists only supported European countries and points everyone else to a custom payment method that runs through your own PayPal account.

Fraud Tools

Stripe’s Radar has four tiers. Radar Lite comes with Payments and covers card testing prevention and fraud alerts. Standard adds expanded fraud prevention for all payment methods and default rules, and Stripe says businesses block 42% more fraud on Standard than on Lite on average. Plus adds custom rules with backtesting, manual reviews and adaptive 3D Secure, and Pro adds customer abuse signals. The Radar pricing page lists monthly prices starting at $10 for Standard, $14 for Plus and $20 for Pro, while the main pricing page also lists pay-as-you-go from $0.05 per screened transaction.

PayPal offers Seller Protection on eligible PayPal, Pay Later and invoice payments at no extra cost, plus separate card tools. Fraud Protection comes as Lite, which is self-service, and Advanced, which PayPal describes as for medium to large merchants with dedicated fraud staff; the fee page lists Fraud Protection Advanced at $0.07 per transaction. Chargeback Protection is an opt-in tool for Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments that the fee page prices at 0.40% per transaction, or 0.60% for the Effortless version. It covers unauthorized and item-not-received chargebacks up to a monthly loss cap, and PayPal says you can use only one of Fraud Protection or Chargeback Protection on card transactions at a time. The loss cap is not on the pages I read.

International Selling

Stripe’s global page lists the countries where a business can be based, and I counted 51 entries, some marked as extended network or preview, so treat that count as approximate and check the live list. Its payments page says local acquiring covers 46 markets and cross-border payments reach 195 countries. PayPal’s accept-payments page says 200+ global markets and 130+ send currencies.

For a US store that ships abroad, the costs line up: both add 1.5% for international sales, Stripe adds 1% for conversion and PayPal applies a 3% or 4% spread. Currency spread is the line most owners miss, so price in the buyer’s currency where you can, and test a small order in each currency you plan to sell in.

Four Worked Examples

These are my own arithmetic from the published US rates in this article, as of November 2026. They assume a US business, domestic US buyers unless stated, no custom pricing and no promotions. They are examples, not quotes.

Example 1: a $2,000 online order

The PayPal button costs $11.99 more than a Stripe card on this order, and PayPal’s Advanced card product is $0.21 cheaper. Across 100 such orders that gap is $1,199, but only if those buyers would have paid by card anyway.

Example 2: a $100 order

On small orders the fixed fee does more work. PayPal’s standard card rate costs $0.28 more than Stripe on a $100 sale, and the button costs $0.78 more. If you sell accessories next to a main product, remember the fixed fee falls hardest on the cheapest item.

Example 3: a $500 order from a buyer outside the US, paid in US dollars

Stripe is $3.14 cheaper than the PayPal button here, and PayPal’s Advanced card product is $0.06 cheaper than Stripe. The fee page applies the 1.5% international add-on to PayPal card payment services, except for the Interchange Plus Plus option, so I included it for the Advanced card. If the sale needed currency conversion, Stripe would add another 1% ($5.00 on $500) and PayPal would add its 3% or 4% spread, which I have not added here.

Example 4: a $2,000 order that ends in a lost dispute

I assumed the original processing fee is not returned after a lost dispute. PayPal’s fee page says the fees you originally paid are not returned when you refund a payment, but neither company states this for lost disputes on the pages I read. I also assumed the $15.00 PayPal fee, not the $30.00 high volume rate or the $20.00 chargeback fee. If PayPal Seller Protection applied to the payment, you could keep the $2,000, which is the main reason to read its conditions before you ship. The costs are close; what matters is whether you can prove delivery.

What I Could Not Find on the Official Pages

• A typical reserve size or length for either company. PayPal gives one example (10% held for 90 days) and Stripe gives none.
• PayPal’s Chargeback Protection monthly loss cap. The fee page lists the per-transaction fees, but the help pages I loaded did not state the cap.
• When a normal PayPal sale becomes available in the balance, and how long a buyer has to open a PayPal dispute. The articles I loaded did not state either.
• Stripe’s exact country count. My count of the list is 51, but the page does not state a total.
• Any Stripe program that works like Seller Protection. The pages I read show fraud tools and dispute help, not a reimbursement promise.

For any of these, the quickest route is the provider’s fee page in your logged-in dashboard or a chat with their sales team, because your account may carry different terms.

Who Each One Fits

This section is my opinion, not a recommendation for every business.

• Stripe fits stores that want one rate for cards and wallets, many payment methods, a custom checkout or an API, and tools such as Radar at tiers you choose. It also suits sellers who take ACH for large orders, since 0.8% capped at $5.00 undercuts card fees on a big invoice.
• PayPal fits stores whose buyers ask for the PayPal button, sellers who ship physical goods and can keep tracking proof for Seller Protection, and anyone who wants a wallet balance and invoice tools in one account.
• Both is a common answer for stores with expensive products: a card form on one processor and a PayPal button for shoppers who want it, with the cost of the button accepted as a conversion cost.

Using Both Together

If you offer both, your blended cost depends on the mix. Take a store with 200 orders a month averaging $150, which is $30,000. If 60 orders ($9,000) come through the PayPal button and 140 orders ($21,000) through Stripe cards, the PayPal fees are 0.0349 x $9,000 + 60 x $0.49 = $314.10 + $29.40 = $343.50. The Stripe fees are 0.029 x $21,000 + 140 x $0.30 = $609.00 + $42.00 = $651.00. Together that is $994.50, or 3.315% of sales.

For comparison, all 200 orders on Stripe cards would be 0.029 x $30,000 + 200 x $0.30 = $870.00 + $60.00 = $930.00, or 3.10%. The extra $64.50 a month is what offering the button costs in this example, and whether it is worth it depends on how many of those 60 buyers would not have bought without it. I cannot tell you that number for your store, so test it. If you run Shopify, my post on Shopify Payments vs Stripe vs PayPal covers that setup.

Questions to Ask Before You Choose

• What are my exact rates after my first month, and can I see the fee schedule in the dashboard?
• How long are first payouts held, and what triggers a reserve or a longer hold?
• How do I respond to a dispute on time, and who is notified?
• Which of my products, if any, fall in a restricted or higher-risk category?
• What does it cost to leave, and can I export my customer and card data?

Where Payment Fees Fit Inside a Store’s Margin

A processing fee is one line in a bigger cost stack. My guide to high-ticket dropshipping explains the model.

The high-ticket niches list helps you pick categories with room for payment costs. On a $2,000 sale with a 25% gross margin ($500), the $58.30 Stripe fee takes about 11.7% of the margin and the $70.29 PayPal button fee takes about 14.1%.

Supplier terms matter just as much, and my walkthrough on finding high-ticket dropshipping suppliers covers how to vet them. The legal side counts too: both companies treat you as a business, so read my guide to business formation for high-ticket dropshipping before you apply, and track fees as a business expense, which is not tax advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Stripe cheaper than PayPal?
On online cards, Stripe is 2.9% plus 30 cents against PayPal’s 2.99% plus 49 cents for standard cards, and PayPal’s Advanced card product (2.89% plus 29 cents) is a few cents cheaper than Stripe on large orders. The PayPal button, Venmo and guest checkout cost 3.49% plus 49 cents. As of November 2026, and terms change, so check each provider.

Which pays out faster, Stripe or PayPal?
Stripe lists 2 business days for US settlement after a first payout that typically takes 7 to 14 days. PayPal sales land in a balance, and a standard bank transfer is free and typically takes 1 business day, though it can take 1 to 3. Instant transfers cost 1.5% on both with a 50 cent minimum.

Which holds more of my money, Stripe or PayPal?
Neither publishes the odds. PayPal’s agreement describes risk-based holds generally up to 21 days and reserves such as 10% held for a 90-day rolling period, and Stripe’s agreement describes reserves as collateral it can set off against what you owe. Both can act on risk factors, and a new store selling expensive items is more likely to be reviewed.

Does PayPal protect sellers better than Stripe?
PayPal offers Seller Protection on eligible payments, covering unauthorized and item-not-received claims when you meet its shipping and tracking rules, and it excludes significantly-not-as-described claims. On the pages I read, Stripe offers fraud tools and dispute help but no direct equivalent, and the bank decides card disputes. Neither is a guarantee.

Can I use Stripe and PayPal on the same store?
Many stores do, with cards on one and a PayPal button on the other. A US Stripe account cannot accept PayPal through Stripe, since that is limited to supported European countries, so US stores connect PayPal separately. Check your store platform’s settings, and this is not financial advice.

Final Verdict on Stripe vs PayPal

As of November 2026, Stripe has the simpler price list, one rate of 2.9% plus 30 cents for cards and wallets, no monthly fee, and a wide set of tools for custom checkout. PayPal has the buyer-facing button and built-in Seller Protection, at 3.49% plus 49 cents for the button and 2.89% plus 29 cents for its Advanced cards. If you want one processor and sell mostly to people who pay by card, start with Stripe. If your buyers ask for PayPal, offer it and treat the extra 0.6 points as a conversion cost. Either way, run your own numbers, read the live fee on a test sale, and plan for payout holds.

Sources I Read

I read these official pages in October and November 2026. Every figure above comes from them, and they can change, so check the live page before you rely on a number.

• Stripe pricing page
• Stripe local payment methods pricing
• Stripe Radar pricing
• Stripe payments overview
• Stripe global availability
• Stripe Services Agreement
• Stripe docs: receive payouts
• Stripe docs: how disputes work
• Stripe docs: how Radar works
• Stripe docs: PayPal payments
• PayPal business fees
• PayPal accept payments online
• PayPal risk management
• PayPal User Agreement
• PayPal Seller Protection
• PayPal help: Chargeback Protection
• PayPal help: Fraud Protection Advanced
• PayPal help: responding to disputes
• PayPal: disputes, claims and chargebacks
• PayPal help: withdrawal timing
• PayPal help: getting money out

This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Terms change, so check the provider.

Related Articles

If you found this useful, these guides go deeper on related topics:

• Stripe Fee Calculator 2026: What You Keep on Every Payment
• PayPal Fee Calculator 2026: What You Keep on Every Sale
• Stripe vs Square 2026: Fees, Payouts and Features Compared
• Square Fees Calculator 2026: What You Keep on Every Sale
• Shopify Payments vs Stripe vs PayPal: Which Should You Use?

Trevor Fenner

Trevor Fenner is an ecommerce entrepreneur and world traveler from Seattle, Washington, and the founder of Ecommerce Paradise, a platform focused on helping entrepreneurs build and scale profitable high-ticket ecommerce and dropshipping businesses. With over a decade of hands-on experience, Trevor specializes in high-ticket dropshipping strategy, niche and product selection, supplier recruiting and onboarding, Google & Bing Shopping ads, ecommerce SEO, and systems-driven automation and scaling. Through Ecommerce Paradise, he provides free education via in-depth guides like How to Start High-Ticket Dropshipping, advanced training through the High-Ticket Dropshipping Masterclass, and fully done-for-you turnkey ecommerce services for entrepreneurs who want a faster, more hands-off path to growth. Trevor is known for emphasizing sustainable, real-world ecommerce models over hype-driven tactics, helping store owners build scalable, sellable, and location-independent brands.

He maintains homes in Seattle and Bali, spends most of the year overseas, and usually returns to Seattle for about a month each summer.

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