International card
+1.5%4.99% + $0.49
$100 → $94.52
Card issued outside your country, payout in your local currency.
Payment Processors
PayPal Fee Calculator
Everything about PayPal fees — what PayPal really costs on every sale.
Pay-as-you-go gateway WooCommerce Easy Digital Downloads Since 1998 San Jose, CA
★ 4.6 · 11 reviews
TL;DR
PayPal is the most-recognized consumer wallet on the internet — 400M+ shoppers can pay you in one click without typing a card. The trade-off: domestic fees are higher than Stripe (3.49% vs 2.9%), the 4% currency conversion is one of the steepest on the market, and you handle tax + chargebacks yourself.
What Is PayPal, and Who Is It For?
PayPal remains a fixture of consumer e-commerce due to its brand recognition and existing user base. For merchants selling digital products globally, the 4% currency conversion fee and lack of merchant-of-record services make it a costly choice compared to alternatives like Paddle.
Best for
Stores with consumer buyers who already use PayPal.
Used by
E-commerce Consumer goods International sales Marketplaces
Highlights
- 400M+ active accounts
- Buyer trust
- Express checkout
PayPal at a Glance
- Pricing model
- Pay-as-you-go gateway
- Domestic fee
- 3.49% + $0.49
- International card fee
- 4.99% + $0.49
- Currency conversion
- +4%
- Monthly cost
- Free — no monthly fee
- Tax handling
- You handle (or buy add-on)
- Chargebacks
- You handle, $15 dispute fee
- Payout schedule
- Instant to PayPal balance · Bank transfer 1–3 business days (free in US, $1.50 fee elsewhere)
- Availability
- Sellers in 200+ countries / regions · Customers in 202
- Currencies
- 25 hold currencies · 100+ checkout currencies via auto-conversion
PayPal Fee Calculator: What Does a Sale Actually Cost?
This PayPal fee calculator shows where a sale ends up — drag the slider or type your own amount to see it in real time. Prices are list rates; large merchants can negotiate.
PayPal Fee Calculator: Any Sale, Broken Down
Live scenario
US card · USD payoutYou receive
$96.02
$1 Drag or type your amount $1,000+
You keep · 96.0% PayPal fee · 4.0%
Fee breakdown
- Card processing 3.49% × $100
- −$3.49
- Fixed fee per transaction
- −$0.49
- Total fee
- −$3.98
- You receive
- +$96.02
Currency conversion
+4%+4%
$100 → $90.52
Stacked on international when you charge and pay out in different currencies.
Refund · chargeback
Worst case−$18.20
$100 lost + $15 fee
Lost dispute: you forfeit the $100, the $3.20 processing fee, and a $15 dispute fee.
The fine print headline rates don't show
- Sales tax / VAT — your responsibility, or +0.5% via Stripe Tax.
- Chargebacks — $15 per dispute, original fee not refunded.
- Refunds — the processing fee is not returned to the merchant.
- Marketplaces — Stripe Connect adds 0.25% + $2 per active connected account, monthly.
Where it's not available
See supported countries Countries Without PayPal Support
PayPal accepts merchants in only 102 countries. If your business is registered in one of the 96 countries below, you cannot open a PayPal account today.
40 of 96 countries shown
-
Afghanistan
Sanctions
-
Algeria
Not supported
-
Angola
Not supported
-
Armenia
Not supported
-
Azerbaijan
Not supported
-
Bangladesh
Not supported — local payment processing not available
-
Belarus
Suspended Mar 2022
-
Benin
Not supported
-
Bhutan
Not supported
-
Botswana
Not supported
-
Brunei
Not supported
-
Burkina Faso
Not supported
-
Burundi
Not supported
-
Cameroon
Not supported
-
Cape Verde
Not supported
-
Central African Republic
High-risk
-
Chad
Not supported
-
China
Not supported
-
Comoros
Not supported
-
Congo (Brazzaville)
Not supported
-
Congo (DRC)
High-risk
-
Côte d'Ivoire
Not supported
-
Cuba
OFAC sanctions
-
Djibouti
Not supported
-
Equatorial Guinea
Not supported
-
Eritrea
Not supported
-
Eswatini
Not supported
-
Ethiopia
Not supported
-
Gabon
Not supported
-
Gambia
Not supported
-
Georgia
Not supported
-
Ghana
Not supported
-
Guinea
Not supported
-
Guinea-Bissau
Not supported
-
Guyana
Not supported
-
Haiti
Not supported
-
India
Limited — international receive only (no domestic payments since 2021)
-
Iran
OFAC sanctions
-
Iraq
High-risk
-
Kazakhstan
Not supported
Countries with a red tag are explicitly restricted (sanctions, suspended access, or high-risk). The rest simply aren't on PayPal's supported list yet — availability changes over time, so always confirm on the official site.
What Can Your Customers Pay With?
PayPal supports 15+ methods out of the box. Each one needs to be enabled in the dashboard.
Digital wallets
4-
PayPal Balance -
Apple Pay -
Google Pay - Venmo (US)
Cards
4-
Visa -
Mastercard -
American Express -
Discover
Buy now, pay later
2- PayPal Pay Later
- Pay in 4
Bank debit
1-
SEPA Direct Debit
Local methods
4-
iDEAL -
Bancontact -
BLIK -
EPS
What we like
- Massive consumer brand recognition — buyers trust PayPal
- 400M+ active accounts globally
- Express Checkout enables one-tap purchasing
- Strong buyer protection reputation
- Multiple funding sources (bank, card, balance)
- Wide availability in 200+ countries
Where it falls short
- High currency conversion fees (4%) for international transactions
- Checkout can redirect away from your store (trust break)
- Tax and chargeback handling falls on the merchant
- International fees (4.99%) are among the highest
- Account limitations and holds are common
- Limited API flexibility compared to Stripe
PayPal on WordPress & WooCommerce
Top free PayPal plugins from the WordPress.org directory, ranked by install count and reviews.
-
WooCommerce PayPal Payments
OfficialWooCommerce
Installs
800,000+
Rating
★ 2.8
800,000+
★ 2.8
-
Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce
Payment Plugins (Official PayPal Partner)
Installs
90,000+
Rating
★ 4.9
90,000+
★ 4.9
-
Easy PayPal & Stripe Buy Now Button
Scott Paterson (PayPal & Stripe Partner)
Installs
10,000+
Rating
★ 4.4
10,000+
★ 4.4
-
Contact Form 7 — PayPal & Stripe Add-on
Scott Paterson (PayPal & Stripe Partner)
Installs
8,000+
Rating
★ 4.6
8,000+
★ 4.6
Third-party install counts and ratings reflect the WordPress.org directory at the time of writing — always check the latest data before installing.
Add PayPal to Your WordPress Site in 5 Steps
Most stores are taking live payments in under an hour. Here's the path most teams follow.
- 1
Install the PayPal Plugin
From WP Admin → Plugins → Add New, search 'PayPal Payments' and install the official WooCommerce PayPal Payments plugin (or Payment Plugins for PayPal if you want more flexibility).
- 2
Create or Connect a PayPal Business Account
You need a PayPal Business account (free to create at paypal.com). Personal accounts cannot process WooCommerce orders. Click 'Connect with PayPal' inside the plugin to authorize.
- 3
Enable Payment Methods
Toggle on PayPal, Pay Later, Venmo (US only), and Advanced Card Processing for direct card payments. Each method can be configured separately for product pages, cart, and checkout.
- 4
Enable Pay Later Messaging
PayPal's Pay Later messaging on product and cart pages can lift average order value 30%+ on eligible carts. Configure it in PayPal Settings → Pay Later Messaging.
- 5
Test in Sandbox, Then Go Live
Use PayPal's sandbox mode to run test orders before switching to live mode. Confirm refunds, subscriptions, and dispute webhooks all fire correctly.
Optional Services That Change the Equation
PayPal's base fees only tell part of the story. These paid add-ons cover the workflows most stores end up needing.
Buy-now-pay-later financing offered to your customers at checkout (Pay in 4 in the US, longer-term financing in other markets). Merchants are paid in full upfront — PayPal collects from the customer.
Pricing: Same standard PayPal fee — no additional cost to the merchant
Merchant cash advance against your PayPal sales — repaid as a percentage of incoming PayPal sales. Useful for inventory financing or growth without giving up equity.
Pricing: Single fixed fee (no APR) — varies by sales history
Free Mastercard tied to your PayPal balance — 1% cashback on eligible purchases, instant access to funds without waiting for a bank transfer.
Pricing: Free
Advanced fraud screening for ACDC (Advanced Card Processing) transactions, beyond the seller protection bundled with PayPal payments.
Pricing: Tiered — included for basic protection, paid for advanced rules
How PayPal Keeps Card Data Safe
PCI status
PCI DSS Service Provider Level 1 · PSD2 / SCA compliant
- PCI DSS Service Provider Level 1 (audited annually)
- PSD2 / SCA 3D Secure for European cards
- PayPal Seller Protection on eligible transactions
- Built-in fraud screening on every transaction
- Encrypted at rest and in transit (TLS 1.2+)
- SOC 1, SOC 2, and SOC 3 reports available to enterprise merchants
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything else you might want to know about PayPal.
PayPal's 3.49% + $0.49 domestic rate vs Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 reflects PayPal's broader buyer protection program, brand value, and embedded marketing. The gap widens on international transactions (4.99% vs 4.4%) and currency conversion (4% vs 1%). PayPal's added cost is the price of access to its 400M+ user base.
With the older PayPal Standard flow, yes — buyers were redirected to paypal.com. With WooCommerce PayPal Payments (the current plugin), the checkout happens in a PayPal popup or in-line, so buyers stay on your domain. ACDC (Advanced Card Processing) lets you take cards without showing PayPal branding at all.
Mixed track record — the official WooCommerce PayPal Payments plugin currently sits at 2.8★ on WordPress.org, with many complaints about bugs and account-linking issues. The community-built Payment Plugins for PayPal alternative sits at 4.9★ and is recommended by users who hit problems with the official build.
No — tax calculation and remittance is your responsibility. WooCommerce's built-in tax tables or a tax automation plugin (TaxJar, Avalara, Stripe Tax) is required. PayPal does not have an equivalent to Stripe Tax.
You're notified via the PayPal Resolution Center. You have 10 days to respond. If you lose the dispute (or the buyer escalates to a claim), the disputed amount and a $20 fee (US) come out of your PayPal balance. PayPal's buyer protection skews toward refunding the customer for unauthorized transactions — merchant evidence requirements are stricter than for Stripe disputes.
You can, but most stores shouldn't. PayPal's fees are the highest among major processors and currency conversion is brutal for international sales. Pair PayPal with a card processor (Stripe, Mollie, Paddle) so customers can choose, and you reduce gateway-specific risk.
Instant to your PayPal balance after the transaction. Withdrawal to your linked bank takes 1–3 business days (free in the US, $1.50 per withdrawal in most other countries). PayPal Business Debit Card holders can spend the balance immediately without waiting for a transfer.
Pay Later lets US shoppers split a purchase into 4 interest-free installments (or longer-term financing). You're paid in full upfront and PayPal collects from the customer. There's no extra fee to merchants — same standard PayPal rate applies. Pay Later messaging on product pages typically lifts AOV 30%+ on eligible carts.
Our verdict for WordPress
For most WordPress and WooCommerce stores, PayPal earns its place as the secondary checkout option alongside a card processor — some buyers refuse to type their card anywhere and will only complete the purchase if they see the PayPal button. Use WooCommerce PayPal Payments (official) or Payment Plugins for PayPal as your primary integration. Skip PayPal as your sole gateway: the fees and conversion costs erode margins fast.
If tax + chargebacks worry you
Consider Paddle as a Merchant-of-Record Alternative
Paddle handles VAT, sales tax, and chargebacks globally — and connects to WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads through WP Smart Pay's official integrations.
How Does PayPal Compare?
Side-by-side breakdowns of PayPal against every alternative most WordPress merchants weigh.
