PayPal · Processing fees
What are PayPal's fees in the United States?
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PayPal charges businesses in the United States 3.49% + $0.49 for each domestic PayPal Checkout payment. Cards typed into your own checkout through PayPal card processing cost 2.89% + $0.29. Payments from abroad add 1.5% from outside the United States. Converting currency costs 3% above the base exchange rate, and a dispute costs $15.00. Read from PayPal's United States fee page, checked 31 October 2026.
- PayPal checkout
- 3.49% + $0.49 per domestic payment
- Domestic card
- 2.89% + $0.29 (PayPal card processing in your own checkout)
- International card
- Add 1.5% from outside the United States
- Currency conversion
- 3% above the base exchange rate
- Disputes fee
- $15.00 ($30.00 at high dispute volume)
- Monthly fee
- None for advanced card processing
What PlatformDTC does
PlatformDTC connects your own PayPal business account in the United States: the PayPal button at checkout, and PayPal card processing for cards typed into your checkout. PlatformDTC adds no fee to those sales, so the $10,000 month above costs the same $447.00 on PlatformDTC, with no plan fee. PayPal card processing can also act as the backup when a card is declined on PlatformDTC Payments or your own Stripe account. PlatformDTC Payments itself charges 2.9% + $0.30 per US card sale with no plan fee: $350.00 in card fees on that same month.
Every rate
Every rate below is copied from PayPal's fee page for the United States, read on 31 October 2026. Each percentage is charged on the full payment, and the fixed fee of $0.49 is added to each payment received in US dollars. Payments in other currencies carry that currency's own fixed fee from PayPal's table.
| Fee | Rate | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| PayPal payment (PayPal Checkout) | 3.49% + $0.49 | The shopper pays with PayPal and the money comes from your own country. |
| PayPal Guest Checkout | 3.49% + $0.49 | The shopper pays by card in PayPal's checkout without logging in to PayPal. |
| Standard credit and debit card payments | 2.99% + $0.49 | Cards paid through PayPal's standard card option rather than card processing in your own checkout. |
| Card processing in your own checkout | 2.89% + $0.29 | Visa, Mastercard and similar cards typed into the card form on your own checkout (PayPal Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments). |
| International payment, sender in outside the United States | +1.5% | Added to the domestic percentage when the payer's PayPal account or card is from abroad. |
| Currency conversion | 3% above the base exchange rate | PayPal converts a payment or balance into another currency. |
| Dispute fee | $15.00 | A buyer opens a dispute or chargeback on a payment made through PayPal checkout. |
| Dispute fee at high volume | $30.00 | Applies instead when your account has a high number of disputes, under PayPal's user agreement. |
| Card chargeback fee | $20.00 | A card payment made outside a PayPal account or guest checkout is charged back by the card's bank. |
A worked month
Assumption: an average order of $50.00, every payment in US dollars, no refunds or disputes.
$10,000.00 of sales in 200 domestic PayPal payments: 3.49% of $10,000.00 = $349.00; 200 × $0.49 = $98.00; total $447.00 (4.47% of sales).
$50,000.00 of sales in 1,000 domestic PayPal payments: 3.49% of $50,000.00 = $1,745.00; 1,000 × $0.49 = $490.00; total $2,235.00 (4.47% of sales).
The table adds the same months with a fifth of sales coming from outside the United States, where PayPal adds 1.5% to the percentage on those payments only.
| Month | Mix | PayPal fees | Share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 in 200 payments | All domestic PayPal payments | $447.00 | 4.47% |
| $10,000 in 200 payments | 80% domestic, 20% from outside the United States (+1.5%) | $477.00 | 4.77% |
| $10,000 in 200 payments | All domestic cards through PayPal card processing | $347.00 | 3.47% |
| $50,000 in 1,000 payments | All domestic PayPal payments | $2,235.00 | 4.47% |
| $50,000 in 1,000 payments | 80% domestic, 20% from outside the United States (+1.5%) | $2,385.00 | 4.77% |
| $50,000 in 1,000 payments | All domestic cards through PayPal card processing | $1,735.00 | 3.47% |
What raises your fees
The headline 3.49% + $0.49 is the floor for a domestic PayPal payment in the United States. These push the real cost up:
- Payments from abroad: 1.5% from outside the United States.
- Currency conversion: 3% above the base exchange rate whenever PayPal converts the money.
- Disputes: $15.00 each, or $30.00 once your dispute volume counts as high.
- Card chargebacks: $20.00 each.
- Small orders: the fixed $0.49 weighs more on a small basket than on a large one.
For developers
The fee PayPal took on each payment is returned on the capture in the Orders API (seller_receivable_breakdown.paypal_fee), so you can reconcile real fees against this page.
Frequently asked questions
- Does PayPal charge a monthly fee in the United States?
- PayPal lists no monthly fee for its advanced card processing (Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments); older products such as Payments Advanced cost $5.00 a month. For PayPal checkout payments you pay per payment received: 3.49% + $0.49 on a domestic payment, plus the international and conversion fees when they apply.
- How much does PayPal charge for international payments in the United States?
- PayPal adds 1.5% from outside the United States to the domestic percentage, and 3% above the base exchange rate if the money has to be converted. On a $50.00 payment from outside the United States that is $2.99, against $2.24 for a domestic one.
- What does a PayPal dispute cost in the United States?
- PayPal's standard dispute fee in the United States is $15.00 per dispute on a payment made through PayPal checkout, rising to $30.00 when your account has a high number of disputes. A chargeback on a card payment processed outside a PayPal account costs $20.00.
Sources
Related
- United Kingdom — 2.9% + 30p per domestic PayPal payment; 1.2% + 30p for cards via PayPal card processing
- Canada — 2.9% + CA$0.30 per domestic PayPal payment; 2.7% + CA$0.30 for cards via PayPal card processing
- Australia — 2.9% + A$0.30 per domestic PayPal payment; 1.5% + A$0.30 for cards via PayPal card processing
- Germany — 2.99% + €0.39 per domestic PayPal payment; 2.99% + €0.39 for cards via PayPal card processing
- France — 2.9% + €0.35 per domestic PayPal payment; 1.2% + €0.35 for cards via PayPal card processing
- Spain — 2.9% + €0.35 per domestic PayPal payment; 1.2% + €0.35 for cards via PayPal card processing