PayPal vs Stripe vs Square Fees in 2026: What a Small Business Actually Pays

In November 2026, Stripe charges 2.9% + 30¢ for a standard online card payment, PayPal charges 2.99% + 49¢ for a card payment and 3.49% + 49¢ when the customer pays with PayPal or Venmo, and Square charges 3.3% + 30¢ online on its free plan (2.9% + 30¢ on paid plans). In person, PayPal is 2.29% + 9¢, Stripe 2.7% + 5¢ and Square 2.4% to 2.6% + 15¢. Bank (ACH) payments cost far less: 0.8% to 1%, with caps of $5 to $10 on most plans.

Quick answer: No single processor is cheapest for everything. Stripe and Square's paid plans have the lowest posted online card rate that needs no separate application (PayPal's Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments is 2.89% + 29¢ if approved), PayPal Point of Sale has the lowest posted in-person rate on sales over about $10, and for big invoices the biggest saving comes from getting paid by bank transfer instead of card. The rest of this page shows each company's posted US rates side by side and works through four common sales so you can see the actual dollars.

All rates below are the standard published US rates, checked on November 4, 2026 on PayPal's merchant fees page (which showed "Last Updated: November 4, 2026"), Stripe's pricing page and Stripe Invoicing pricing, and Square's pricing page, Square's fee guide and Square's transfer options page. Your own account may have different rates, so check your dashboard.

How these fees are structured

Most card fees are a percentage of the sale plus a fixed fee per transaction, such as 2.9% + 30¢. The fixed part matters most on small sales: 30¢ is 1.5% of a $20 sale but only 0.06% of a $500 one. Bank (ACH) payments are usually a percentage with a cap, so they get relatively cheaper as the amount grows.

All three companies also price by product. The same customer card can cost a different amount depending on whether it is tapped on a reader, typed in by hand, paid through an invoice, or paid through a PayPal or Venmo wallet. Square's rates also depend on which monthly plan you are on. Fees are taken out of the payment before it reaches you.

PayPal vs Stripe vs Square fees: comparison table

Standard US rates for domestic payments, as posted on November 4, 2026. Square's paid plans (Plus and Premium) are shown where they differ from Square Free.

PayPal fees in detail

PayPal's business fee page splits rates by how the customer pays. When the buyer uses their PayPal balance or account, Venmo, or PayPal Guest Checkout, the rate is 3.49% + 49¢. A standard credit or debit card payment is 2.99% + 49¢. "Send/Receive Money for Goods and Services" is 2.99% with no fixed fee listed. Pay Later is 4.99% + 49¢. QR code payments are 2.29% + 9¢.

Invoices use the same card and wallet rates, plus a bank option: Pay by Bank (ACH) at 1%, capped at $10.00 per transaction. PayPal's separate online card services, which require an application, list Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments at 2.89% + 29¢, ACH Services at 0.80% capped at $5.00, and Virtual Terminal at 3.39% + 29¢. Payments Advanced costs $5 a month and Payments Pro $30 a month.

For in-person sales, PayPal Point of Sale lists 2.29% + 9¢ for card-present payments and 3.49% + 9¢ for manually entered cards.

Stripe fees in detail

Stripe's standard plan has no monthly fee. Domestic cards are 2.9% + 30¢ per successful transaction. Stripe adds 0.5% for manually entered cards, 1.5% for international cards and 1% if currency conversion is required. ACH Direct Debit is 0.8% with a $5.00 cap.

Stripe Invoicing is a separate fee on top of payment processing: 0.4% per paid invoice on the Starter plan, or 0.5% on Plus. Stripe's invoicing page says businesses with large invoice amounts can contact sales about pricing. In person, Stripe Terminal is 2.7% + 5¢ for domestic cards, plus $0.10 per authorization when you use Tap to Pay on a phone. The basic Stripe Reader M2 is $59.

Square fees in detail

Square's rates depend on the plan. Square Free has no monthly fee: 2.6% + 15¢ in person, 3.3% + 30¢ online or by invoice, and 3.5% + 15¢ for keyed-in cards or cards on file. Square Plus ($49 a month per location) lowers in-person payments to 2.5% + 15¢ and online and invoice payments to 2.9% + 30¢. Square Premium ($149 a month per location) is 2.4% + 15¢ in person and 2.9% + 30¢ online. Payments through Square's online API are 2.9% + 30¢ on every plan.

ACH bank payments through Square invoices are 1% with a $1 minimum. On Plus and Premium the fee is capped at $10; Square's pricing page lists no cap for Square Free. Square says ACH payments deposited into Square Checking have $0 fees. Sellers on older plans such as Square for Retail or Square Appointments may have different rates, so check your Pricing & subscriptions page.

Worked examples: what each one actually costs

Each example uses the standard posted rates. Amounts are rounded to the nearest cent, and processors may round slightly differently.

Example 1: a $50 online sale paid by card

Example 2: a $500 invoice paid by card

Example 3: a $500 invoice paid by bank transfer (ACH)

That is roughly $10 to $13 less than the same invoice paid by card. The caps matter more as invoices grow. On a $5,000 invoice paid by ACH, the posted rates work out to $10 at PayPal (capped), $10 on Square Plus or Premium (capped), $25 at Stripe ($5 capped ACH fee plus $20 for the 0.4% Invoicing fee) and $50 on Square Free, where no cap is listed. Paid by card through Stripe, the same invoice would be $165.30 ($145.30 processing plus $20 invoicing).

Example 4: a $20 in-person sale

The differences on one small sale are pennies, but they add up over thousands of transactions. Hardware, monthly plan fees and the features you actually need usually matter more than a few hundredths of a percent.

The fees people forget

• Keyed-in cards. Typing a card number costs more everywhere: 3.4% + 30¢ at Stripe, 3.5% + 15¢ at Square, and 3.49% + 9¢ on PayPal Point of Sale. Square explains the higher rate by the greater risk when neither the card nor the cardholder is present.
• International customers. All three add about 1.5% for international payments (Stripe and Square: cards issued outside the US). Stripe adds another 1% when currency conversion is needed, and PayPal builds a 3% or 4% conversion spread into its exchange rate.
• Disputes. A single chargeback can wipe out the margin on a small sale. PayPal lists $20 for a card chargeback and $15 for a dispute on a PayPal checkout payment. Stripe lists $15 per dispute received and another $15 to counter it, which it refunds if you win. Square's fee guide lists chargebacks and dispute management among the things it does not charge for.
• Instant payouts. Getting your money in minutes costs 1.5% at PayPal and Stripe (50¢ minimum) and 1.95% at Square. On $2,000, that is $30 or $39. Standard transfers are free.
• Monthly fees. Square Plus and Premium cost $49 and $149 a month per location. Payments Pro at PayPal is $30 a month. A lower rate only pays off if your volume is large enough to cover the subscription.

How to lower your payment processing fees

1. Ask for bank payment on large invoices. With caps of $5 to $10 on most plans, ACH is the single biggest saving for service businesses that bill hundreds or thousands of dollars at a time. Turn on the bank payment option in your invoicing settings and say on the invoice that bank payment is preferred.
2. Take the card in person when you can. A card tapped or inserted costs less than the same card typed in by hand at all three companies.
3. Check which PayPal button your customers use. PayPal's own wallet and Venmo cost 3.49% + 49¢, half a point more than a standard card payment at 2.99% + 49¢.
4. Do the math on Square's paid plans. Square Plus lowers the online rate from 3.3% to 2.9%. At $49 a month, the 0.4% difference covers the fee only once you process about $12,250 a month online, before counting the other features in the plan.
5. Ask about custom pricing once you have volume. Square says sellers processing over $250,000 a year can talk to its team about custom pricing. Stripe offers custom packages, including IC+ pricing and volume discounts, for businesses with large payment volume, and its invoicing page invites businesses with large invoice amounts to contact sales. PayPal lists an Interchange Plus Plus option (interchange costs + 0.49% + a fixed fee) for its Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments service, subject to activation and approval.
6. Be careful with surcharges. Some businesses pass card fees to customers through a surcharge or a cash discount. Whether you can do that, how much you can add, and what you have to disclose depend on your state and on Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover rules, and debit cards are treated differently from credit cards. Check the current rules for your state and each card network, and talk to your processor or an attorney before adding a surcharge. This is not legal advice.
7. Use free standard payouts. If you do not need same-day cash, the free standard transfer saves 1.5% to 1.95% on every payout.

Payment fees are one of several small overhead costs that are easy to stop looking at. The same habit of checking posted rates applies to things like business checks and postage. If you get paid through these platforms, also see our guide to 1099 forms.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does PayPal charge a business per transaction?

PayPal's US fee page lists 3.49% + 49¢ when a customer pays with PayPal Checkout or Venmo, and 2.99% + 49¢ for a standard credit or debit card payment. In-person card payments through PayPal Point of Sale are 2.29% + 9¢. International commercial transactions add 1.50%.

What are Stripe's fees?

Stripe's standard rate is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful domestic card payment, with no monthly fee. Manually entered cards add 0.5%, international cards add 1.5%, ACH Direct Debit is 0.8% capped at $5, and in-person Terminal payments are 2.7% + 5¢.

What does Square charge for credit card payments?

It depends on the plan. On Square Free (no monthly fee), in-person card payments are 2.6% + 15¢, online and invoice payments are 3.3% + 30¢, and keyed-in cards are 3.5% + 15¢. Square Plus and Square Premium lower the in-person rate to 2.5% + 15¢ and 2.4% + 15¢ and the online and invoice rate to 2.9% + 30¢.

Which is cheaper, PayPal or Stripe?

For a typical online card sale, Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢ is lower than PayPal's 2.99% + 49¢ card rate or 3.49% + 49¢ PayPal Checkout rate: on a $50 sale that is $1.75 versus about $1.99 or $2.24. For in-person sales over about $10, PayPal Point of Sale's 2.29% + 9¢ costs less than Stripe Terminal's 2.7% + 5¢; on smaller sales Stripe's lower fixed fee wins.

What is the cheapest way to get paid on a large invoice?

Bank (ACH) payment. PayPal caps invoice ACH fees at $10, and Square caps them at $10 on Plus and Premium. Stripe's ACH Direct Debit fee is capped at $5, but Stripe Invoicing adds 0.4% of the invoice. On a $500 invoice, card payment costs $14.80 to $17.94 at the standard rates, while ACH costs $5 to $6.

Do PayPal, Stripe and Square charge chargeback fees?

PayPal charges $20 for card chargebacks not processed through a PayPal account and a $15 standard dispute fee on PayPal checkout payments. Stripe charges $15 per dispute plus $15 if you counter it, and refunds the counter fee if you win. Square's fee page says there are no fees for chargebacks and dispute management.

How much are instant payouts?

PayPal charges 1.50% for an instant transfer (50¢ minimum), Stripe charges 1.5% of Instant Payouts volume (50¢ minimum), and Square charges 1.95% per instant transfer. Standard transfers are free on all three.

The bottom line

For online card sales, Stripe and Square's paid plans post the lowest standard rate at 2.9% + 30¢ (PayPal's application-only Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments is 2.89% + 29¢), PayPal's card rate is 2.99% + 49¢, and payments through PayPal's own wallet or Venmo cost 3.49% + 49¢. For in-person sales over about $10, PayPal Point of Sale's 2.29% + 9¢ is the lowest posted rate. For invoices of a few hundred dollars or more, the processor matters less than the payment method: getting paid by ACH instead of card cuts the fee from about 3% to about 1% or less, with caps that keep large invoices cheap. Check the rates in your own dashboard, since all three change pricing and accounts can have different rates.

This article is for informational purposes only. Prices and terms were checked on November 4, 2026, change frequently and may differ for your account. D'Arrigo Consulting is not affiliated with the companies mentioned and receives nothing for these mentions. Have questions? Reach out to us, we're happy to help.