Guide

PayPal Fees in 2026: Every Rate After the August Change

By the Tools Kit team at QANEN · updated 1 October 2026 · figures verified against published sources on that date

PayPal's US fee schedule changed on 1 August 2026 — and most "current" fee calculators and articles online are still quoting the old 2.99% + $0.49 structure. This page reproduces the rates exactly as PayPal publishes them (the US business fee page is stamped "Last Updated: September 1, 2026"; we checked it again on 1 October 2026), works out what a real sale costs you, and shows which legitimate option is cheapest for your flow. For any amount not in the tables, the PayPal fee calculator uses these same figures and runs in your browser.

The 2026 US PayPal fee schedule, as published

Domestic US commercial transactions, from PayPal's own business fees page. The standard fixed fee is $0.49 USD (it varies by receiving currency: €0.39, £0.39, ¥49, C$0.59, A$0.59):

Transaction type	Rate
PayPal Checkout / Guest Checkout	3.49% + fixed fee
Pay with Venmo (commercial)	3.49% + fixed fee
All other commercial transactions	3.49% + fixed fee
Send/Receive Money for Goods and Services	2.99%
Standard credit & debit card payments	2.99% + fixed fee
Advanced card payments (your own card buttons)	2.89% + fixed fee
PayPal Pay Later options	4.99% + fixed fee
QR code transactions (in person)	2.29% + fixed fee
Invoices paid by US bank account (ACH)	1.0% (capped at $10)
Pay With Crypto (from Aug 1, 2026)	1.5%
Donations via Donate button / Checkout	2.89% + fixed fee
International commercial transactions	domestic rate + 1.50%

Plus, if you use them: Invoicing subscription $14.99/month, and ACH services 0.80% capped at $5. Friends & Family funded by PayPal balance or a linked US bank account remains free for genuine personal payments — see the warning in the FAQ.

What changed on August 1, 2026

The headline online-payment rate for PayPal-branded checkout rose to 3.49% + fixed fee — up from the 2.99% + fixed structure that had stood for years (and that most third-party tools still display).
Pay With Crypto moved from 0.99% to 1.5% the same day.
Pay Later remained the premium lane at 4.99% + fixed fee — worth checking before you enable it as the default, since the buyer often can't choose otherwise.
Practical effect on a domestic $100 Checkout sale: the fee went from $3.48 to $3.98. Modest per transaction; on $20k of monthly volume it's an extra $100 a month.

What a PayPal payment actually nets you

Domestic US, PayPal Checkout at 3.49% + $0.49 (amount-by-amount math, including the small-payment curve, is broken down in How Much Does PayPal Take From a $100 Payment?

Buyer pays	PayPal fee	You receive	Effective rate
$30.00	$1.54	$28.46	5.12%
$60.00	$2.58	$57.42	4.31%
$100.00	$3.98	$96.02	3.98%
$500.00	$17.94	$482.06	3.59%
$1,000.00	$35.39	$964.61	3.54%

The fixed $0.49 is why small sellers feel PayPal most: below about $20 the effective rate climbs past 6%. To bill backwards — "I want to keep $100" — use the charge-to-receive mode in the calculator (about $104.12 at these rates).

The fee that never appears on the schedule: currency conversion

Two layers apply when the buyer's country or currency differs from yours. First, the published +1.50% international fee, which stacks on top of the domestic rate. Second, if PayPal converts the money, it applies a spread above the base exchange rate — PayPal has long described this as roughly 3–4%, and notably it is not printed on the fee-schedule page. That spread is the single most under-counted cost in the whole schedule: a US seller paid in EUR can lose materially more than 3.49% + $0.49 suggests. Receiving in the buyer's currency and converting yourself (or invoicing in your own currency) is usually the cheaper route; the calculator includes both the surcharge and a conversion-spread line so you can compare.

UK snapshot

PayPal's UK merchant page (stamped "Last Updated: 15, July 2026") prices standard commercial receipts up to 2.9% + £0.30 depending on method, with pre-approved charities at 1.4%, and a cross-border addition of 1.29% from the EEA / 1.99% from most other markets. If you sell into both markets, run each sale through the same calculator with the market switched rather than converting percentages in your head — the fixed fees and surcharges don't scale the same way.

Paying less, legally

Invoice large US clients to a bank payment. "Pay by Bank (ACH)" invoicing is 1% capped at $10 — on a $2,000 invoice that's $10 against $70.29 on Checkout.
Match the rate to the flow you can actually request. Send/Receive for Goods & Services lists at 2.99% with no fixed fee; QR transactions in person run 2.29%; Advanced card buttons drop to 2.89% if you integrate them.
Watch Pay Later (4.99%). Decide deliberately whether the conversion lift is worth an extra 1.5 percentage points.
Control the currency. Receive in your own currency where the buyer's side eats the conversion, and model the alternative before conceding.
Don't route sales through Friends & Family. It breaches PayPal's terms, voids seller protection, and is a common trigger for limitations and held funds.

Why most fee calculators are wrong right now

A quick audit of the top-ranking "PayPal fee calculator" pages in October 2026: several still compute at the pre-August 2.99% + $0.49 structure, one major portal's tool runs on 2022-era rates, and another displays 2.9% + $0.30 (a 2021 figure) — while all claim to be current. Fee schedules change; "updated" badges without revision history don't prove much. Every number on this page is quoted from PayPal's own page with its publication date, and the calculator carries the same verification date. Related fee math lives in the 3D print pricing guide, the Etsy and eBay calculators, and the Finance & Payments hub.

Frequently asked questions

How much does PayPal charge on a $100 payment?

On a domestic US PayPal Checkout transaction in 2026: 3.49% + $0.49 = $3.98, so you receive $96.02. The exact fixed fee depends on the currency you receive in ($0.49 USD, €0.39, £0.39, ¥49 and others), and international payments add 1.50% on top.

Did PayPal raise its fees in 2026?

Yes. Effective August 1, 2026, PayPal's headline US online payment rate (PayPal Checkout, Guest Checkout and "all other commercial transactions") is listed at 3.49% + fixed fee, up from the 2.99% structure that most third-party calculators and blog posts still show. Pay With Crypto also moved from 0.99% to 1.5% on the same date.

How much does PayPal take from a $1,000 payment?

At the domestic US Checkout rate: 3.49% + $0.49 = $35.39, leaving $964.61 (an effective 3.54%). The fixed fee matters most on small transactions — a $30 payment effectively costs 5.12%, while a $1,000 one costs 3.54%.

What is PayPal's currency conversion fee?

PayPal applies a spread above the base exchange rate when a payment is converted — historically described by PayPal at roughly 3–4%. It is not published as a number on the fee-schedule pages, which is one reason it goes under-counted. If the payer is also in a different market, the 1.50% international fee applies as well.

Can I use Friends & Family to avoid PayPal selling fees?

You can, and you shouldn't. PayPal's terms prohibit using personal payments for goods and services; sellers risk limitations, held funds and reversed payments with no seller protection. The legitimate low-fee routes are the ones on the published schedule, like invoicing funded by US bank account (ACH) at 1% capped at $10.

What is the cheapest PayPal fee option for selling?

On the US business schedule, the lowest published rates for real selling are: invoicing paid from a US bank account ("Pay by Bank/ACH") at 1% capped at $10 per transaction; QR code transactions in person at 2.29% + fixed; and "Send/Receive Money for Goods and Services" at 2.99%. Which one applies depends on the flow your buyer actually uses.

How do I charge enough to receive $100 after PayPal fees?

Gross it up: at 3.49% + $0.49 you need to bill about $104.12 to net $100. The calculator's "charge to receive" mode does this for any market, currency and transaction type, including the +1.50% international case.

Sources & verification. US rates: PayPal's business fee schedule (paypal.com/us/business/paypal-business-fees, page-stamped "Last Updated: September 1, 2026", re-checked 1 October 2026). UK rates: PayPal's UK merchant fee page (paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/merchant-fees, page-stamped "Last Updated: 15, July 2026"). The currency-conversion spread is not published on the schedule pages; the ~3–4% figure follows PayPal's own long-standing description and is labelled as such. Fees vary by account type, country and promotional terms — confirm against your own agreement for anything material.

Run the numbers on your own sale

The calculators below use these exact 2026 rates, work in both directions (fee-out or charge-to-receive), and run entirely on your device — free, no account.

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