Free paypal fee calculator
See exactly what PayPal takes — and what you keep. Enter an amount and pick the transaction type (Goods & Services, card, international, micropayment, QR), and the calculator returns the fee, your net received, and — in reverse mode — the amount to charge to net a target — updated live, as you type.
On this page15 sections
Estimates only. PayPal rates change and vary by country — confirm on paypal.com.
Results are estimates. Consult a professional.
How PayPal fees work
When someone pays you for goods or services through PayPal, PayPal takes a cut of every transaction before the money lands in your balance. That cut has two parts: a percentage of the amount and a flat fixed fee per transaction. The seller — not the buyer — pays it, and it is deducted automatically, so the amount you actually receive is always less than the amount sent. This PayPal fee calculator shows you exactly how much PayPal keeps and what you are left with the moment you type an amount.
The fixed fee is what makes small payments expensive in percentage terms. On a $5 sale the $0.49 fixed fee alone is nearly 10% of the payment — before the percentage rate is even added. That is why PayPal offers a separate, lower fixed fee for micropayments, covered below.
PayPal fee rates by transaction type
PayPal does not charge one flat rate. The percentage and fixed fee depend on how the buyer pays and where they are. These are the current US merchant rates published by PayPal. Switch the transaction type in the calculator above to load any of them as a starting point — you can still override the rate and fixed fee by hand.
| Transaction type | Percentage | Fixed fee |
|---|---|---|
| Goods & Services (PayPal Checkout) | 3.49% | $0.49 |
| Card payment / guest checkout | 2.99% | $0.49 |
| Invoicing | 3.49% | $0.49 |
| Micropayments (domestic) | 4.99% | $0.09 |
| International / cross-border | +1.50% | $0.49 |
| QR code (in person) | 2.29% | $0.09 |
Source: PayPal US merchant fees, paypal.com (updated 2026). The international fee is +1.50% on top of your domestic percentage rate. Rates change — always confirm the current figure.
A worked example using the PayPal fee calculator
Dana is a freelance designer invoicing a US client $500 through PayPal. She wants to know what will actually hit her account. Here is how she uses the calculator, step by step.
- Pick the transaction type. The client is paying a standard PayPal invoice, so Dana selects Goods & Services — the calculator loads 3.49% + $0.49.
- Enter the amount. She types 500 in the amount field. The calculator updates live.
- Read the fee. The percentage part is $500 × 3.49% = $17.45. Add the $0.49 fixed fee and the total PayPal fee is $17.94.
- Read what she keeps. $500 − $17.94 = $482.06 net received. That is the number that lands in her PayPal balance.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Invoice amount | $500.00 |
| Percentage fee (3.49%) | $17.45 |
| Fixed fee | $0.49 |
| Total PayPal fee | $17.94 |
| You receive (net) | $482.06 |
A $500 US Goods & Services payment at 3.49% + $0.49.
How to calculate the amount to charge to receive a target net
A common and costly mistake is to simply add the fee percentage to your price. It does not work, because PayPal takes its cut from the larger total — so you still come up short. If you want exactly $1,000 in your account, you cannot just invoice $1,034.90. You have to gross up.
Suppose you want to receive exactly $100 on a card payment (2.99% + $0.49). Charging $103 is not enough. The gross-up math: ($100 + $0.49) ÷ (1 − 0.0299) = $103.59. Invoice $103.59, PayPal takes $3.59, and you net exactly $100.00. Switch the calculator to “Charge to net a target” mode and it does this for you.
Who pays the PayPal fee — and can you pass it on?
On a commercial goods-and-services payment, the recipient (the seller or business) pays the fee. The buyer pays the sticker price; PayPal deducts its cut from the seller's side before the money settles. For personal "friends and family" payments funded by balance or bank, there is generally no fee within the US — but those payments come with no buyer or seller protection.
Can you pass the fee to the customer? Directly surcharging a PayPal transaction can breach PayPal's user agreement and may be limited by state law. What sellers commonly do instead is bake the cost into the price, charge a flat handling fee applied to every order, or list the processing cost as a billable expense in a contract or invoice. The cleanest approach for freelancers is to gross up the invoice — quote a price that already nets what you need.
- Build it into the price. Set your rate so the post-fee net is the number you actually want. No line item, no friction — the customer simply sees one price.
- Flat handling fee. A fixed amount applied to every order (the same for everyone) is generally treated differently from a percentage surcharge on the card itself.
- Billable expense. In a contract or quote you can agree in advance that payment-processing costs are passed through to the client.
Whichever route you take, disclose it before the customer pays. Hidden fees added at checkout are the fastest way to lose a sale and trigger a dispute — and a dispute that goes against you can cost far more than the fee you were trying to recover.
PayPal international and currency conversion fees
Cross-border payments cost more. When the buyer is in another country, PayPal adds an international fee — about 1.50% on top of your domestic percentage rate — so a US Goods & Services payment from an overseas buyer runs roughly 4.99% + $0.49 rather than 3.49%.
On top of that, if the payment is sent in a different currency and PayPal converts it, a currency conversion spread (commonly around 3% to 4% above the base exchange rate) is applied to the converted amount. This calculator covers the percentage and fixed transaction fee; it does not model the conversion spread, which depends on the day's rate. For an international sale, enter the combined rate (for example 4.99%) to estimate the transaction fee.
Two practical takeaways. First, an overseas buyer paying in your own currency avoids the conversion spread entirely — only the cross-border percentage applies, which is the cheaper of the two surcharges. Second, on a large international invoice the combined fees add up fast: a $2,000 cross-border Goods & Services payment at roughly 4.99% + $0.49 costs about $100 in transaction fees alone, before any conversion. For high-value or frequent cross-border work, it is worth comparing PayPal against a dedicated international-payment provider.
Micropayments — the better rate for small sales
If you sell low-priced digital items, tips, or small downloads, the standard 3.49% + $0.49 fee is brutal: on a $2 sale the fixed fee alone eats almost a quarter of the payment. PayPal's micropayments pricing — 4.99% + $0.09 — trades a higher percentage for a much smaller fixed fee, which wins on small amounts up to about $27.
| Payment | Standard (3.49% + $0.49) | Micropayments (4.99% + $0.09) |
|---|---|---|
| $1.00 | $0.52 | $0.14 |
| $5.00 | $0.66 | $0.34 |
| $10.00 | $0.84 | $0.59 |
| $25.00 | $1.36 | $1.34 |
| $30.00 | $1.54 | $1.59 |
| $50.00 | $2.24 | $2.59 |
Micropayments win below roughly $27; above that the standard rate is cheaper. Micropayments pricing requires application and approval from PayPal.
The crossover is around $27: below it, micropayments pricing is cheaper; above it, the standard rate wins because the percentage matters more than the fixed fee. If most of your sales are small, applying for micropayments can meaningfully raise your take-home. The catch is that micropayments pricing applies to your whole account, so it only makes sense if the bulk of your transactions sit below the crossover — a few larger sales each month will quietly cost you more under the higher percentage. Run both rates through the calculator with your real average sale to see which tier nets you more over a typical month.
How to reduce PayPal fees
- Apply for micropayments pricing if your typical sale is under about $27 — the lower fixed fee saves more than the higher percentage costs.
- Batch small payments into one. Because every transaction carries a fixed fee, one $100 payment is cheaper than ten $10 payments.
- Use "friends and family" only for genuine personal transfers — it is fee-free from a balance or bank within the US, but it strips away buyer and seller protection and must not be used for sales.
- Keep payments domestic and in your own currency where possible to avoid the cross-border fee and the currency conversion spread.
- Gross up your invoices so the price you quote already covers the fee and nets what you need.
PayPal fees vs. alternatives
PayPal's headline rate sits in the same range as other major processors, but the details differ. Use these as ballpark US online rates — each provider's exact pricing depends on volume, card type, and product.
| Processor | Typical US online rate |
|---|---|
| PayPal (Goods & Services) | 3.49% + $0.49 |
| PayPal (card / guest checkout) | 2.99% + $0.49 |
| Stripe | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Square (online) | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Venmo (business profile) | 1.9% + $0.10 |
Ballpark standard online rates for comparison; verify each provider's current pricing.
PayPal's lower fixed fee on guest-checkout card payments can beat a 2.9% + $0.30 competitor on larger transactions, while the $0.49 fixed fee makes it less competitive on small ones. The right choice depends on your average ticket size — run your typical amount through this calculator and compare the net received against the alternative.
Sources and how this calculator works
All fee rates on this page come from PayPal's published US merchant fee schedule at paypal.com. PayPal updates its rates periodically and they vary by transaction type and country, so the figures here are current at the time of writing and should be confirmed against PayPal's site before you rely on them. The calculator applies fee = amount × rate% + fixed fee, and for the gross-up it solves charge = (target net + fixed) ÷ (1 − rate%/100) — both run entirely in your browser, with nothing sent to a server.
PayPal US merchant and business fees.Frequently asked questions about the free paypal fee calculator
About this PayPal fee calculator
This PayPal fee calculator runs entirely in your browser. Every figure you enter stays on your device — nothing is sent to a server, logged, or shared. It applies fee = amount × rate% + fixed fee, subtracts the fee for your net received, and solves charge = (target net + fixed) ÷ (1 − rate%) when you switch to gross-up mode, updating instantly as you type. PayPal rates change and vary by country — confirm the current figure on paypal.com.
Calculators Cloud offers 400+ free tools with no sign-up. The whole Finance calculators shelf includes Discount, Markup, and Sales tax tools alongside this one. Or browse the full calculator directory.