Stripe vs PayPal vs Shopify Payments — Which Is Cheapest?
Choosing the wrong payment processor costs real money. This comparison covers the three most common choices for online businesses: Stripe, PayPal, and Shopify Payments.
Standard US transaction fees
| Processor | Domestic card fee | International card | Monthly fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stripe | 2.9% + $0.30 | 4.4% + $0.30 | $0 |
| PayPal Standard | 2.99% + $0.49 | 4.49% + $0.49 | $0 |
| PayPal Checkout | 3.49% + $0.49 | 4.99% + $0.49 | $0 |
| Shopify Payments (Basic) | 2.0% + $0.25 | 3.5% + $0.25 | incl. in $39/mo plan |
| Shopify Payments (Shopify) | 1.7% + $0.25 | 3.5% + $0.25 | incl. in $105/mo plan |
Fee on common transaction amounts
$50 transaction
| Processor | Fee | Net received |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe | $1.75 | $48.25 |
| PayPal Standard | $1.99 | $48.01 |
| PayPal Checkout | $2.24 | $47.76 |
| Shopify Payments (Basic) | $1.25 | $48.75 |
$100 transaction
| Processor | Fee | Net received |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe | $3.20 | $96.80 |
| PayPal Standard | $3.48 | $96.52 |
| PayPal Checkout | $3.98 | $96.02 |
| Shopify Payments (Basic) | $2.25 | $97.75 |
$500 transaction
| Processor | Fee | Net received |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe | $14.80 | $485.20 |
| PayPal Standard | $15.44 | $484.56 |
| PayPal Checkout | $17.94 | $482.06 |
| Shopify Payments (Basic) | $10.25 | $489.75 |
Which should you choose?
Choose Stripe if:
- You're building a SaaS product — Stripe Billing is the best subscription infrastructure available
- You need developer-grade APIs — Stripe's webhook reliability, SDK quality, and documentation are unmatched
- You want global coverage — Stripe supports 135+ currencies and 40+ countries natively
- Your customers are B2B — Stripe's invoicing, payment links, and ACH support are superior
Choose PayPal if:
- A large share of your customers prefer PayPal — 60% of US online shoppers have a PayPal account and trust it
- You're selling on marketplaces (eBay, Etsy) where PayPal is the expected method
- You need Venmo integration for younger consumer audiences
Choose Shopify Payments if:
- You're already on Shopify — it eliminates the 0.5–2% third-party gateway fee that Shopify charges for using Stripe directly, making it cheaper than Stripe in most cases
- Your store is US-based, consumer-focused — the rate is genuinely lower than Stripe for domestic Visa/Mastercard
- You want the simplest setup — no separate account, disputes handled in Shopify admin
Calculating your actual savings
Prefer an interactive table? Use the Stripe vs PayPal fee comparison calculator to enter a sale amount and see the fee and net payout for all three processors at once.
Or use our free per-processor calculators to see the exact difference for your transaction sizes:
- Stripe Fee Calculator — custom rate fields let you enter any processor's rate
- PayPal Fee Calculator — domestic and international rates
- Shopify Fee Calculator — all plans with Shopify Payments vs third-party gateway
What the fee comparison misses
Chargeback rates: PayPal has historically higher chargeback rates than Stripe, especially for digital products. Factor in dispute resolution time when choosing.
Payout speed: Stripe pays out in 2 business days (or same-day with Instant Payouts at 1.5% fee). PayPal holds funds for longer for new accounts (up to 21 days) and can freeze accounts with less notice than Stripe.
Subscription support: Stripe Billing is significantly better than PayPal's subscription APIs for SaaS — better webhook reliability, proration, trial management, and plan switching.
Tax compliance: Stripe Tax (add-on) and Paddle (merchant of record) are better options than PayPal for international VAT compliance.