PayPal's fee schedule reads like a menu because it is one: different rates for goods and services, for checkout, for friends and family, for international payments, and for currency conversion, each with its own fixed fee by currency. The arithmetic underneath is always the same — a percentage plus a fixed fee — but which percentage and which fixed fee apply depends on facts about the payment that the sender may not even notice. This guide works each case, explains why small payments feel so expensive, shows how to gross up a price so the fee does not eat it, and names what the fee figure does not cover.

The formula underneath every PayPal fee

Every PayPal fee is a percentage of the payment plus a fixed fee in the payment currency. For US dollars the fixed fee is $0.49 on the commercial rates. The formula is: fee equals amount times rate, plus fixed fee. Net received equals amount minus fee. That is the whole arithmetic, and every case below is a different rate plugged into the same formula, plus, for international payments, a surcharge and a conversion spread.

The fixed fee exists because processing a payment has fixed costs whatever its size: fraud checks, settlement, and support cost roughly the same for $5 as for $500. The percentage covers the variable costs, chiefly card interchange. Understanding the split explains every quirk that follows, because the fixed part dominates small payments and vanishes into rounding on large ones.

Goods and services: the standard commercial rate

A payment for goods or services received in the US costs 2.99 percent plus $0.49 at the standard rate. On $100 that is $3.48, leaving $96.52. On $1,000 it is $30.39, leaving $969.61. The rate buys Purchase Protection for the buyer and commercial status for the seller, which is why it applies whenever money changes hands for something sold, whether the buyer sends it or pays an amount the seller requested.

PayPal Checkout, the branded button on a seller’s site, costs more: 3.49 percent plus $0.49. The difference buys the checkout experience — guest checkout, saved payment methods, and the conversion that comes with them — and it is charged to the seller, not the buyer. A seller choosing between requesting a payment and embedding checkout is choosing between 2.99 and 3.49 percent, which on $1,000 of sales is $5.00 per transaction.

Friends and family: free, except when it is not

A domestic friends-and-family payment funded by PayPal balance or bank account is free: no percentage, no fixed fee. The same payment funded by a credit or debit card costs the sender about 2.9 percent plus $0.30, because the card network charges for the transaction and someone has to pay it. The funding source, not the relationship, decides the fee, which is why two identical-looking personal payments can cost different amounts.

The boundary that matters is commercial use. Receiving business payments through friends and family to avoid fees violates PayPal’s terms, forfeits Purchase Protection for the buyer, and risks account limitation. The fee saving is real and the risk is real too; a seller who routes business through personal payments is borrowing trouble at 2.99 percent.

International: the surcharge and the spread

International commercial payments add a 1.5 percent surcharge on top of the domestic rate, so a standard goods-and-services payment from abroad costs 4.49 percent plus the fixed fee. If currency conversion is involved, a spread of roughly 3 to 4 percent applies on top of that, because PayPal converts at its own rate rather than the mid-market rate. A $100 international payment with conversion can therefore lose $7 to $9 before the seller sees it, and the spread is the larger and less visible part.

The practical defence is to price in the seller’s currency where possible, to compare the delivered amount rather than the headline rate, and to treat any provider advertising no fee with suspicion until the conversion rate is checked. The fee schedule is public; the spread is in the rate, and the rate is where the money hides.

Grossing up: charging so the fee does not eat the price

To receive exactly $100 after fees at 2.99 percent plus $0.49, charge $103.59, not $103.48. The formula divides instead of adding: gross equals (net plus fixed fee) divided by (1 minus the rate), which is $100.49 divided by 0.9701. The check: 2.99 percent of $103.59 is $3.10, plus $0.49 is $3.59, and $103.59 minus $3.59 is $100.00. Adding the fee on top fails because the fee is charged on the gross amount, so the added fee itself attracts a fee.

Grossing up matters most for fixed-price work: a freelancer quoting $500 who absorbs the fee receives $484.56 at the standard rate, which is a 3.09 percent pay cut the client never sees. Quoting the grossed-up figure, or stating that fees are the client’s responsibility where the platform allows it, keeps the quoted price intact.

What the fee figure does not cover

The fee figure is not the whole cost of selling through PayPal. Chargebacks can reverse a payment and add a dispute fee. Refunds return the payment but the original fee treatment depends on timing and policy, so a refunded sale is not always a free sale. Currency conversion on withdrawals, instant-transfer fees to a bank account, and account holds on new or unusual volume are all outside the headline fee, and all of them affect cash actually received.

Rates also change: PayPal revises its fee schedule periodically, and the figures in this guide are the US rates as checked in October 2026. Before pricing a business on them, check the current schedule for your own country and product, because the rate for your exact flow is the only rate that matters, and this guide’s rates are a starting point, not a contract.

Frequently asked questions

What is the PayPal fee for goods and services in the US?

2.99% + $0.49 at the standard rate, or 3.49% + $0.49 through PayPal Checkout. On $100 the standard fee is $3.48, leaving $96.52.

Are friends and family payments free on PayPal?

Domestically, yes, when funded by PayPal balance or bank account. Funded by card, the sender pays about 2.9% + $0.30. Business payments routed through friends and family violate PayPal's terms.

What does an international PayPal payment cost?

The domestic rate plus a 1.5% surcharge, plus a currency-conversion spread of roughly 3% to 4% when funds are converted. A $100 international payment with conversion can lose $7 to $9 in total.

How do I charge so I receive exactly $100 after PayPal fees?

Gross up: (100 + 0.49) / (1 – 0.0299) = $103.59 at the standard rate. Adding the fee on top gives $103.48, which leaves you 10 cents short, because the fee is charged on the gross amount.

Why are small PayPal payments so expensive in percentage terms?

Because of the $0.49 fixed fee. It is 4.9% of a $10 payment but only 0.049% of a $1,000 payment, so the effective rate falls from 7.9% to 3.04% as the payment grows.

Do PayPal fees change?

Yes, PayPal revises its schedule periodically. The rates here are the US rates as checked in October 2026; always confirm the current schedule for your country and product before pricing a business on them.