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Payment Processing

Stripe vs PayPal: Which Payment Processor Fits Your Business in 2026?

A developer-first payments API vs. the most recognized checkout brand. Here is how their fees and tooling really compare.

Bill BelcaminoBy Bill Belcamino · Last updated September 18, 2026 · Our methodologyResearched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team
Stripe logo2.9% + 30¢

Stripe

VS
PayPal logo3.49% + 49¢ (PayPal Checkout)

PayPal

See the full spec table Read the FAQ
Stripe vs PayPalVerified Sep 18, 2026
Bill Belcamino
Bottom line up frontby Bill Belcamino, founder of HelpCompare
Editorial assessment

Bottom line up front: Stripe or PayPal: which fits the way we sell online?

Stripe's standard rate is lower, 2.9% + $0.30 per domestic card charge against 3.49% + $0.49 for PayPal Checkout, but fit comes down to who builds your checkout.

Both add 1.5% for international cards and charge no monthly fee on a standard account, and the fixed part matters more than it looks, because on small tickets the per-transaction fee eats a bigger share than the percentage. Stripe suits teams with engineers who want custom checkout, subscriptions or marketplace payments, and PayPal suits sellers who want a trusted button with little code. Whichever you choose, don't run the business on one processor. Reviews flag account holds and fund freezes as a recurring Stripe complaint, and from running product launches I know a sudden jump in volume is exactly what trips a processor's risk review, so keep a second processor approved and warn yours before a big launch.

My read of the verified data on this page, checked against vendor sources on September 18, 2026. Disagree or spot an error? Tell Bill

Verified data

Stripe vs PayPal: quick facts

At a glanceStripePayPal
CategoryPayment Processing
Entry price2.9% + 30¢ (domestic cards)3.49% + 49¢ (PayPal Checkout)

Is Stripe cheaper than PayPal?

Stripe is priced at 2.9% + 30¢ (domestic cards) and PayPal at 3.49% + 49¢ (PayPal Checkout; 2.99% + 49¢ for standard card payments). See the full breakdown below for what is included at each tier.

Verified data

Stripe vs PayPal at a glance

CategoryStripePayPal
Standard card processing fee2.9% + $0.30 domestic card; +1.5% international3.49% + $0.49 PayPal Checkout; 2.99% + $0.49 standard card payments; +1.50% international
Monthly / setup fee$0 — no setup, monthly, or hidden fees$0 standard account; optional Payments Pro ($30/mo), Invoicing Subscription ($14.99/mo)
Developer API depthExtensive REST API, SDKs, webhooks, modular products (Billing, Connect, Radar)REST APIs and Braintree SDK
Invoicing toolsStripe Invoicing: 0.4% per paid invoice (Invoicing Starter), no fixed feePayPal Invoicing: fee varies by method; optional $14.99/mo Premium
International payment support135+ currencies; +1% conversion, +1.5% international cardsCross-border payments supported; +1.5% fee when buyer/seller differ by market
Payout speed2 business days standard (US); Instant Payouts for a fee1–3 business days standard (free); Instant Transfer for 1.5% fee

Verified September 18, 2026Prices recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page. See sources

Total cost of ownership: Stripe vs PayPal processing fees

Estimate built from each processor’s published standard online rate (as of Sep 2026). Excludes volume discounts, interchange-plus/enterprise pricing, currency conversion, and chargebacks.

Editorial assessment

Pros & cons

Stripe

Pros

  • Deep, well-documented developer API and broad ecosystem of modular products
  • No setup or monthly fees: simple, transparent pay-as-you-go pricing
  • Strong global currency support and reliable processing at scale

Cons

  • Fees can feel steep for very small or high-volume low-margin businesses
  • Customer support can be slow for urgent account issues
  • Account holds/fund freezes are a recurring complaint in reviews

PayPal

Pros

  • Extremely widely recognized and trusted brand for checkout, increasing buyer conversion
  • No monthly fee for a standard business account; easy to start without technical integration
  • Large, mature reviewer base with strong ratings for ease of use

Cons

  • Standard consumer-facing checkout rate is higher than Stripe’s base rate
  • Developer tooling is split across PayPal REST APIs and Braintree
  • Multiple product lines and fee schedules can be confusing to compare

Choose Stripe if…

Choose Stripe if your team has engineering resources and wants a highly customizable checkout, subscription billing, or marketplace payment flow.

Choose PayPal if…

Choose PayPal if you want fast setup with minimal development work and a checkout button many consumers already trust.

Verified data

Stripe vs PayPal: security, offline & remote work

How Stripe and PayPal compare on compliance reports, sign-in controls, offline access and the setup details that matter for remote, hybrid and in-office teams. Every value links to the vendor page it came from.

What we checkedStripePayPal
Security & compliance
SOC 2 reportSOC 2 Type IIsourceNot published
ISO/IEC 27001Not publishedNot published
Other certificationsPCI DSS Level 1 (Service Provider), SOC 1 Type II, SOC 3, EMVCo Level 1 and 2 (Terminal)sourcePCI DSS Level 1 (Service Provider)source
HIPAA (BAA)Not publishedNot published
GDPR data processing agreementDPA offeredsourceDPA offeredsource
Single sign-on (SAML/OIDC)YessourceNot published
SCIM user provisioningYessourceNot published
Two-factor authenticationYesEnforcement: Any account (Administrator or Super Administrator setting)sourceYessource
Admin audit logYessourceNot published
Data residency choicesNot publishedNot published
EncryptionCard numbers AES-256 at rest; TLS 1.2+ required in transitsourceNot published
Self-hosting optionNot publishedNot published
Offline access
Offline modePartialStripe Terminal can store in-person card payments locally on the POS device or smart reader during an outage and forwards them to Stripe automatically when the connection comes back.sourcePartialOffline card payments work only on a PayPal Reader used through a third-party POS app built on the Zettle SDK; queued payments upload when the device reconnects.source
Desktop appsNot publishedNot published
Mobile appsiOS, AndroidsourceiOS, Androidsource
Offline limitsOffline mode works only with supported Terminal readers; Tap to Pay on Android doesn't support itsourceReconnect within 24 hours of the first offline payment; offline mode requires a PayPal Reader on the latest softwaresource
Remote, hybrid & in-office
IP allowlistingNot publishedNot published
Device & session controlsNot publishedNot published
Office & room hardwareStripe Terminal supports pre-certified card readers (Stripe Reader S700/S710, BBPOS WisePOS E, Stripe Reader M2, BBPOS WisePad 3, Verifone) and Tap to Pay.sourcePayPal sells the Bluetooth Card Reader and the PayPal Reader for in-person chip, contactless and mobile-wallet payments through the Point of Sale app.source
Editorial assessment

What this means for your team

  • Audit reports: Stripe states a SOC 2 report on its own site; we found no SOC 2 statement for PayPal. If your security team requires SOC 2, ask PayPal directly before shortlisting.
  • Single sign-on: Stripe includes it. PayPal doesn’t document single sign-on with your own identity provider. If your team signs in through Okta, Microsoft Entra ID or Google, price the plan that includes SSO, not the entry plan.
  • Working offline: Stripe and PayPal work offline only in part. Details are in the Offline mode row above.
  • In the office: Stripe: Stripe Terminal supports pre-certified card readers (Stripe Reader S700/S710, BBPOS WisePOS E, Stripe Reader M2, BBPOS WisePad 3, Verifone) and Tap to Pay. PayPal: PayPal sells the Bluetooth Card Reader and the PayPal Reader for in-person chip, contactless and mobile-wallet payments through the Point of Sale app.

Stripe: worth knowing

  • SecurityAPI access can be restricted by access policies to specific IPv4 addresses or CIDR ranges (this applies to API keys, not Dashboard sign-in). source
  • OfficeStored offline payments survive a POS reboot and are forwarded once the SDK reconnects. source
  • SecurityThe Dashboard security history can be filtered by action across hundreds of event types and exported as CSV. source

PayPal: worth knowing

  • RemoteA business account owner can add users and choose each user's account privileges from Account Settings. source
  • OfflineUninstalling the POS app, clearing the device cache or factory-resetting it while offline payments are pending permanently deletes those stored payments. source

Checked September 19, 2026 against each vendor’s own trust center, help docs and app pages. Hover or tap “source” to see the exact wording we relied on. “Not published” means we could not find the vendor saying it on its own site; it doesn’t mean the feature is missing. Plan names are the lowest plan the vendor says includes the feature. Security · Offline · Remote vs office · Download the data

Making the switch?

Read our step-by-step migration guides

We mapped out exactly what transfers automatically and what you will need to rebuild by hand, in both directions.

Switching from Stripe to PayPal → Switching from PayPal to Stripe →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Stripe?

Stripe is a developer-focused online payment processing platform used to accept and manage payments.

What is PayPal?

PayPal is a widely used online payments platform for accepting and sending payments both online and in person.

How much does Stripe cost compared to PayPal?

Stripe starts at 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction (US, online), while PayPal starts at 3.49% + $0.49 per transaction (PayPal Checkout, US).

Which has better reviews on G2, Stripe or PayPal?

Stripe holds a 4.2/5 (~460 reviews) rating on G2, compared to PayPal at 4.4/5 (~2,748 reviews).

Who should choose Stripe?

Choose Stripe if your team has engineering resources and wants a highly customizable checkout, subscription billing, or marketplace payment flow.

Who should choose PayPal?

Choose PayPal if you want fast setup with minimal development work and a checkout button many consumers already trust.

Ready to pick one?

See live pricing directly from each vendor before you decide.

See Stripe pricing See PayPal pricing

Canonical data for the tools on this page

Every pricing fact, rating, AI billing model and switching guide we hold on each tool, on one page, with the date each figure was last verified.

PayPalPricing, free plan, AI cost & every comparison›StripePricing, free plan, AI cost & every comparison›
Polar vs StripeHead-to-head comparisonSquare vs PayPalHead-to-head comparisonSquare vs StripeHead-to-head comparison

Sources

Prices on this page were recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page on the date shown at the top of the page. Vendors change pricing often — check the live source before you buy.

Every figure is also in our open dataset (JSON and CSV, CC BY 4.0), with its source page and verification date. See how we research pricing.

Cite this page: HelpCompare, “Stripe vs PayPal”, helpcompare.com/stripe-vs-paypal/ (updated ).

Source links on this site are checked every month; last check . How sources are checked.

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01 · CompareWhich tool fits your team, side by side.132 comparisons 02 · Price & approveSourced, dated pricing and a one-page brief for sign-off.Decision brief 03 · SwitchWhat moves, what you rebuild, what it costs.264 guides 04 · ShareDownload and cite the data. CC BY 4.0.Open data
Bill Belcamino, founder of HelpCompare
About the author

Bill Belcamino

Founder and author, HelpCompare

Engineer by training, operator by experience, marketer by choice. Bill spent eight and a half years as an engineer at HP, was COO of Auctiva (the number one third-party selling platform on eBay, past 200,000 users) and ran Google’s $70M/year search syndication partnership at Alot.com. Then he spent 13 years building his own web properties with his own money at stake. He has bought, trialled, integrated and cancelled more SaaS tools than he can count, and started HelpCompare because the real cost of switching tools is the part nobody covers.

“I’ve sat on both sides of the table: the agency recommending the tool and the client paying for it.”

Researched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team. Pricing on this page was last verified on September 18, 2026. No paid sponsorships, no affiliate commissions.

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