PayPal Fees Explained: What Sellers Pay on Goods and Services

PayPal fees for US sellers are 3.49% + $0.49 on most goods and services payments. On a $100 sale you pay $3.98 and keep $96.02. International sales add about 1.5%, and currency conversion adds a spread of roughly 3-4% on top.

That headline rate covers the common case, but PayPal's published fee schedule has different rates for card payments, invoicing, micropayments, QR codes and donations, and the international add-ons are where sellers get surprised. Here is the whole schedule in plain English, with worked examples.

PayPal seller fees: the published US rates

These are the main rates on PayPal's US merchant fee schedule as published in 2026. All of them apply to commercial (goods and services) payments received by a business or seller account:

Two clarifications people search for constantly:

• Friends and family: free when funded by a PayPal balance or linked bank account, but it offers no buyer or seller protection and must not be used for sales. Using it for business payments violates PayPal's terms and can get an account limited.
• Receiving is what costs money. The seller pays the fee, not the buyer. If a client sends you $500 for a project as goods and services, you receive $482.06.

PayPal micropayments: when 4.99% + $0.09 beats 3.49% + $0.49

The fixed $0.49 is brutal on small sales: on a $3 sticker, 3.49% + $0.49 is $0.59, almost 20%. The opt-in micropayments rate of 4.99% + $0.09 costs $0.24 on that same $3 sale. The break-even is around $10-12; below it, micropayments win. It applies account-wide once enabled, so it only makes sense if most of your sales are small.

PayPal international fees: the add-ons that stack

Cross-border selling adds two separate costs, and they stack:

1. International transaction fee: +1.50% on top of your base rate when the buyer's account is in another country. A UK customer paying your US account costs 3.49% + 1.50% + $0.49, so 4.99% + $0.49.
2. Currency conversion spread: 3-4% above the base exchange rate when PayPal converts the payment (as published, 4% for most consumer conversions, around 3% on many commercial flows). This one does not appear as a fee line; it is baked into the exchange rate you receive, which is why it is so easy to miss.

Example: a client in Germany pays you EUR 500 and PayPal converts to dollars. Suppose the mid-market rate would give $585. You pay the goods and services fee plus 1.5% international (about $29.68 on $585 equivalent), and the conversion spread quietly takes roughly another $20. Total cost: near $50, or about 8.5%, not the 3.49% you might have budgeted.

Worked example: a freelancer's PayPal month, gross to take-home

Say you are a freelance designer who invoices through PayPal. In one month you receive:

Notice the blended rate: 4.0%, not 3.49%, because of the international payment and the fixed fees on small sales. That gap grows with more small transactions and more cross-border work. This gross to fees to take-home chain is exactly what Earnly's board shows per platform, so your PayPal line sits next to Stripe, Gumroad and the rest with the same math. To model your own mix, run the numbers through a platform fees calculator, and if you invoice clients directly, an invoice tracker keeps sent, paid and overdue in view.

When you can actually use the money

PayPal balances are available quickly, usually as soon as the payment clears, but new sellers and certain transaction types can see holds of up to 21 days while PayPal assesses risk. Moving money to your bank is free with a standard transfer (1-3 business days) or 1.5% (capped) for an instant transfer to a card or bank. If PayPal is one of several platforms paying you, a payout calendar keeps its transfer timing visible next to slower monthly payers.

Keeping PayPal fees down

• Batch invoices. One $1,000 invoice costs $35.39; four $250 invoices cost $37.86. Small difference, but it compounds.
• Turn on micropayments if most sales are under about $10.
• Bill in your own currency where clients accept it, so the conversion spread lands on their side or disappears.
• Compare rails for big projects. On a $5,000 international project, PayPal's fees plus spread can exceed $400; a bank wire or a service like Wise often costs far less. See how PayPal compares in our creator fees comparison.
• Reconcile monthly so the blended rate you actually pay, not the advertised rate, is the one in your pricing.

This article is informational only. Rates are taken from PayPal's published US fee schedule as of 2026 and can change; examples are estimates. Always confirm against your own PayPal statements.