WHAT PAYPAL KEEPS
PayPal Fee Calculator: Goods and Services Fees, Instant Transfer Cost, and What You Keep
Enter what the buyer sends and pick how they paid, and the calculator above shows PayPal's cut and the balance you are left with. Switch on Instant Transfer and it carries the number through to what lands in your bank.
US rates as published by PayPal in September 2026. Estimates only, not tax or accounting advice. Fee schedules change and vary by country, so check your own transaction detail.
In short
PayPal's published US rate to receive a Goods and Services payment is 2.99%, so a $100 payment costs $2.99 and leaves you $97.01. Two things change that number. First, the rate depends on how the buyer paid: PayPal Checkout and invoices are 3.49% plus a $0.49 fixed fee, standard credit and debit card payments are 2.99% plus $0.49, and micropayments, which you have to apply for, are 4.99% plus $0.09. A buyer outside the US adds 1.50% on top of any of them. Second, PayPal's own fee page lists the Send and Receive Money for Goods and Services line at 2.99% without attaching the $0.49 fixed fee that it does attach to Checkout, invoicing and card payments, yet most calculators online add $0.49 to every payment type anyway. On a $100 payment that is the difference between $2.99 and $3.48, and the toggle above lets you model it either way against your own transaction detail. Cashing out adds a third cut that almost nobody includes: a standard bank withdrawal is free and takes 1 to 3 business days, while Instant Transfer costs 1.75% on a personal account with a $0.25 minimum and a $25.00 maximum, or 1.50% on a business account with a $0.50 minimum and no maximum at all. Because only the personal rate is capped, a business account paying 1.50% costs more than a personal one on any cash out above about $1,667.
Last updated September 2026
Published rates
Every US PayPal rate for receiving money, and when it applies
Rates below are PayPal's published US commercial fee schedule as of September 2026. The fixed fee for USD is $0.49 on the lines that carry one.
| How you were paid | Rate | Fee on $100 | You are left with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Send and Receive Money for Goods and Services | 2.99% | $2.99 | $97.01 |
| Standard credit and debit card payment | 2.99% + $0.49 | $3.48 | $96.52 |
| PayPal Checkout, Pay with Venmo, or an invoice | 3.49% + $0.49 | $3.98 | $96.02 |
| Micropayments (must be enabled on your account) | 4.99% + $0.09 | $5.08 | $94.92 |
| Any of the above, buyer outside the US | Add 1.50% | $5.48 on Checkout | $94.52 |
| Friends and Family, funded by balance or bank | No fee | $0.00 | $100.00 |
Published rates
Instant Transfer costs more on a business account above $1,667
The percentage is lower on a business account but only the personal rate has a maximum fee, so the two lines cross. A standard bank withdrawal is free on both and takes 1 to 3 business days.
| Cashing out | Personal (1.75%, max $25) | Business (1.50%, no cap) | Cheaper account |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100 | $1.75 | $1.50 | Business |
| $500 | $8.75 | $7.50 | Business |
| $1,000 | $17.50 | $15.00 | Business |
| $2,000 | $25.00 | $30.00 | Personal |
| $5,000 | $25.00 | $75.00 | Personal |
| $10,000 | $25.00 | $150.00 | Personal |
Why it matters
What this line of the statement buys you
The rate that matches how you were actually paid
A single blended percentage is the reason most estimates are wrong. An invoice and a plain Goods and Services payment differ by $0.99 on $100, and over a year of invoicing that gap is most of a month's software budget.
The $0.49 question, settled honestly
PayPal does not list the fixed fee against the Goods and Services line, though nearly every calculator online adds it. The toggle shows both figures so you can match whichever one your transaction detail says.
Cash-out costs included, not ignored
Fees do not stop when the payment lands. Instant Transfer takes another 1.50% to 1.75%, and on a business account that cut has no ceiling. Most calculators stop one step too early.
Charge the amount that actually lands
The gross-up chip works backwards from the figure you want to receive, so you can quote a client a number that nets what you meant to charge.
How you use it
From connected to answered
Enter what the buyer sends
Use the full amount the buyer pays, including any shipping or tax you charged them, because PayPal calculates its percentage on the whole transaction.
Pick how they paid
A plain Goods and Services transfer, a card payment, an invoice or Checkout button, and micropayments all carry different rates. Tick the international box if the buyer paid from outside the US.
Choose personal or business
This only changes the Instant Transfer line, but above roughly $1,667 it changes it by a lot, because only the personal rate is capped at $25.
Read the effective rate
The chip under the tape shows what share of the payment PayPal kept once every cut is counted. Compare it across your payment types before you decide how to invoice.
It works the same for every kind of seller: see it in action for freelancers, amazon sellers, youtubers or check the income tracker pricing.
Questions people actually ask
How much does PayPal take per transaction?
On a US Goods and Services payment PayPal's published rate is 2.99%, so it takes $2.99 from $100 and leaves you $97.01. If the buyer paid through a Checkout button or you sent an invoice, the rate is 3.49% plus a $0.49 fixed fee, which is $3.98 on the same $100. A standard credit or debit card payment is 2.99% plus $0.49. Anything paid from outside the US adds another 1.50%.
How much does PayPal charge for $100?
Between $2.99 and $5.48 on a US transaction, depending entirely on how the money arrived. A plain Goods and Services payment costs $2.99. A card payment costs $3.48. A Checkout or invoice payment costs $3.98. If the buyer is overseas and paid through Checkout, the 1.50% international surcharge takes it to $5.48 and you keep $94.52. Friends and Family funded from a balance or bank account is free, but using it for a sale breaches PayPal's terms and voids seller protection.
Does PayPal charge a fixed fee on goods and services payments?
PayPal's published US fee page lists Send and Receive Money for Goods and Services at 2.99% and does not attach a fixed fee to that line, while it explicitly lists Checkout, invoicing and card payments as a percentage plus a fixed fee. Most third-party calculators add $0.49 to everything regardless. On $100 that is $2.99 against $3.48. The toggle above models both, and your own transaction detail in PayPal is the authority for your account.
How much is the PayPal instant transfer fee?
It depends on your account type, which is the part most guides miss. A personal account pays 1.75% of the amount transferred, with a $0.25 minimum and a $25.00 maximum. A business account pays 1.50% with a $0.50 minimum and no maximum fee at all. The personal cap binds at about $1,429, so on a $5,000 cash out a personal account pays $25 while a business account pays $75. A standard bank withdrawal is free on both and takes 1 to 3 business days.
How do I avoid PayPal fees?
On business income you mostly cannot, and the routes people suggest are worse than the fee. Asking a customer to pay Friends and Family breaches PayPal's terms, removes seller protection for both of you, and still leaves the income fully taxable. What you can legitimately do is choose the cheaper path: take a plain Goods and Services payment rather than sending an invoice where that suits the client, apply for micropayments if your typical sale is small, wait 1 to 3 business days for a free standard withdrawal instead of paying for Instant Transfer, and bill in USD so no currency conversion applies. Then price the remaining fee in rather than trying to dodge it.
Is PayPal micropayments cheaper for small sales?
Below about $20 per sale, yes, and the crossover is further out than most articles claim. Micropayments run 4.99% plus $0.09 against the standard 2.99% plus $0.49, so the two are equal at exactly $20 and micropayments win under that. Against the 3.49% plus $0.49 Checkout rate the crossover is about $26.67. On a $3 sale the difference is real: $0.24 against $0.58, so the standard rate takes almost a fifth of the sale. You have to apply to enable micropayments, and the rate applies to the whole account.
Why is my PayPal balance lower than what the buyer sent?
Because PayPal deducts its fee before the money reaches your balance, so what you see is already net. If you then use Instant Transfer, a second cut comes off before the money reaches your bank, which is why the bank deposit is smaller again. The gap matters beyond curiosity: PayPal reports your gross on a Form 1099-K, not the net you actually received, so building your books from bank deposits understates your receipts by exactly the fee total. An income tracker that records gross, fees and take-home per payout closes that gap without you reconstructing it in April.
Do I pay tax on the gross or on what PayPal deposits?
Your taxable receipts are the gross, before PayPal took anything. For 2026 a Form 1099-K issues only when you exceed both $20,000 and 200 transactions, a threshold that reverted under the law signed on July 4, 2025, but income is taxable whether or not a form arrives. The fees are separately deductible as a business expense, so the arithmetic works out, but only if you recorded the gross and the fee rather than a single net deposit. Earnly is not a tax advisor and this is not tax advice; confirm your situation with a qualified professional.