See exactly what PayPal takes — and what you actually keep.
PayPal charges sellers a fee on every commercial payment received. For US domestic transactions, the standard rate is 2.9% of the transaction amount plus a flat $0.30 per payment. This applies whether you're using PayPal invoicing, accepting checkout payments on your website, or receiving direct payments tagged as goods or services.
Because the fee combines a percentage with a fixed amount, your effective rate varies with transaction size. On a $25 payment, the $0.30 flat fee alone is more than 1% of the total — pushing your real cost above 4%. On a $1,000 payment, the same flat fee becomes negligible and your real cost approaches the 2.9% headline figure.
| Invoice Total | PayPal Fee | You Keep | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| $25 | $1.03 | $23.97 | 4.1% |
| $50 | $1.75 | $48.25 | 3.5% |
| $100 | $3.20 | $96.80 | 3.2% |
| $250 | $7.55 | $242.45 | 3.0% |
| $500 | $14.80 | $485.20 | 2.96% |
| $1,000 | $29.30 | $970.70 | 2.93% |
| $5,000 | $145.30 | $4,854.70 | 2.91% |
For US domestic commercial payments, PayPal charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. This is the rate for invoices, checkout payments, and goods & services payments. Personal payments between friends or family using a linked bank account are free, but those aren't intended for business use and shouldn't be used to invoice clients.
Because the 2.9% fee is calculated on the total invoice amount, not your take-home. If you simply added 2.9% to your desired pay, PayPal would still deduct a fee from that added portion too — leaving you short. This calculator uses the algebraically correct reverse formula: Invoice = (Take-Home + $0.30) ÷ (1 − 0.029). This ensures the full fee is covered by the margin, not deducted from your earnings.
Yes. International commercial payments typically incur an additional 1.5% cross-border fee on top of the standard rate, plus a currency conversion margin (usually 3–4%) when funds are converted to your account's primary currency. The effective rate on a foreign payment routinely exceeds 7%. For high-volume international work, consider Wise (formerly TransferWise) or Payoneer.
Adding a separate surcharge labelled "PayPal fee" is generally not permitted under PayPal's User Agreement in most regions. The compliant approach is to build the cost into your invoice total — quote a single rate that already covers the fee. This calculator gives you the exact number to invoice so you take home what you intended.
Funds usually appear in your PayPal balance instantly, but withdrawals to a bank account typically take 1–3 business days via standard transfer. PayPal also offers instant transfer to debit cards or eligible bank accounts for an extra 1.75% fee (capped). New accounts or higher-risk transactions may be subject to a 21-day hold.
3 strategies to protect your earnings from processing fees
The most common pricing mistake is adding 2.9% to your desired pay and assuming that's enough — it isn't, because PayPal also fees the added portion. Always start from your target take-home and use the reverse formula. To keep $500, invoice $515.24. Build this into every quote before you send it.
PayPal's $0.30 flat fee becomes negligible on a $5,000 invoice (0.006%), but a 2.9% take is still meaningful at $145 — money that could go to you instead. Offer ACH/wire transfer as an alternative for larger amounts: typically a flat $5 or less regardless of size, saving 95%+ on fees compared to PayPal.
Set expectations early. A simple clause like "Card and PayPal payments are subject to a 3% processing surcharge built into the invoice total" protects you legally and frames the cost transparently. Better yet, present clients with a "bank transfer" price and a "card/PayPal" price — many will choose the cheaper option for everyone.