Money & Taxes
PayPal vs Stripe vs Square vs Wise: Freelancer Payment Fees Compared
For a purely domestic US invoice, Stripe (2.9% + $0.30) and Square (3.3% + $0.30) usually take less than PayPal (3.49% + $0.49). The gap widens sharply once a client is abroad or you're paid in a different currency: PayPal and Stripe both add a cross-border surcharge plus a currency-conversion spread on top of their base rate, while a currency-conversion specialist like Wise charges a single, smaller fee at the mid-market rate. Enter your invoice below to see the actual numbers for your scenario.
Enter your invoice details to compare fees.
Tidied result
| Provider | Total fees | Effective rate | You keep |
|---|
Digital product platforms
These four don't process an invoice. They host and sell a digital product (an ebook, template, or course) for you, then take a cut of each sale before paying you out. Enter a sale price to compare what Etsy, Gumroad, Payhip, and Lemon Squeezy actually keep.
Enter a sale price to compare platform fees.
| Platform | Total fees | Effective rate | You keep |
|---|
- Etsy also charges a $0.20 listing fee per item every 4 months, separate from the per-sale fees above. UK sellers pay 4% + £0.20 processing plus a 0.48% regulatory operating fee (effective 22 Jun 2026) instead of the US rate shown. Source: Etsy Fee Basics.
- Gumroad sales attributed to Gumroad Discover (their own marketplace traffic) are charged 30% instead of 10% + $0.50. Source: gumroad.com/pricing.
- Payhip's Free plan (5%, shown above) is the default. The Plus plan ($29/mo) drops it to 2%, and the Pro plan ($99/mo) drops it to 0%. PayPal/Stripe processing fees apply on top of all three tiers. Source: payhip.com/pricing.
- Lemon Squeezy adds +1.5% for international cards, +1.5% for PayPal, and +0.5% for subscription payments on top of its 5% + $0.50 base rate. Source: docs.lemonsqueezy.com.
Fee sources checked 2026-07-16.
Which takes less: PayPal or Stripe, for freelancers?
For a domestic US invoice, Stripe's standard 2.9% + $0.30 usually beats PayPal's 3.49% + $0.49, working out to roughly $29 versus $35 on a $1,000 invoice. The picture shifts for international clients: PayPal adds a 1.50% cross-border surcharge plus up to a 4% currency-conversion spread, while Stripe adds a smaller 1.5% surcharge and a 1% conversion fee. So Stripe stays cheaper in both scenarios for a straight processor comparison, but the real savings opportunity for cross-border freelancers is routing the payout through a currency specialist like Wise instead of eating either processor's FX spread.
Why cross-border and currency conversion change the math
Card processors like PayPal and Stripe make most of their cross-border margin on the currency conversion, not the base processing rate. PayPal's spread can run up to 4% over the mid-market rate, quietly larger than its headline domestic fee. Square doesn't publish a comparable cross-border or FX product for invoice-style payments, so it's effectively a domestic-only option here. Wise, by contrast, is built specifically for currency conversion: it converts at the real mid-market rate and charges one transparent fee (roughly 0.33 to 0.57% depending on the currency pair) instead of stacking a card fee, a cross-border surcharge, and an FX markup.
What "effective rate" and "you keep" mean in the table above
Effective rate is the total fee (base % + fixed fee + any cross-border surcharge + any currency-conversion spread) expressed as a percentage of your invoice amount, so you can compare providers that charge fixed fees differently. "You keep" is the actual net payout after all fees: the number that lands in your account. The table is sorted by that number, highest first, so the top row is always the cheapest option for the scenario you entered.
How accurate are these numbers?
Rates as of July 2026. See the references below for each provider's own pricing page. Card-processing fees change occasionally and vary by account type, country, and negotiated volume discounts, so treat this as a starting-point comparison, not a guarantee of what you'll be charged. If a provider has quoted you a different rate directly, use the custom rate override above to see your actual numbers.
References (rates as of July 2026):
- PayPal business fees: standard goods & services rate 3.49% + $0.49, cross-border surcharge +1.50%, currency conversion spread up to 4.00%.
- Stripe pricing: US standard online card rate 2.9% + $0.30, international cards +1.5%, currency conversion +1%.
- Square payments fees: online, card-not-present, free plan 3.3% + $0.30. Square doesn't publish a comparable cross-border or FX product for invoice payments.
- Wise USD→EUR comparison: representative conversion fee about 0.55% (for example, $5.47 on $1,000) at the mid-market rate, with no additional markup. Fee varies roughly 0.33 to 0.57% by currency pair.
- Etsy Fee Basics: 6.5% transaction fee, US processing 3% + $0.25, UK processing 4% + £0.20 plus a 0.48% regulatory operating fee (effective 22 Jun 2026), and a $0.20 listing fee per item every 4 months. Checked 2026-07-16.
- Gumroad pricing: 10% + $0.50 flat, all-inclusive (Merchant of Record), and 30% on Gumroad Discover sales. Checked 2026-07-16.
- Payhip pricing: Free plan 5%, Plus plan ($29/mo) 2%, Pro plan ($99/mo) 0%, and PayPal/Stripe processing fees apply on top of all tiers. Checked 2026-07-16.
- Lemon Squeezy docs: 5% + $0.50, all-inclusive (Merchant of Record, tax handling included), plus 1.5% international cards, 1.5% PayPal, and 0.5% subscriptions. Checked 2026-07-16.
Always check the provider's own page for your specific account type and country before invoicing for real.
How do PayPal's fees compare to other options?
PayPal's standard US rate is 3.49% + $0.49 per transaction, plus a cross-border surcharge and currency-conversion spread on international clients. Stripe (2.9% + 30 cents) or Square typically cost less for a domestic invoice, and routing an international payout through a currency specialist like Wise avoids the conversion spread entirely. Enter your invoice amount above to see the exact difference for your own numbers.
Which is cheaper for freelancers, PayPal or Stripe?
For a domestic US invoice, Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 (30 cents) is usually cheaper than PayPal's 3.49% + $0.49. For international clients, Stripe also tends to stay cheaper: its cross-border surcharge (1.5%) and currency-conversion fee (1%) are both smaller than PayPal's (1.5% surcharge plus up to a 4% conversion spread).
What's the cheapest way to get paid as a freelancer with international clients?
If you can route the payout through a currency specialist like Wise instead of relying on a card processor's built-in currency conversion, you typically pay a single smaller fee (roughly 0.33 to 0.57 percent depending on the currency pair) at the real mid-market exchange rate, avoiding the larger FX spreads card processors add on top of their processing fee.
Does Square charge extra for international clients?
Square doesn't publish a comparable cross-border or currency-conversion fee structure for invoice-style freelancer payments the way PayPal and Stripe do, so this tool treats Square as effectively domestic-only. Check Square's own pricing page if you're considering it for international invoicing.
Why do PayPal and Stripe charge more for currency conversion than Wise?
PayPal and Stripe are primarily card-processing businesses; their currency conversion is a secondary product where a meaningful part of their margin comes from a spread above the mid-market exchange rate. Wise's core business is currency conversion itself, so it converts at the mid-market rate and charges one transparent, usually smaller, fee instead of a hidden spread.
Etsy vs Gumroad vs Payhip fees for digital products — which is cheapest?
Etsy charges a 6.5% transaction fee plus 3% + $0.25 US payment processing (a $0.20 listing fee applies separately, every 4 months). Gumroad charges a flat 10% + $0.50, all-inclusive since it's Merchant of Record. Payhip's Free plan charges 5% plus PayPal/Stripe processing fees on top (roughly 2.9% + $0.30), or 2%/0% on its paid Plus/Pro tiers. Lemon Squeezy charges 5% + $0.50, all-inclusive. For a typical sale, Lemon Squeezy and Payhip tend to keep the most for you; Gumroad's flat 10% + $0.50 is usually the priciest of the four on smaller sale prices.
Which platform keeps more of my money on a $15 digital product?
On a $15 sale: Lemon Squeezy nets $13.75 (5% + $0.50), Payhip's Free plan nets $13.51 (5% platform fee + ~2.9% + $0.30 processing), Etsy nets $13.32 (6.5% transaction fee + 3% + $0.25 US processing), and Gumroad nets $13.00 (flat 10% + $0.50). Lemon Squeezy keeps the most of these four at this price point; Payhip's Plus or Pro plans (lower platform %, monthly fee) can beat it at higher volume.
Does Etsy charge more in the UK?
Yes. UK Etsy sellers pay 4% + £0.20 payment processing instead of the US 3% + $0.25, plus a 0.48% regulatory operating fee effective 22 June 2026, on top of the same 6.5% transaction fee charged everywhere. That regulatory fee has no US equivalent, so UK sellers land at a slightly higher effective rate than US sellers for the same sale.