Stripe vs PayPal vs Square Fees: Compare the Exact Payment Product

Match the quote to the payment method

Sources: Stripe pricing, PayPal US merchant fee table, Square pricing by plan and channel.

These are scoped processing examples, not complete provider bills. International cards, currency conversion, disputes, refunds, invoicing or subscription products, optional services and custom contracts can change costs.

Square's Online API lists 2.9% plus $0.30, and its paid plans have different online pricing from Free. PayPal separately lists Send/Receive Money for Goods and Services at 2.99%, without the $0.49 fixed addition in that row. Those services should not be relabeled as interchangeable checkout products. Square channel details, PayPal product distinctions.

Calculate one transaction cleanly

For an amount A, percentage r expressed as a decimal, and fixed charge f:

Processing fee = A × r + f.

For a worked $40 Stripe domestic-card charge, that is $40 × 0.029 + $0.30 = $1.46. A $40 PayPal Checkout payment is $40 × 0.0349 + $0.49 = $1.886, or $1.89 when rounded to cents.

Use the full amount to which the provider applies its fee. If the amount charged includes buyer tax and shipping, do not silently substitute the item's pre-tax price. Keep the portion collected for tax separate when calculating the merchant's sales revenue.

Worked volume example: 500 identical $40 payments

This illustration assumes every transaction matches its named product, fees round per transaction, and the merchant has no other charges or subscription costs.

PayPal Checkout is $215 per illustrated month above Stripe; the Standard Card Payments row is $115 above. The difference is product-specific. Substituting one PayPal row for another changes the annual comparison by $1,200 in this scenario.

For a real order mix, calculate each transaction or at least separate cohorts by fee type. Average order value alone can conceal per-transaction rounding and different payment methods.

When does a paid plan justify its subscription?

If a plan lowers the percentage from 3.3% to 2.9% while leaving the $0.30 fixed fee unchanged, its processing savings are approximately 0.4% of eligible volume. Divide the incremental monthly subscription by 0.004 to estimate the volume needed to recover it.

For an illustrative additional $49 monthly cost, break-even is $49 ÷ 0.004 = $12,250 of eligible monthly volume before rounding and other differences. At $40 per order, that is about 307 orders. This is a mathematical scenario; use the actual plan, locations and features you need before deciding.

If you already pay for a plan because of other required features, the relevant incremental subscription can differ from the full sticker price. Keep that choice explicit in the comparison.

The processor calculator is a starting estimate. A preset with a brand name is insufficient evidence that it matches your checkout. For marketplace sellers planning an independent direct store, the channel-cost guide adds site overhead and customer acquisition to the calculation.