PayPal is a digital payment service for paying online and sending or receiving money. You can use supported cards, a bank account or an eligible PayPal balance to fund payments. The features available to you depend on your account’s country and the transaction.
PayPal is part of PayPal Holdings, Inc. The legal provider of your account depends on its market: for example, PayPal, Inc. under the US agreement and PayPal UK Ltd under the UK agreement.
PayFeeCalc helps you understand how those choices affect the cost, payment status and protection that may apply. Start with an explanation, find the guide for your task, or estimate a supported US or UK commercial payment.
PayFeeCalc is independent and is not affiliated with PayPal. To access your account, use the official PayPal website or its official app.
How does PayPal work?
At an online store that offers PayPal, you select it at checkout and choose an available payment method. To pay another person, you identify the intended recipient and select the payment purpose when offered. You review the recipient, amount, currency, funding source and any displayed costs before authorizing the payment.
PayPal then processes the payment and records its status. The recipient checks the incoming transaction in their own account. If receiving and withdrawals are supported for that account, available money can be used or transferred to an eligible destination under the local rules. PayPal’s payment-method guidance, sending instructions and receiving guidance explain these parts of the process.
Three distinctions prevent common mistakes:
- Linking a card or bank is not the same as adding money to a balance. An eligible linked method can fund a payment directly; you do not necessarily need to top up PayPal first.
- Sending a request or invoice is not receiving a payment. The person still has to pay it.
- A recorded payment, available funds and money in your bank are different stages. A receipt can be pending or held, and a later withdrawal has its own status and arrival estimate.
For account setup and the actual website or app steps, follow our beginner’s guide to using PayPal.
Some merchants also offer card payment through Guest Checkout, without a PayPal account login. This option is conditional and will not appear for every buyer or transaction.
Choose your PayPal task
| What you want to do | Where to start |
|---|---|
| Start using PayPal or make a payment | How to use PayPal covers setup, payment methods, checkout and sending money. |
| Receive money | How to receive money on PayPal explains supported identifiers, requests and checking that you have been paid. |
| Bill a customer | How to send a PayPal invoice covers creating, sending and tracking invoices. |
| Understand a payment deduction | Use the fee calculator for supported commercial routes, with the market and payment type that match your transaction. |
| Move money to a bank | Compare Instant and Standard Transfer by eligibility, cost and estimated arrival. |
| Resolve a payment problem | Find the right next step for a pending payment, held money, an eCheck or a merchant authorization. |
Three choices that change your PayPal experience
Your account type: Personal or Business
A Personal account generally suits shopping and genuine personal transfers. PayPal also recommends it for casual sellers. A Business account provides tools for accepting customer payments and operating under a company or group name, as described in its account comparison.
The local agreement matters. In the United States, PayPal requires a Business account when the account is established primarily for business or commercial activity, even if the business is not incorporated. See the US User Agreement and our Personal vs Business guide before choosing.
Your payment purpose: personal transfer or purchase
Reimbursing a friend for dinner is a personal transfer; buying their used phone is a purchase. Choose the purpose that describes the transaction, where that choice is available. A Personal account does not turn a sale into a personal payment.
Friends and Family payments are for genuine personal transfers and are not covered by PayPal Purchase Protection. Eligible purchases may qualify for protection under the applicable terms. PayPal’s payment-type guidance explains the distinction.
The payment purpose and the processing product are also separate. A customer purchase can arrive through Checkout, an invoice or a direct Goods & Services transfer, with different prices. Our Goods & Services guide explains why the label is not one universal rate for every sale.
Your account country and currencies
Check the rules for the country where your account is registered. Sending, receiving, holding a balance and withdrawing money are not offered in exactly the same way everywhere. PayPal’s receiving guidance notes that some markets have additional local-partner requirements.
Your account market, the other party’s market and the payment currency answer different questions. Receiving USD does not automatically give an account US merchant pricing or make an overseas payment domestic. Read our country comparison and international-fee guide for clearly scoped examples.
Does PayPal fit the payment you want to make?
PayPal can be convenient when a store accepts it and you want to select from payment methods kept in one account. Eligible sellers can use its checkout and invoicing tools to collect customer payments. See PayPal’s consumer overview and business checkout options for the available products and conditions.
Before relying on it for a particular payment, check both sides of the transaction: can the payer use the intended method, can the recipient accept it, and how will the recipient access the money? For a cross-border payment, compare the full displayed cost and conversion rate. For a sale, check the actual processing route and protection requirements. A familiar payment brand does not make every recipient trustworthy or every option the best fit.
How is a PayPal account different from a bank account?
A payment account should not automatically be treated like a bank deposit. In the United States, PayPal, Inc. is not a bank. Some eligible US-dollar Balance funds may receive conditional pass-through FDIC insurance through Program Banks; that covers a qualifying bank failure, not PayPal’s failure. See the US Balance terms.
Under the UK agreement, the PayPal account is an electronic money account, not a bank account. Its electronic money is not covered by the UK’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme; safeguarding rules apply instead. Check your local terms before deciding to keep money in PayPal.
Is PayPal free?
Opening an account is free under PayPal’s US account-fee guidance. Using it is a separate question: the cost depends on what you do, how you fund the transaction, the account markets and any currency exchange.
| Your activity | What to check |
|---|---|
| Paying for a purchase | The US and UK consumer schedules list no PayPal purchase fee when no currency conversion is involved. Separate bank or card-issuer charges may still matter. |
| Sending a personal payment | Domestic or international treatment, the funding source and any conversion. A personal payment is not automatically free. |
| Receiving a customer payment | The merchant product, receiving account’s market, sender location, received currency and applicable account pricing. |
| Converting currency | The transaction exchange rate, including any conversion spread. This is separate from an international transaction charge. |
| Withdrawing money | The eligible destination, Standard or Instant option, currency and account-specific withdrawal schedule. |
Use the US consumer fees for the US personal-payment cases they describe and the US merchant fees for the listed commercial products. For a UK account, use the UK consumer or UK merchant schedule. These pages identify their markets; they are not worldwide rate cards.
PayPal fee calculator
Estimate a processing fee and net receipt, or work backward from the amount you want left after the modeled fee. The calculator covers the US and UK commercial payment routes listed in its menus. It does not estimate personal transfers or live currency-conversion quotes.
Estimate the fee, net amount, or the minimum amount to request. Choose the merchant market and the way the customer pays for a more relevant result.
- Payment amount
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- Percentage fee
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- International add-on
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- Fixed fee
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- Estimated total fee
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- Effective fee rate
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Choose Fee from a payment when you know the gross amount. Choose Amount to request when you have a target net. Use the receiving account’s market and actual payment route; a card funding a PayPal wallet payment does not by itself establish the separate standard-card processing rate.
Two US domestic examples show why that choice matters. Both assume a US receiving account, USD, standard public pricing, no currency conversion and no other deductions:
| Payment route | Rate | Fee on $100 | Net after processing |
|---|---|---|---|
| PayPal Checkout | 3.49% + $0.49 | $3.98 | $96.02 |
| Direct Send/Receive Money for Goods and Services | 2.99%, with no fixed fee | $2.99 | $97.01 |
The rates come from PayPal’s US merchant fee schedule, updated October 1, 2026. They describe those specific products, not every payment for goods or services. Your account terms and actual transaction details control the final charge.
For invoices, compare supported customer payment methods with the US invoice fee calculator. For rounding and reverse calculations, read How It Works. A reverse estimate helps plan total pricing; it does not authorize a PayPal-only surcharge.
When a PayPal payment does not go as expected
Open the relevant transaction directly in PayPal and use its exact status to choose the next step. The same word, such as Pending, can describe an unpaid request or a payment still processing.
| What you see | Where to look next |
|---|---|
| A payment is Pending or money is On Hold | Our Pending vs On Hold guide separates processing from restrictions on using received funds. Follow the explanation and requested actions in your account. |
| A payment is described as an eCheck | Read what a PayPal eCheck is for clearing and cancellation rules. |
| You need to understand a bank transfer’s timing or cost | Check the transfer itself and compare Instant and Standard Transfer. |
| A merchant keeps charging through PayPal | Review automatic payments and the merchant authorization. Stopping a payment authorization does not necessarily end your contract with the merchant. |
| You want to cancel or recover a payment | Check the payment status and whether a Cancel option is offered. A completed payment generally needs a refund request rather than immediate cancellation; see PayPal’s cancellation and refund guidance. |
For an account-specific restriction, disputed payment or access problem, use the official PayPal Help Center or PayPal’s Contact Us page. PayFeeCalc cannot view an account, release funds or decide a claim.
Is PayPal safe, and what protection applies?
PayPal uses safeguards such as encryption, fraud monitoring and supported account-security features. Those controls help protect payments and access; they do not prove that another person or an invoice is legitimate. See PayPal’s security explanation.
Account security, purchase disputes and suspicious requests need different responses:
| Your situation | Appropriate next step |
|---|---|
| You authorized a purchase, but it did not arrive or was significantly different from its description | Contact the seller and check whether the purchase qualifies under the applicable protection terms. The US Purchase Protection rules set eligibility and deadlines; reimbursement is not automatic. |
| You find a payment you did not authorize | Check that it is not a recognized subscription or another previously authorized payment, then report genuinely unauthorized activity to PayPal promptly. |
| You receive an unfamiliar invoice, urgent warning or request for money | Open PayPal directly to verify it. Do not pay or call a number in a suspicious invoice note. Use PayPal’s scam-reporting guidance. |
Sellers also need to check the protection conditions for their transaction and preserve the required delivery or fulfillment evidence. Our PayPal safety guide explains buyer and seller protection, account safeguards and common scams without treating every case as a guaranteed refund.
Sources, coverage and review
PayFeeCalc combines independent explanations with fee estimates. General descriptions do not override local availability, account eligibility or the terms shown by PayPal. Our guides identify market-specific rules; commercial examples on this page are labeled US, and the main calculator offers its listed US and UK scenarios.
An estimate can differ because of special pricing, another payment classification, conversion or other charges. The amount left after a processing fee is not business profit or a guaranteed bank receipt. Use the source, settings and verification date shown with the calculator, then check the actual transaction when reconciling a payment.
Sources reviewed: October 29, 2026. The US and UK merchant schedules reviewed were updated October 1, 2026. A source’s update date is different from the date a particular rate took effect.
Read our calculation method, about PayFeeCalc, or contact us about a correction.