Head to head
Stripe vs PayPal
Which payment gateway keeps more in your pocket? We rank both purely on estimated card costs — then weigh contract and settlement. Ranked on cost, with no paid placements.
How Compayr makes money: some providers pay Compayr when a merchant switches via our links — a one-off amount, an ongoing share while you process, or both. Others pay us nothing. This never affects rankings, which are ordered purely on lowest estimated card acceptance cost. How we compare
The "Compayr pick" is editorial — decided by the weighted side-by-side comparison below, led by lowest estimated card cost. It cannot be bought or influenced by any provider. How we compare
The Compayr verdict
Weighing card costs, contract and settlement together, Stripe edges out PayPal as the stronger all-round choice for most merchants.
Stripe lands about $218/month — roughly $2,616/year — cheaper at a sample $20,000 in monthly card sales.
Any savings shown exclude exit or early-termination fees payable to your current provider — check your agreement before switching. Not all products offered by each provider are compared: we compare one standard published plan per provider, and actual savings depend on your circumstances.
Choose Stripe if you want…
- the lowest card processing cost at a typical volume
- a lower headline card rate
Choose PayPal if you want…
- lower (or $0) chargeback fees
- faster access to your takings
Side by side
| Feature | Stripe | PayPal |
|---|---|---|
| Card processing costs / month | $401/mo | $619/mo |
| Card rate (ex-GST) | 1.55% | 2.64% |
| Fixed monthly fee | $0 | $0 |
| Hardware from | — | — |
| Chargeback fee | $23 | $20 |
| Settlement speed | Standard payouts (2–3 days) | Instant to PayPal balance |
| Contract | No lock-in | No lock-in |
Figures ex-GST, estimated at a sample $20,000 in monthly card sales. A highlighted cell marks the better result on that row.
Stripe
Typical use case: Online-first businesses, SaaS and marketplaces needing powerful APIs. (as positioned by the provider)
PayPal
Typical use case: Merchants wanting instant buyer trust and a widely-recognised checkout button. (as positioned by the provider)
Leaning towards Stripe?
Run your own numbers by sector in our free calculator — ranked on estimated card acceptance cost.
Compayr may earn a referral fee when a merchant switches via our links. This never affects rankings, which are based purely on lowest card processing costs. Quote-only providers are never ranked as cheapest while a complete-cost option exists. Rates last verified 2026-09-03. This head-to-head is generated from published pricing and third-party review scores — always confirm current pricing with each provider before switching.