Stripe vs PayPal vs Square: 2026 Online Payment Fees

US checkout selection changes the cost comparison

Pricing snapshot: published merchant rates accessed 15 November 2026. Rates are subject to eligibility and contractual terms, and fees can change; confirm on the provider’s page before committing.

These are separate products: PayPal Advanced pricing should not be presented as the universal PayPal wallet rate, and Square distinguishes its online store from API payments. Sources: Stripe US, PayPal US, Square US.

Illustration, US domestic cards: processing cost = transaction count × (ticket value × percentage + fixed fee). For 1,000 transactions of $50, Stripe costs $1,750; PayPal Advanced costs $1,735; Square’s Free plan costs $1,950; Square’s eCommerce API costs $1,750. These calculations exclude refunds, disputes, international cards, optional services and implementation costs.

The $15 PayPal–Stripe difference in that illustration is modest enough that operational requirements deserve substantial weight.

Stripe rates by market: domestic cards, FX and disputes

Fees retain their billing currencies; they are not converted. Fixed charges apply to every transaction.

Country pages: Stripe UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore. Stripe lists the countered-dispute fee at the same level and refunds it when the merchant wins; the appeal fee is not refunded, and network fees can apply in rare cases. Stripe’s Australian page notes lower international-card pricing from 1 April 2027.

PayPal and Square publish separate country schedules with different card-brand and product rules; those regional rates are not compared here. Square lists supported markets in its international documentation and processes supported-market payments in the seller’s currency, with the buyer’s issuer setting the exchange rate. Cross-border sellers should also compare multi-currency business account fees before choosing settlement arrangements.

FX, chargebacks and settlement change effective costs

A headline percentage understates cost when a sale needs currency conversion. At Stripe’s 2% conversion surcharge, a 3.4% + S$0.50 Singapore transaction that also needs conversion carries a 5.4% variable charge before the fixed fee. Run that arithmetic for your own card mix.

Illustration, Stripe UK: on 1,000 domestic transactions of £40, standard UK cards cost 1,000 × (£40 × 1.5% + £0.20) = £800, while premium UK cards cost 1,000 × (£40 × 2.8% + £0.20) = £1,320. The £520 gap comes from card mix alone, which is why a blended average quoted in a sales call can hide the real exposure. In Australia, the same 1,000 sales of A$60 on domestic cards cost 1,000 × (A$60 × 1.65% + A$0.30) = A$1,290; if every sale were an international card at 3.5% + A$0.30 the bill would be A$2,400. Both figures exclude GST treatment, refunds and disputes.

Dispute fees are a second variable. Stripe’s dispute received fee ranges from S$15 or C$15 to A$25 per case; a business with a 1% dispute rate on 1,000 monthly transactions would face about ten such fees. PayPal’s chargeback schedule and Square’s dispute terms differ by country and product, so request the written schedule for your market before modelling them.

Settlement timing affects working capital. Stripe publishes payout schedules by country in its payouts documentation, and new accounts can face longer initial schedules. Confirm the schedule that applies to your account, not the headline.

Choose against your transaction mix and cash needs

For US domestic small business credit card processing, shortlist PayPal Advanced for its marginal tariff advantage, subject to eligibility. Compare Stripe and Square’s eCommerce API when application integration matters; budget engineering costs alongside fees.

For UK merchants with mostly standard domestic cards, Stripe’s 1.5% + £0.20 is the published starting point, but premium cards cost 2.8% + £0.20, so card mix decides the outcome. Canadian merchants should separate domestic from international buyers. Singapore merchants should recognise that Square does not list local payment processing there.

For negotiated offers, record custom pricing, not disclosed until a written quote arrives. An online payment gateway proposal should identify the product, card mix, conversion route, dispute exposure and settlement terms. Use the Fed December 2026 hike risk analysis when stress-testing borrowing assumptions for delayed receipts.

Select the provider whose complete cost model fits the business. A headline percentage cannot establish the lowest total cost without the merchant’s transaction mix and working-capital requirements.