PayPal fee history 2017–2026
Profitvana Editorial Team · Updated November 9, 2026
For most of its life PayPal charged US merchants one rate: 2.9% + $0.30. That ended on 2 August 2021, when PayPal split its schedule by how the buyer pays: 3.49% + $0.49 when the buyer logs into PayPal (Checkout, Venmo, Pay Later), a lower 2.59% + $0.49 for cards entered directly, 2.29% + $0.09 in person. Since then the card rate has risen to 2.89% and then 2.99% + $0.49 for standard card payments, Pay Later has gone to 4.99%, and the schedule has grown a long tail of alternative-payment-method tiers. The 2.9% + $0.30 figure still quoted by many guides has not applied to published-rate US merchants for more than five years.
Two older changes matter as much as the rate: since October 2019 PayPal keeps the whole fee when you refund, and since November 2020 a $15 dispute fee applies to cases opened in PayPal's own resolution centre. The timeline carries PayPal's newsroom, its dated fee-schedule PDFs or a named publication for each entry.
What a $100 sale cost in fees, then and now
| Year | Fees on $100 | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | $3.20 | 2.9% + $0.30; refunded fee returned on refunds |
| 2020 | $3.20 | 2.9% + $0.30; full fee kept on refunds since Oct 2019 |
| 2021 (from August) | $3.98 | PayPal Checkout 3.49% + $0.49 |
| 2026 | $3.98 (Checkout) / $3.48 (standard card) | Schedule dated 15 July 2026; +1.5% international |
Timeline (newest first)
· announced June 29, 2026official source
Bill Pay for Business and optional card tools
PYUSD disbursements free (was 1%); card-funded payouts 2.9% + $0.30 (fixed fee added); new optional fees: Account Updater $0.25, Network Tokenization $0.15, Smart Retries 0.6%, 3-D Secure $0.03
official source
Pay with Crypto
0.99% (launch promotion)→1.5% of the transaction
official source
Merchant fee schedule restated
Core rates unchanged: Checkout and Venmo 3.49% + $0.49; standard cards 2.99% + $0.49; Advanced 2.89% + $0.49; Pay Later 4.99%; QR 2.29% + $0.09; micropayments 4.99% + $0.09; +1.50% international; conversion 4%/3%; dispute $15/$30; chargeback $20
Diffed against the February and June 2026 schedules: only alternative-payment-method names were added (a 5.99% tier for Mercado Pago and ShopeePay).
official source
Alternative payment methods
Flat 2.89% + fixed fee→Tiered: listed European and Asian bank-transfer methods 3.49%; OXXO, Skrill, GoPay and similar 5.49%; all others 2.89%
trade press
Advanced card payments, Pay Later and Virtual Terminal
Advanced credit/debit 2.59% + $0.49; Pay Later 3.49%; Virtual Terminal 2.39%→Advanced 2.89% + $0.49 (charity 2.19%); Pay Later 4.99%; Virtual Terminal 3.39%
· announced April 21, 2022trade press
Instant transfer to bank or card
Consumers 1.5% (max $15); merchants 1.5% (max $15)→Consumers 1.75% (min $0.25, max $25); merchants 1.5% (min $0.50, no cap)
Venmo's equivalent change took effect 23 May 2022.
· announced June 18, 2021official source
US merchant rates split by payment type
2.9% + $0.30 for everything→PayPal Checkout, Venmo, Pay Later 3.49% + $0.49; online card payments 2.59% + $0.49 (2.99% with chargeback protection); in-person cards 2.29% + $0.09; QR codes 1.9% + $0.10 above $10; charities 1.99% + $0.49; micropayments 4.99% + $0.09
Merchants on custom pricing were exempt. The separate 4.4% international rate was replaced around this time by the domestic rate plus 1.5%; the exact switch date is not stated in any surviving PayPal source.
· announced September 28, 2020official source
Dispute fee introduced
Only chargebacks filed with the card issuer carried a fee (about $20)→$15 per dispute opened in PayPal's resolution centre; $30 for merchants with a dispute rate of 1.5% or more
· announced September 18, 2019trade press
Fees kept on refunds
The percentage fee was returned to the seller on a refund (only the $0.30 kept)→The full fee, percentage and fixed, is kept
First announced for 7 May 2019, partly walked back after seller backlash, then reinstated for 11 October 2019.
trade press
Currency conversion spread
2.5% above the base exchange rate (3.25% for senders since May 2019)→3.75% when paying or sending with conversion; 3% on other conversions
· announced February 2017trade press
International receiving rate and conversion spread
3.9% + fixed fee on sales to buyers abroad; 2.5% conversion spread→4.4% + fixed fee; 3.0% conversion spread
In-store international went from 3.7% to 4.2%; non-profit tiers were replaced by a flat 3.7%.
How this timeline is built
Each entry carries the figure before and after the change and a source that states it: the platform’s own announcement or help page, an archived copy of its fee page on the Wayback Machine, or a named trade publication. Anything we could not confirm that way is left out rather than estimated. The current schedule, verified against the live fee page, is on the PayPal fee calculator; changes across all platforms are logged on fee changes. Corrections: tell us.
Frequently asked questions
When did PayPal stop charging 2.9% + $0.30?
On 2 August 2021 for published-rate US merchants. PayPal Checkout became 3.49% + $0.49 and direct card payments 2.59% + $0.49, later raised to 2.89% (Advanced) and 2.99% (standard card) + $0.49.
Does PayPal give the fee back when I refund a buyer?
Not since 11 October 2019. Before then the percentage was returned and only the $0.30 fixed fee kept; now the full fee is kept on both full and partial refunds.