How Much Does PayPal Charge for International Payments?
PayPal international pricing is two different mechanisms. US merchants pay the standard card rate plus a 1.5% cross-border surcharge. UK merchants pay one of two tiers — 4.19% for EEA buyers or 4.89% for Other countries. And PayPal decides international status by the buyer's country, not the card's issuing bank.
What Counts as a PayPal International Payment?
PayPal classifies a payment as international when the buyer's country is different from the merchant's country. Unlike Stripe — which looks at the card's issuing bank — PayPal decides based on the buyer's PayPal account country or ship-to / billing address. That difference in logic means the same transaction can be domestic under one processor and international under the other. For US-based merchants, PayPal does not publish a separate international rate type: cross-border payments are charged the standard card rate plus a 1.5% cross-border surcharge. For UK merchants, PayPal publishes two distinct international tiers — EEA and Other — with their own percentage rates.
When This Applies
- ✓ US freelancers and consultants billing overseas clients who pay via PayPal
- ✓ UK small businesses invoicing EEA or non-EEA buyers in GBP
- ✓ SaaS companies with global subscribers where PayPal is one of the payment rails
- ✓ E-commerce sellers shipping internationally and collecting payment through PayPal
When This Does NOT Apply
- ✗ Merchants whose customer base is entirely domestic — the domestic tier applies and this page's surcharge logic does not
- ✗ Genuine personal transfers between friends or family across borders — Friends & Family is free in many corridors but loses Seller Protection and is forbidden for commercial use
- ✗ Large bank-to-bank international transfers — Wise or SWIFT are usually cheaper than a card-routed PayPal payment
PayPal US Fee Calculator (Standard Card Baseline)
US PayPal has no separate international rate type. Enter an amount to see the US standard card rate, PayPal Checkout rate, and QR rate. For a cross-border payment, add 1.5% to the percentage shown and keep the fixed fee the same. UK-side tiers are broken out separately below.
Transaction Type
Current PayPal US Rates
Official| Type | Rate | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Card | 2.99% | $0.49 |
| PayPal Checkout | 3.49% | $0.49 |
| QR Code | 2.29% | $0.09 |
Last verified: 2026-04-08 · Source
Use reverse calculation to determine what to charge so you receive the exact amount you need after fees.
PayPal UK International Tiers (EEA vs Other)
UK PayPal lists two distinct international rate types, each with its own percentage. Unlike the US additive model, these are independent tiers.
PayPal Fee Structure
International (EEA)
4.19% + £ 0.30
Applies when the buyer is located in any of the 27 EU member states plus Iceland, Norway, or Liechtenstein. Billed in GBP.
International (Other)
4.89% + £ 0.30
Applies when the buyer is located outside the EEA — including the US, Canada, Australia, and Switzerland. Billed in GBP.
Rates last verified on 2026-04-16. Source: PayPal official pricing . Rates shown are for the standard merchant tier (lowest monthly volume). PayPal UK also offers charity rates (1.4% + £0.20) not included here. QR code rate shown is for transactions above £10.01.
Example Fee Calculations
| Amount | International (EEA) | International (Other) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fee | You Receive | Fee | You Receive | |
| £100.00 | £4.49 | £95.51 | £5.19 | £94.81 |
| £500.00 | £21.25 | £478.75 | £24.75 | £475.25 |
| £800.00 | £33.82 | £766.18 | £39.42 | £760.58 |
| £1,000.00 | £42.20 | £957.80 | £49.20 | £950.80 |
| £2,000.00 | £84.10 | £1,915.90 | £98.10 | £1,901.90 |
| £5,000.00 | £209.80 | £4,790.20 | £244.80 | £4,755.20 |
All amounts in GBP. Fees calculated using current PayPal rates.
PayPal US Baseline Rates (Before Cross-Border Surcharge)
These are the US baseline rates. For a non-US buyer, PayPal adds 1.5% to the percentage portion; the fixed fee is unchanged.
PayPal Fee Structure
Standard Card
2.99% + $ 0.49
For US merchants, this is the baseline G&S rate. International payments add a 1.5% cross-border surcharge on top — there is no separate international_card rate type in US PayPal pricing.
PayPal Checkout
3.49% + $ 0.49
PayPal Checkout (branded button) tier. US merchants see the same 1.5% cross-border surcharge stack on top of this rate when the buyer is non-US.
QR Code
2.29% + $ 0.09
QR code tier is for in-person scan-to-pay transactions; cross-border surcharges typically do not apply because the transaction is local to the merchant's geography.
Rates last verified on 2026-04-08. Source: PayPal official pricing .
How Fees Are Triggered
- 1 Classification is based on the buyer's country — PayPal uses the buyer's PayPal account country, ship-to, or billing address — not the card's issuing bank. A buyer in London paying a US merchant with a US-issued card is still international to PayPal (and would be domestic to Stripe).
- 2 US merchants: there is no separate international rate type. PayPal charges the standard card rate plus a 1.5% cross-border surcharge on top. The fixed fee does not change.
- 3 UK merchants: PayPal publishes two international tiers. The EEA tier applies when the buyer is in any of the 27 EU member states plus Iceland, Norway, or Liechtenstein. The Other tier applies to every other country (including the US, Canada, Australia, and Switzerland — Switzerland is geographically European but is not a member of the EEA).
- 4 Currency conversion is a separate cost. When PayPal converts from the buyer's currency to the merchant's settlement currency, it adds a markup of roughly 3–4% over the interbank rate. This markup stacks on top of the percentage fee and is distinct from the cross-border surcharge.
- 5 Friends & Family cross-border is free between personal accounts in many corridors, but using it for a commercial payment voids Seller Protection and triggers PayPal's anti-abuse reclassification to G&S. Do not route business revenue through F&F to avoid cross-border fees.
Common Misconceptions
Myth: PayPal decides international status the same way Stripe does.
Reality: PayPal looks at the buyer's country (PayPal account / ship-to / billing address); Stripe looks at the card's issuing bank. A US merchant taking a payment from a customer who lives in the US but uses a UK-issued card sees it as domestic under PayPal and international under Stripe. The same customer traveling abroad and paying a US merchant with a US-issued card is international to PayPal and domestic to Stripe. These are opposite behaviors.
Myth: UK PayPal charges one flat international rate for every non-UK buyer.
Reality: UK PayPal has two distinct international tiers: an EEA rate for buyers in the 27 EU member states plus Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein, and an Other rate for buyers outside that set. Switzerland is an interesting edge case — it is European but is not in the EEA, so a Swiss buyer triggers the Other tier. The gap between the two tiers is non-trivial: hundreds of pounds over the life of a single large invoice.
Myth: US PayPal has a distinct 'international' rate type like Stripe's international_card.
Reality: It does not. The US pricing mechanism is additive: take the standard card rate and add a 1.5% cross-border surcharge. There is no separate line item in PayPal's US pricing page for an international rate. The UK model (two independent tiers) and the US model (standard + surcharge) are structurally different, which is why this page presents them separately.
Myth: PayPal's currency conversion fee is about 1%, similar to Stripe.
Reality: PayPal's currency conversion markup is typically 3–4% above the interbank rate — meaningfully higher than Stripe's ~1%. It stacks on top of the percentage fee, so a cross-border US payment that also involves currency conversion can easily exceed 7% effective cost before the fixed fee. For merchants regularly receiving foreign-currency payments, Wise's mid-market-rate conversion is usually much cheaper than letting PayPal convert.
How PayPal International Pricing Works
PayPal international pricing uses two different mechanisms depending on where the merchant's account is registered. US accounts pay the standard card rate plus a 1.5% cross-border surcharge; UK accounts pay one of two tiered international rates (EEA or Other). There is no unified 'international rate' — the same cross-border payment costs differently depending on whether the merchant account is US or UK.
The other axis of difference is how PayPal decides whether a transaction is international. PayPal reads the buyer's country — their PayPal account country, ship-to address, or billing address. Stripe, by contrast, reads the card's issuing bank. These two definitions give different answers for the same transaction. A Chinese student studying in the US who pays a US merchant with a Chinese bank card is international to Stripe and domestic to PayPal; a US resident traveling in London who pays a US merchant with a US card is domestic to Stripe and international to PayPal.
Currency conversion is the third cost layer and it stacks. If PayPal converts the buyer's currency to the merchant's settlement currency, it adds a 3–4% markup to the interbank rate — on top of the cross-border surcharge or tiered international rate. That means a full-worst-case cross-border-plus-conversion transaction for a US merchant can approach 7% effective before the fixed fee. If the buyer can pay directly in the merchant's settlement currency, the conversion layer disappears, and costs drop back to the cross-border-only rate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does PayPal charge international fees based on the buyer's country or the card's country?
Buyer's country. PayPal reads the buyer's PayPal account country, ship-to address, or billing address. Stripe, by contrast, reads the card's issuing bank. This is an opposite answer for the same transaction, which is why migrating between processors can shift which payments count as international. A US merchant who gets the bulk of their international classification under Stripe from US-billed students with foreign cards may see those same payments become domestic under PayPal.
What's the difference between PayPal UK's EEA and Other international rates?
UK PayPal charges its EEA international rate when the buyer is in one of the 27 EU member states, Iceland, Norway, or Liechtenstein. Every other country — including the US, Canada, Australia, and Switzerland — triggers the Other international rate. Switzerland is a common surprise: geographically European but not an EEA member, so Swiss buyers are billed at the higher Other tier. The gap between the two tiers is roughly 0.7 percentage points, which on a £2,000 invoice is around £14.
Why isn't there a separate 'international' rate listed on PayPal US's pricing page?
Because the US mechanism is additive, not a distinct rate type. US merchants pay the standard card rate (2.99% + $0.49) and PayPal adds a 1.5% cross-border surcharge when the buyer is non-US — making the effective rate 4.49% + $0.49. The UK model, by contrast, has two distinct international tiers listed separately on PayPal UK's pricing page (EEA and Other). Do not try to find a 'US international' line item; it does not exist.
Does PayPal's currency conversion fee stack on top of the cross-border surcharge?
Yes. If PayPal converts between the buyer's currency and the merchant's settlement currency, it adds roughly 3–4% over the interbank rate on top of whatever cross-border or tiered international rate already applies. For a US merchant receiving a non-USD payment from a non-US buyer, the total effective cost before the fixed fee can approach 7.5–8.5%. Avoiding the conversion layer (by billing and settling in the same currency) is usually the cheapest way to reduce PayPal cross-border cost.
Are EU countries included in PayPal UK's EEA rate?
Yes, all 27 EU member states are EEA. The EEA additionally includes Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein, which are not EU. The UK itself is not EEA anymore post-Brexit, but since this is about the UK merchant's perspective, the relevant question is where the buyer is. Switzerland is a frequent trick question: it is in Europe, it shares the same passport-free zone, but it is not in the EEA — so Swiss buyers get the Other tier, not EEA.
See also: related PayPal scenarios
- → PayPal Goods & Services Fees — the three-tier G&S rate matrix and F&F rules
- → PayPal Invoice Fees — payment-method-driven fees for invoice flows
- → Stripe International Fees — compare to Stripe's issuer-country model
- → Stripe vs PayPal — side-by-side fee comparison
- → PayPal US full calculator
- → PayPal UK full calculator
Data Sources & Transparency
- PayPal US — standard card, PayPal Checkout, and QR code rates sourced from paypal.com US merchant fees (last verified 2026-04-08). PayPal US does not list a separate international rate type; cross-border payments are charged the standard rate plus a 1.5% surcharge. The 1.5% surcharge is described in PayPal's cross-border policy, not the merchant fees page.
- PayPal UK — EEA and Other international tiers sourced from paypal.com UK merchant fees (last verified 2026-04-16). Rates shown are for the standard merchant tier (lowest monthly volume). PayPal UK also offers charity rates (1.4% + £0.20) not included here. QR code rate shown is for transactions above £10.01.
- Classification is based on the buyer's country, not the card's issuing bank. Currency conversion (when the buyer's currency and the merchant's settlement currency differ) adds roughly 3–4% on top of the percentage fee and is not shown in the calculators.
Compare with Other Processors
Stripe US
2.9% + $0.30 to 5.4% + $0.30
Calculate →PayPal US
2.29% + $0.09 to 3.49% + $0.49
Calculate →Wise US
0.41% + $1.70 to 0.66% + $1.70
Calculate →Stripe UK
1.5% + £0.20 to 3.25% + £0.20
Calculate →PayPal UK
1.5% + £0.10 to 4.89% + £0.30
Calculate →Wise UK
0.33% + £0.21 to 0.56% + £1.50
Calculate →Compare All Processors
See fees side by side and find the cheapest option
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