paypal fee calculator

In Germany and the EU, merchants are generally permitted to pass PayPal fees on to customers (surcharging), but with restrictions under EU Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2): surcharges cannot exceed the actual cost to the merchant, and you must disclose the surcharge clearly before the customer confirms payment. Note that PayPal's own Terms of Service for business accounts do not prohibit fee surcharging, but some payment processors' rules do. For freelancers invoicing other businesses (B2B), it is very common practice to invoice the gross amount (invoice amount + PayPal fee) with a note "PayPal surcharge 3.34% included." For consumer B2C sales, ensure your checkout clearly shows the final price including any surcharge.

Goods & Services (G&S) is designed for commercial transactions where something of value is exchanged: products, services, freelance work, digital downloads. It includes PayPal Buyer Protection, meaning the buyer can dispute the transaction if the item doesn't arrive or is significantly not as described. Friends & Family (F&F) is intended for personal transfers: splitting a restaurant bill, repaying a friend, sending money as a gift. It has no buyer protection and no recourse for the sender if the recipient doesn't deliver anything. Using F&F to receive commercial payments (to avoid fees) violates PayPal's terms of service and can result in account limitation or permanent ban. Never accept F&F payment for goods or services.

PayPal's cross-border fee structure reflects its cost of operating international payment infrastructure, currency risk, and regulatory compliance costs in each market. Payments from countries with higher fraud rates, stricter regulations, or less PayPal infrastructure incur higher surcharges. For EU-to-EU payments, the cross-border surcharge is relatively low (0.50%) because SEPA regulations require comparable payment costs across EU member states. For US → EU or UK → EU (post-Brexit), the surcharge is higher (1.29–1.49%) because these are fully international transfers. Currency conversion adds another 3–4% if the sender pays in USD or GBP and you receive in EUR.

For many European freelancers, PayPal remains convenient but not the cheapest option for international payments. Alternatives worth comparing: Wise (TransferWise) — typically 0.4–1.0% total cost for international transfers, with mid-market exchange rates, significantly cheaper than PayPal for large amounts; Stripe — better for embedded payment processing on websites (2.9% + €0.25 per transaction, but no consumer wallet friction); Payoneer — popular for marketplace payouts (Upwork, Fiverr, Amazon); SEPA bank transfer — free within the EU for euro amounts, the cheapest option for EU-to-EU B2B. For amounts over €1,000 internationally, Wise typically saves €20–60+ compared to PayPal on fees and exchange rates combined.