Stripe vs PayPal: which should you use?

01Fees side by side (US, October 2026)

From Stripe's US pricing page and PayPal's US business fees. Both add charges for international transactions and currency conversion.

02Where Stripe is stronger

• A checkout that looks like part of your site, or a clean hosted page.
• Subscriptions, invoicing and usage-based billing in one platform.
• Developer tools and documentation widely regarded as excellent.
• Lower standard fees on card payments.
• Many payment methods (cards, wallets, bank debits) through one integration.

03Where PayPal is stronger

• Buyers who prefer not to enter card details on an unfamiliar site.
• Customers who keep a PayPal balance or pay through PayPal by habit.
• Simple buttons for very small sellers and marketplaces.
• Buyer protection that some shoppers specifically look for.

04Using both

Most store platforms let you offer Stripe-powered card checkout and a PayPal button together. Customers choose, you capture both groups, and you can see in your own data which they prefer. The cost is a second account, a second payout schedule and two places to handle disputes.

1. 1Make card checkout the defaultLower fees on the majority of payments.
2. 2Add PayPal as an optionFor buyers who prefer it.
3. 3Compare after a monthCheck the share of orders and dispute rates on each.
4. 4Keep both if PayPal adds real ordersDrop it if almost nobody uses it.

05Which suits your type of business

06Setup effort compared

Both are quick to start. A PayPal button or a Stripe payment link can be live within an hour, after identity and bank verification. Stripe's strength shows when you go further: custom checkout pages, saved cards, subscriptions with trials and coupons, and webhooks that update your systems when a payment succeeds. PayPal's advanced features exist but are generally considered less pleasant to build with. If you never plan to go beyond a button, the difference barely matters; if you plan to build billing into a product, Stripe saves real time.

07Payouts and getting your money

Both providers pay out to your bank account on a schedule; new accounts often start with a delay before the first payout while the provider builds trust. PayPal also lets you hold a balance and spend it within PayPal. Plan your cash flow around the first few weeks, when payouts may be slower than you expect, and keep business and personal accounts separate from the start for cleaner bookkeeping.

08Account holds and disputes

Both providers can hold funds or close accounts when they see risk, such as sudden volume, high refund rates or disputes. New businesses reduce the risk with clear descriptions on statements, honest shipping times, quick refunds and responsive customer service. How to accept payments on a website covers setup, and is dropshipping worth it? explains why slow shipping models attract more disputes.