Stripe charges 1.4 percent of the transaction amount for credit card payments within Europe, as well as a general service fee that amounts to 0.30 dollars per transaction. For international payments, 2.9 percent of the payment total is charged in addition to the same flat rate. With PayPal, the fees are slightly higher in total. For credit card payments, PayPal retains 2.49 percent of the transaction total, plus currency-specific fixed fees. For the US, these are 0.30 dollars per transaction. Unlike Stripe, PayPal offers an additional rate for microtransactions, which can be advantageous if many small payments are to be expected.
In terms of chargeback fees, the differences between Stripe and PayPal are greater. The fees come into play when credit card payments are refunded (chargeback). The integrated Chargeback Protection on Stripe, which charges a fee of 0.4 percent of the transaction amount, ensures that Stripe covers the disputed amount as well as the dispute fees in any case. The merchant does not even have to be able to provide evidence. PayPal, on the other hand, has been using a dispute fee since April 2021 if the merchant and the buyer fail to reach an independent agreement. Per case, the amount of the fee is 15 dollars.