ToolNestHow to Calculate PayPal Fees
Every PayPal fee follows one formula: fee = (amount × percentage) + fixed fee. At the standard PayPal Checkout rate of 3.49% + $0.49, a $100 sale costs $3.98 and you keep $96.02. Compute any amount with our free PayPal fee calculator; the rates and math are below.
The formula and the 2026 rate table
Every PayPal transaction fee has the same two-part structure: fee = (transaction amount × percentage rate) + fixed fee, and you receive = amount − fee. The percentage scales with the sale; the fixed fee does not — which is why small payments feel disproportionately expensive. Current US rates (always confirm in your PayPal dashboard's fee schedule, as PayPal updates them): PayPal Checkout (website payment buttons): 3.49% + $0.49 — the rate most online sellers pay. Standard card processing: 2.99% + $0.49. Goods & Services direct payments (buyer sends from their PayPal account): 2.99% with no fixed fee. QR code / in-person: 2.29% + $0.09. Micropayments (small transactions, separate enrollment): 5% + $0.05. International: add +1.50% to the domestic rate. Currency conversion: a 3–4% spread baked into the exchange rate, on top of the transaction fee. The rate that applies depends on how the buyer paid, not on what you sold — a card through Checkout and a PayPal-balance G&S payment for the same $100 item incur different fees. When estimating, match the actual payment route first; using the wrong row is the most common calculation error.
Worked examples at every size
At the PayPal Checkout rate (3.49% + $0.49): a $10 sale → fee $0.349 + $0.49 = $0.84, you keep $9.16 (effective rate 8.4%). A $25 sale → $0.8725 + $0.49 = $1.36, you keep $23.64 (5.4%). A $100 sale → $3.49 + $0.49 = $3.98, you keep $96.02 (4.0%). A $250 sale → $8.725 + $0.49 = $9.22, you keep $240.78 (3.7%). A $1,000 sale → $34.90 + $0.49 = $35.39, you keep $964.61 (3.5%). Notice the pattern: the effective rate falls as the amount rises, because the fixed $0.49 spreads thinner — it is 8.4% of a $10 sale but only 0.05% of a $1,000 sale. That is why the fixed fee dominates small-transaction economics. At the G&S direct rate (2.99%, no fixed): $100 → $2.99 fee, you keep $97.01; $250 → $7.48 (250 × 0.0299 = 7.475, rounded), you keep $242.52. International example — $500 Checkout payment from abroad: (4.99% × 500) + $0.49 = $24.95 + $0.49 = $25.44, versus $17.94 domestic — the cross-border surcharge costs an extra $7.50. Run any amount through our PayPal fee calculator to verify before you invoice.
The reverse formula: what to charge the buyer
Sellers usually think forward (fee on a price), but the profitable question is backward: what must I charge so I receive exactly my target after fees? The reverse formula: charge = (target amount + fixed fee) ÷ (1 − percentage rate). Derivation: you receive charge × (1 − rate) − fixed, so set that equal to target and solve. Worked: to receive exactly $100 via PayPal Checkout (3.49% + $0.49): charge = (100 + 0.49) ÷ (1 − 0.0349) = 100.49 ÷ 0.9651 = $104.12. Verify: fee = 104.12 × 0.0349 + 0.49 = 3.6338 + 0.49 = $4.12; 104.12 − 4.12 = $100.00 ✓. To receive $50: (50.49) ÷ 0.9651 = $52.32. For the G&S direct rate (2.99%, no fixed fee) the formula simplifies to charge = target ÷ (1 − 0.0299): receiving $100 means charging $103.08. This is the math behind 'pass the fee to the buyer' — note PayPal's terms restrict surcharging in some jurisdictions, so many sellers instead build the fee into the listed price (a $104.12 price, not a $100 price + fee line). Either way, the reverse formula is how you stop absorbing fees silently. For invoice workflows, pair this with our invoice writing guide and invoice numbering guide so the paperwork matches the math.
Fees sellers forget: the hidden add-ons
Four costs ambush sellers who only memorize the headline rate. 1. The international surcharge: +1.50% applies whenever the buyer's account is registered in another country — a $2,000 invoice to a UK client costs $30 extra versus domestic (2000 × 0.015), before any currency conversion. 2. Currency conversion spread: 3–4% baked into PayPal's exchange rate. A $1,000 payment converted at a 3.5% spread loses $35 on top of the $50.39 transaction fee — total effective cost 8.5%. 3. Chargebacks: a lost dispute costs a flat $20 fee in the US (waived for eligible sellers on some plans), win or lose on appeal — ten chargebacks a year is $200 of pure cost. 4. The fixed fee on refunds: refunding a buyer returns the payment but generally not PayPal's original fee — a refunded $100 sale still cost you $3.98. Add them up for a realistic worst case: a $500 international card payment, converted currency, later refunded — fee $25.44 + ~$17.50 FX spread + unrecovered fee on refund ≈ $43+ on a sale you kept nothing from. The defense is boring but effective: price with the reverse formula, invoice in the buyer's currency only when the math works, and track effective rates monthly — if your blended rate creeps past 5%, renegotiate volume pricing or steer buyers to cheaper rails. For the small-transaction end of this problem, see our $1,000 PayPal fee breakdown. Freelancers billing by the hour can convert tracked minutes with our minutes to hours converter, writers charging per word can verify counts with our word counter before invoicing, and markdown-based invoice templates render cleanly through the markdown to HTML converter — keeping the invoice math honest end to end.