ToolNestFree PayPal Fee Calculator
Last updated: October 16, 2026
Quick answer: PayPal's cut is easy to underestimate — 2.99% plus a fixed fee sounds small until it comes out of every invoice. This free PayPal fee calculator shows exactly what you'll receive after fees on any amount, or flips it around: enter what you want to net and it tells you what to charge. Domestic, international, micropayment, and QR rates are built in — and because PayPal changes its fee schedule, the rate fields are editable so the math never goes stale. Everything runs in your browser.
—PayPal fee
—You receive
—Effective rate
✓ Free forever · ✓ No signup · ✓ Tool inputs stay in your browser — never sent to our servers.
How to Use the PayPal Fee Calculator
- Enter the payment amount in dollars.
- Pick a transaction type — or choose Custom and type your own rate.
- Use 'Fee on this amount' to see the fee and what you keep, or 'I want to receive this amount' to get the charge-back price.
- Adjust the % and fixed fee if your country's rates differ.
- Copy the numbers into your invoice or price list.
Why Use Our PayPal Fee Calculator?
- Two directions — fee on an amount, or the charge needed to net a target.
- All major rate types — domestic, international, micropayments, QR, friends & family.
- Editable rates — PayPal changes fees; type your country's current numbers and the math follows.
- Effective rate shown — see the true percentage the fee eats, which climbs steeply on small amounts.
- Private — runs 100% in your browser; no data sent anywhere.
Common Use Cases
- Freelancer quoting: Price the project so the net matches your quote — enter your day rate in reverse mode and invoice the gross, not the shortfall.
- Online sellers: Bake the exact fee into product prices on Etsy, eBay, or your own store instead of discovering the haircut after the sale.
- Invoicing for exact nets: When a client agrees to '$500 net', the invoice must read $516.97 at standard rates — compute it here, not by guessing.
- Donation pages: Nonprofits can estimate what actually lands after fees on a $25, $50, or $100 donation and set fundraising targets on net figures.
- Comparing payment options: Run the same amount through PayPal, then compare against Stripe or bank transfer to pick the cheapest rail for each invoice size.
PayPal Fee Calculator vs Alternatives
- Thin fee-calculator sites: Dozens of single-purpose PayPal calculators rank today, but most hardcode the old 2.9% + $0.30 schedule and offer no reverse mode — their answers are wrong the moment rates change. This page's rates are editable and it computes both directions.
- PayPal's official fee pages: The authoritative source for current rates in your country — but no interactive calculator. Look up your rate there, type it into the fields here.
- '2026 fee guide' blog posts: Good explainers of how the fee structure works, but static: you still do the arithmetic yourself for every amount.
- Spreadsheet formulas: =A1*0.0299+0.49 is free and flexible, and the right call for a price list of hundreds of SKUs. For a one-off quote or invoice, this page is faster — and the reverse math is already done.
If you invoice through PayPal regularly, the reverse mode is the feature that pays for itself — it kills the most common fee mistake, absorbing the fee instead of passing it through. And whichever tool you use, re-check the rate inside your PayPal account once a year: fee schedules change, and editable rates beat hardcoded ones.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does PayPal take from $100?
At the standard US domestic goods-and-services rate (2.99% + $0.49): $100 × 2.99% + $0.49 = $3.48 in fees, so you receive $96.52. International payments add a 1.5% cross-border fee on top.
How do I calculate PayPal fees?
Fee = amount × rate + fixed fee. Going the other way — 'what must I charge to receive $X?' — use gross = (X + fixed) ÷ (1 − rate). This calculator does both directions instantly.
What are PayPal's fees for goods and services?
For US domestic online payments: 2.99% + $0.49 per transaction. Rates differ by country, currency, and payment type (in-person, QR, micropayments), which is why the rate fields on this page are editable — always confirm the current schedule inside your PayPal account.
How much should I charge to receive $100 after fees?
About $103.59 at 2.99% + $0.49: (100 + 0.49) ÷ (1 − 0.0299). Switch the calculator to 'I want to receive this amount' mode and it computes the charge-back price for any target.
Are there fees for Friends & Family payments?
Sending from a PayPal balance or bank account is free in the US — but there's no seller protection, so never use it for business. Payments funded by credit/debit cards still incur a fee.
Do international payments cost more?
Yes — typically an extra 1.5% cross-border fee on top of the standard rate. If the payment also involves currency conversion, PayPal adds roughly a 4% spread above the base exchange rate, which dwarfs the transaction fee itself.
What are PayPal micropayment fees?
5% + $0.05 per transaction for payments under $10 — cheaper than the standard rate on tiny amounts. On a $3 payment: $0.20 micropayment fee vs $0.58 standard. If you sell low-priced digital goods, ask PayPal about micropayment pricing.
Can I avoid PayPal fees?
Not on goods-and-services payments — the fee is the cost of the network and the protection. You can shrink the bite: use micropayment rates for sub-$10 sales, invoice in your own currency to dodge conversion spreads, and build the fee into your prices with the reverse mode above instead of absorbing it.