Stripe vs PayPal vs Square: fees and fit in the US and UK (2026)

Stripe suits online businesses and SaaS that want developer control. PayPal adds buyer trust and wallet checkout at higher online rates. Square is strongest for in-person retail and restaurants, with online selling as an add-on. In the UK, Stripe and Square standard card rates are well below PayPal's standard rate.

Fee comparisons go stale fast, and many of the top-ranking ones mix up online and in-person rates or quote fees that have since changed. Every fee below was read from the provider's own pricing page in October 2026 and is linked so you can recheck it. Fees change, and negotiated pricing is common at higher volumes, so treat this as a starting point. This is a software and fees comparison for planning an integration, not financial advice.

What do Stripe, PayPal and Square charge in the US?

Sources: Stripe Support and Stripe dispute fees; PayPal US business fees (last updated 1 Oct 2026); Square US fees. Read 22 Oct 2026. Stripe's US pricing page redirected to another country's pricing when we read it, so we've only listed US figures Stripe confirms on its support pages.

What do Stripe, PayPal and Square charge in the UK?

Sources: Stripe UK pricing; PayPal UK business fees (last updated 1 Oct 2026); Square UK fees. Read 22 Oct 2026.

The UK gap is large. PayPal's standard rate for commercial transactions is close to double Stripe's or Square's for UK cards. PayPal's advanced card processing rate is much lower, but it's a different product that you integrate separately from the PayPal button.

What do you actually pay at $25, $100 and $1,000?

Domestic online card payments, list price, one transaction each. Our arithmetic, rounded to the cent.

Three things stand out:

• Fixed fees hurt small orders. On a $25 order, PayPal's 49¢ fixed fee is a big share of the total. If you sell low-priced items, model your average order, not just the percentage.
• Percentages hurt large orders. At $1,000, every tenth of a percent is a dollar. High-ticket sellers should ask about custom pricing.
• Wallets cost more but may convert better. PayPal Checkout costs more than card processing, but some buyers won't type a card number into a site they don't know. Many stores offer both and watch which one customers use.

Which has the best online checkout and developer experience?

Stripe is built for developers. Its APIs, documentation, test mode and webhooks are widely treated as the benchmark for payment APIs. You can use a hosted Checkout page, a no-code Payment Links page or fully custom payment fields embedded in your own site. Stripe UK says Payment Links and Checkout come at no extra charge on standard pricing. Subscriptions, invoicing, tax and marketplaces (Connect) are separate products in the same platform, which is why SaaS teams often start here.

PayPal is strongest as a wallet. The PayPal button brings logged-in buyers and their saved payment methods, and the advanced card processing product adds card fields for buyers who don't use PayPal. Developer tools have improved, but most teams integrate PayPal alongside another processor rather than as the only option.

Square is strongest when online and in-person sales share one catalogue and inventory. Square Online and its eCommerce API cover web checkout, and its developer platform supports custom builds, but its centre of gravity is the point of sale.

If you want an installable, app-like checkout for repeat customers, a progressive web app works with all three providers' web payment flows.

Which is best for in-person and point of sale?

Square leads here: hardware, POS software for retail and restaurants, and one dashboard for online and in-store sales. In the UK, Square's in-person rate is 1.75% with no fixed fee; in the US it's 2.6% + 15¢ on the Free plan, with lower rates on paid plans.

Stripe Terminal suits businesses that want card readers controlled by their own software, such as a custom POS, kiosk or field-service app. Stripe UK lists Terminal at 1.4% + 10p for EEA cards. PayPal's point-of-sale offering is priced on its fee page; in the UK, card-present transactions are 1.75%.

Which is best for international payments?

Selling abroad adds two costs: an international card fee and, if you settle in a different currency, a conversion fee.

• Stripe UK: EEA cards 2.5% + 20p and other international cards 3.15% + 20p, plus 2% if currency conversion is needed. In the US, Stripe also charges extra for international cards and currency conversion; check its US pricing page for current figures.
• PayPal: in the US, international commercial transactions add 1.50% and conversion carries a 3.00% spread; in the UK, the international fee is 1.29% for EEA buyers and 1.99% for other markets, and conversion is 3% above the base rate.
• Square UK: non-UK cards pay 2.5% + 25p online and an extra 1.5% in person or keyed.

For sizeable international volume, ask each provider about multi-currency settlement, local payment methods and negotiated rates. The cheapest headline rate isn't always the cheapest once conversion is included.

How do disputes, holds and payouts compare?

A dispute (chargeback) costs you the fee plus, often, the sale itself.

• Stripe: $15 to receive a dispute and, since 17 June 2025, another $15 if you counter it in the US; the counter fee is returned if you win. In the UK, £20 per dispute and £20 to counter, refunded only for won disputes.
• PayPal: a $20.00 chargeback fee and a $15.00 standard dispute fee in the US; £14.00 per chargeback in the UK.
• Square: Square UK says it covers "the fee for every dispute that we fight on your behalf". Square's US fee page doesn't list a chargeback fee; check before you rely on it.

All three can delay payouts or hold funds for new accounts, unusual activity or high-risk business types. Read each provider's terms on reserves and payout timing before launch, and keep refund and delivery records that will help you win disputes.

How do security and PCI DSS scope differ?

Every business that takes cards must comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). How much work that is depends on whether card data ever touches your systems.

Hosted options (Stripe Checkout and Payment Links, the PayPal button, Square's hosted checkout) keep card numbers on the provider's pages. Embedded card fields, served in iframes from the provider, also keep raw card data off your servers. Both approaches usually qualify an ecommerce merchant for one of the shorter self-assessment questionnaires; your acquirer or provider confirms which.

One 2025 change is worth knowing. The PCI Security Standards Council clarified that requirements about scripts on payment pages "were only removed from SAQ A, and they are still in the standard." If you build a custom checkout, script management on the payment page is still your job. We build to the standard, but compliance is your organisation's responsibility; we don't certify it.

How much integration work does each one need?

The hard parts are rarely the first payment. They're webhooks, refunds, failed renewals, tax, reconciliation with your accounting system and testing every edge case. Using two providers (for example Stripe for cards and PayPal for wallets) is common and works well, but it doubles reconciliation, so plan reporting from day one.

Our payment gateway integration team builds these flows and connects them to your ERP, CRM or accounting through API integration.

Which provider is best for your business?

Choose Stripe if you sell online, run subscriptions or a platform, and have developers or a partner to integrate it.

Choose PayPal if buyer trust and wallet checkout matter more than the lowest rate, usually as a second option next to cards.

Choose Square if most of your sales happen in person and you want online sales in the same system.

How can Elgrith help?

Elgrith has delivered 1,000+ projects for 250+ clients since 2015, from our New Delhi headquarters and client centers in New York, London and Shanghai. We integrate Stripe, PayPal, Square and other gateways into ecommerce stores and SaaS products, including Shopify builds for US brands through our New York Shopify team and stores for Indian sellers through our ecommerce team in Delhi. We don't claim partner status with any provider; we give you a fixed written quote after a free call, and you own the code. Book a call or start a project.