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PayPal Fee Calculator

Computes the PayPal fee and net amount for a US sale using the published US merchant rates (as of 2026-09: PayPal Checkout 3.49 % + $0.49, standard card 2.99 % + $0.49, goods & services 2.99 %, QR code 2.29 % + $0.09, +1.50 % international), or the gross amount to charge to net a target; rates can be overridden.

Amount (USD)Gross sale amount (or, with solve_for = amount_to_charge, the net amount you want to receive). Transaction type (optional)Which published US commercial rate to apply. International transaction (optional)Buyer outside the US: adds 1.50 % to the rate (currency conversion fees are not included). Rate override (%) (optional)Optional percentage rate to use instead of the preset (e.g. a negotiated or non-US rate). Fixed fee override (USD) (optional)Optional fixed fee per transaction to use instead of the preset. Solve for (optional)fee_on_amount treats amount as the gross charge and returns the fee and net; amount_to_charge treats amount as the net you want to receive and returns the gross price to charge.

When to use

You sell or invoice through PayPal in the US and need the fee, what you will receive, or what to charge so that you receive a specific amount.

Do not use when: The account is outside the US or uses micropayment, non-profit or custom negotiated rates (enter those with rate_percent and fixed_fee), or you need Stripe (stripe-fee), eBay (ebay-fee) or Etsy (etsy-fee) fees.

Formula

fee = gross × rate/100 + fixed; net = gross − fee; amount to charge for a target net: gross = (net + fixed) / (1 − rate/100)

Rates are PayPal's published US domestic commercial rates as of 2026-09 (international +1.50 %); PayPal changes fees periodically, so verify against the source page and override with rate_percent / fixed_fee when needed.

Inputs

Parameter	Type	Unit	Required	Description
`amount`	number	USD	yes	Gross sale amount (or, with solve_for = amount_to_charge, the net amount you want to receive). Range: > 0, ≤ 1000000000
`transaction_type`	enum: checkout \| standard_card \| goods_and_services \| qr_code		default checkout	Which published US commercial rate to apply.
`international`	boolean		default false	Buyer outside the US: adds 1.50 % to the rate (currency conversion fees are not included).
`rate_percent`	number	%	no	Optional percentage rate to use instead of the preset (e.g. a negotiated or non-US rate). Range: ≥ 0, ≤ 50
`fixed_fee`	number	USD	no	Optional fixed fee per transaction to use instead of the preset. Range: ≥ 0, ≤ 100
`solve_for`	enum: fee_on_amount \| amount_to_charge		default fee_on_amount	fee_on_amount treats amount as the gross charge and returns the fee and net; amount_to_charge treats amount as the net you want to receive and returns the gross price to charge.

Outputs

Output	Type	Unit	Description
`rate_percent_applied`	number	%	Percentage fee rate used (preset plus surcharges, or the override).
`fixed_fee_applied`	number		Fixed fee per transaction used.
`gross_amount`	number		Amount the buyer pays.
`fee`	number		gross_amount × rate + fixed fee.
`net_amount`	number		gross_amount − fee.
`effective_fee_percent`	number	%	fee / gross_amount × 100 (the fixed fee makes small sales relatively more expensive).

Example

$100 via PayPal Checkout: {"amount":100} → {"rate_percent_applied":3.49,"fixed_fee_applied":0.49,"gross_amount":100,"fee":3.98,"net_amount":96.02,"effective_fee_percent":3.98}

Charge so that $500 is received (Checkout): {"amount":500,"solve_for":"amount_to_charge"} → {"gross_amount":518.59,"fee":18.59,"net_amount":500}

GET https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/paypal-fee?amount=100

Machine access

API: GET https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/paypal-fee (query parameters) or POST with a JSON body {"inputs": {...}}
Schema: https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculators/paypal-fee · Markdown: https://tttkmbb.com/business/paypal-fee.md · JSON definition: https://tttkmbb.com/business/paypal-fee.json
MCP: server https://tttkmbb.com/mcp, tool run_calculator with calculator_id="paypal-fee"
OpenAPI operationId: calculate_paypal_fee
Freshness: static. Authentication: none. Rate limit: fair use (see rate limits).

Sources

PayPal – Merchant fees (United States), as of 2026-09 (reference)
PayPal – PayPal merchant fees (reference)

FAQ

Which rate applies to a friends-and-family payment?

None: personal payments funded by PayPal balance or bank are free in the US. Goods-and-services payments to a business are charged 2.99 %.

Does the calculator include currency conversion?

No. PayPal adds a currency conversion spread (typically 3–4 %) on top of the 1.50 % international fee when the buyer pays in another currency.

Related calculators

Stripe Fee Calculator — Same calculation with Stripe's card-processing rates.
eBay Fee Calculator — eBay final value fees (eBay handles payments separately).
Etsy Fee Calculator — Etsy transaction and payment processing fees.