PayPal charges UK businesses 1.2% + 30p for domestic UK Debit Card payments, 2.99% + 30p for standard card payments (Visa/Mastercard), and 3.49% + 49p for PayPal Checkout. For international transactions, an additional cross-border fee of 1.5% applies, plus a currency conversion spread of 3–4%.
PayPal UK fee examples (GBP)
| Charge | PayPal Standard | PayPal Checkout | Stripe (UK domestic) |
|---|---|---|---|
| £10 | £0.60 (6.0%) | £0.84 (8.4%) | £0.35 (3.5%) |
| £50 | £1.80 (3.6%) | £2.24 (4.5%) | £0.95 (1.9%) |
| £100 | £3.29 (3.3%) | £3.98 (4.0%) | £1.70 (1.7%) |
| £500 | £15.30 (3.1%) | £17.94 (3.6%) | £7.70 (1.54%) |
When PayPal is worth the higher fee
PayPal's primary advantage for UK businesses is buyer trust and conversion rate. Studies show 56% of UK shoppers trust PayPal more than entering card details on an unknown site. For stores with cold traffic (low brand recognition), the conversion lift from offering PayPal can offset the higher processing cost.
Rule of thumb: If your average order value is under £30 and you're driving traffic from social media to an unknown brand, PayPal's conversion uplift likely justifies the cost. For subscription SaaS or high-AOV B2B, Stripe is almost always cheaper and better.