Stripe vs PayPal: Which Is Cheaper for Small Businesses?

Start with your actual payment mix

Headline pricing is only a starting point. Build a simple monthly model using your average order value, transaction count, international share, currency conversions, refunds, and payment methods.

A provider with a higher fee can still be the better commercial choice if it converts more customers or saves meaningful manual work.

The small-ticket effect

Fixed fees matter. On a $20 payment, a $0.30 fixed charge is a much larger percentage than on a $200 payment. Compare both providers using your real average order value instead of a round $100 example.

Include operational cost

• How long does each provider take to reconcile?
• How often do refunds or disputes need manual review?
• Do customers abandon checkout when their preferred wallet is missing?
• Can your accounting workflow separate gross, fees, and net cleanly?

A decision that survives the spreadsheet

Calculate total monthly cost, then add a conservative value for conversion and operations. Revisit the model after a quarter of real data. The cheapest rate on paper is not always the cheapest system to run.