On a $100 sale, Stripe's fee works out to 3.2%. On a $5 sale it's 8.9%. The percentage is the same. The 30 cent fixed fee is what changes, because it's a small amount of a big sale and a big amount of a small one.
If you sell small items, that fixed fee is where a lot of your money goes. Here is how much, for three common cases.
What are the rates?
These are US rates that I read from each company's own page on 20 October 2026. Rates vary by country and account, so check yours.
- Stripe: 2.9% + $0.30 for online domestic cards, from stripe.com/pricing.
- PayPal: 3.49% + $0.49 for standard checkout, from PayPal's fee page.
- eBay: a 13.6% final value fee for most categories, plus $0.30 per order of $10 or less and $0.40 above $10, from eBay's selling fees page. That covers the whole selling fee, payment included.
What does each cost as a share of the sale?
Total fee divided by the sale amount. eBay's page says its fee is worked out on the total amount of the sale, which includes shipping you collect and sales tax. I used the item price alone to keep the table simple, so the real eBay figure will be a little higher.
| Sale | Stripe | PayPal | eBay |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5 | 8.9% | 13.3% | 19.6% |
| $10 | 5.9% | 8.4% | 16.6% |
| $20 | 4.4% | 5.9% | 15.6% |
| $50 | 3.5% | 4.5% | 14.4% |
| $100 | 3.2% | 4.0% | 14.0% |
Look at the $5 row. PayPal takes 13.3% of it. Out of a $5 sale, 66 cents goes in fees before you pay for the product.
The eBay column is much higher because 13.6% is the platform's whole selling fee, with payment processing included, not just a payment charge. It's a different kind of fee, so don't read it as "eBay is worse than Stripe". They do different jobs.
At what order size do the fees stop hurting?
Pick a share you are happy with, say 5%. The fixed fee has to be spread over enough dollars that the total stays under it.
Smallest order = Fixed fee / (Target share - Percentage fee)
- Stripe: 0.30 / (0.05 - 0.029) = about $14.29.
- PayPal: 0.49 / (0.05 - 0.0349) = about $32.45.
So under about $14, Stripe takes more than 5%. Under about $32, PayPal does. eBay can't get under 5% at all, because its percentage alone is 13.6%.
What can I do about it?
- Raise the minimum order. A $15 minimum keeps Stripe under 5%.
- Bundle. Two $6 items sold together pay one fixed fee, not two.
- Price small items higher. Work it out with the formula from my guide on charging to receive an exact amount. For a $5 sale you'd charge $5.46 to receive $5.
- Choose by order size. On small sales Stripe's 30 cent fee beats PayPal's 49 cents. The Stripe vs PayPal guide compares them side by side.
How do I try my own numbers?
- Open the Stripe and PayPal calculator.
- Choose the Micropayment preset, which loads a $5 sale at Stripe's standard rate.
- Change the price and the rates to match your own.
- Watch how the fee as a share of the sale changes as you move the price.
Who is writing this?
I'm Saqib, the developer behind PayoutCalc. I haven't sold on these platforms, so I stick to published rates and arithmetic. If a rate has changed, tell me and I'll fix it.