Instantly calculate your PayPal fees and see exactly how much you'll receive.
If you've ever typed an amount into PayPal and been mildly annoyed at what came out the other end, you're not alone. Between the base rate, the cross-border surcharge, and the currency conversion spread, working out exactly what you'll be left with isn't something most people can do in their head — which is exactly why this PayPal fee calculator UK sellers, freelancers and small businesses actually use exists. Below, I've broken down how PayPal fees UK 2026 work in full, so you know exactly what you're looking at before you hit send or request.
How to Use This PayPal Fee Calculator
The calculator is built around three real situations people actually run into, rather than just spitting out one number — so however you want to use this PayPal charges calculator, there's a mode for it. Here's how to get the most out of it:
- Pick your calculation mode first. "Receiving money" is for when you already know the gross amount someone is paying you and want to see what lands in your account — this is the mode most people want when they search for PayPal fees for receiving money UK. "Sending money" is for when you're covering the fee yourself and want to know the total cost of getting a specific amount to someone else. "Target net amount" flips the maths around — tell it what you want to keep, and it works out what you need to invoice or charge.
- Enter your amount and choose a currency. GBP, EUR, USD and CAD are all supported, and switching currency automatically nudges the payment type toward the right region so you're not left guessing.
- Select the payment type that matches your transaction. UK Domestic covers buyer and seller both being in the UK. Europe/EEA and USA/Canada/Rest of World apply the cross-border surcharge automatically. There's also Registered UK Charity, Micropayment, and both Friends & Family options, plus a Custom rate slot if you're on a negotiated merchant rate PayPal has quoted you directly.
- Tick the currency conversion box only if it applies. This is for when your buyer pays in a currency different from your PayPal balance currency — it adds PayPal's 3% conversion markup on top of the transaction fee, and it's easy to forget about until you see the real number.
- Hit Calculate. You'll get the net amount, the effective rate as a percentage, and a full breakdown of exactly where each part of the fee came from.
- Open the Bulk/Volume Calculator if you run regular transactions. Enter how many payments you process a month and over how many months, and it projects your total fee cost — useful for anyone doing a monthly budget or working out whether PayPal is still the cheapest option at your volume.
- Check the Fee Comparison table before you commit to a payment type. It lines up every route side by side for the same amount, so if there's a cheaper way to structure the transaction, it's obvious at a glance.
How Much Does PayPal Charge in the UK? (PayPal Fees UK 2026 Rates)
PayPal's UK fee structure hasn't changed dramatically in the last couple of years, but the cross-border surcharges did jump in late 2023 and have stayed at those levels since. If you're asking how much does PayPal charge UK-wide right now, here's the full picture, verified against PayPal's published UK merchant terms. These are also the standard PayPal business fees UK sellers and freelancers are charged on every commercial transaction, regardless of whether you're a sole trader or a registered company:
| Transaction type | Percentage fee | Fixed fee | Total on £100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Domestic (Goods & Services) | 2.9% | £0.30 | £3.20 |
| Europe / EEA | 4.19% | £0.30 | £4.49 |
| USA / Canada / Rest of World | 4.89% | £0.30 | £5.19 |
| Registered UK Charity | 1.4% | £0.20 | £1.60 |
| Micropayment (under £5) | 5.0% | £0.05 | – |
| Friends & Family (bank/balance) | 0% | £0.00 | Free |
| Friends & Family (international) | 5%* | – | £5.00* |
*Friends & Family international rate is capped: minimum fee £0.99, maximum fee £2.99, however large the transfer.
The two numbers doing the real damage are the percentage rate and that flat £0.30. On a big invoice, £0.30 is nothing. On a £4 sale of a handmade keyring, it's over 7% of the price on its own — which is exactly why the micropayment rate exists, and why it's worth applying for if you regularly sell things under a fiver.
PayPal Fee Percentage UK: Visualising the Difference
Numbers in a table are one thing, but it's easier to see how the rates stack up against each other when they're side by side. Here's the effective fee percentage for a typical £100 transaction across each route:
Domestic vs International: What Changes When Your Buyer Is Abroad
Does PayPal charge to receive money UK-wide, even for a simple domestic sale? Yes — and this is where most of the confusion comes from, and it's also the part of PayPal international fees UK sellers get caught out by most often. The base commercial rate is always 2.9% + £0.30 — that part never moves. What changes is a cross-border surcharge that gets added on top depending on where your buyer's PayPal account is registered:
- Buyer in the EEA (EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway): add 1.29% to the base rate, taking you to 4.19% + £0.30.
- Buyer anywhere else in the world, including the US, Canada and Australia: add 1.99%, taking you to 4.89% + £0.30.
So for PayPal fees for US to UK payments specifically: a UK seller receiving a £100 Goods & Services payment from an American buyer pays £5.19 in total and keeps £94.81, assuming the buyer paid in GBP. If they paid in USD and PayPal had to convert it, you'd lose a further chunk to the conversion spread on top of that — which is exactly why the calculator lets you toggle currency conversion on separately.
Friends & Family vs Goods & Services: Which One Are You Actually Using?
PayPal friends and family fees UK-wise are refreshingly simple for domestic transfers: sending or receiving between two UK accounts is free, regardless of whether it's funded by bank account, balance, or card. The moment either side of the payment is outside the UK, that changes — international Friends & Family payments cost 5% of the amount, with a minimum fee of £0.99 and a maximum of £2.99, so it's capped even on larger amounts.
The catch — and it's a big one — is that Friends & Family is meant for genuine personal payments between people who know each other, not for paying for goods or services. When people compare PayPal Friends and Family vs Goods and Services fees, the fee saving is only half the story: use F&F for a business transaction and you lose PayPal's buyer and seller protection entirely, which matters far more than the fee you'd dodge if something goes wrong. Goods & Services costs more precisely because that protection is baked into the price.
Currency Conversion: The Fee People Forget About
If a payment arrives in a currency different from your PayPal balance currency, PayPal converts it automatically and applies a markup of 3% above the base exchange rate. This is separate from, and stacks on top of, whichever transaction fee already applies. It's the single biggest hidden cost for UK freelancers and sellers who work internationally, because the number you see quoted rarely includes it until you actually get paid.
If you regularly get paid in USD or EUR, it's worth asking whether you can hold a multi-currency balance or request payment in GBP specifically, since either route avoids the conversion fee altogether.
PayPal Charity Fees UK and PayPal Micropayment Fees UK
Two categories get preferential treatment. Registered UK charities processing donations through PayPal pay a reduced 1.4% + £0.20 rather than the standard commercial rate — a meaningful saving when you're handling donation volume rather than product sales. You'll need to apply through PayPal directly with your charity registration to get switched onto this rate; it isn't automatic.
Separately, sellers who regularly take payments under £5 can apply for the Micropayment rate: 5% + £0.05 instead of the usual 2.9% + £0.30. The percentage looks higher, but the fixed fee is so much smaller that it wins out decisively on low-value sales — on a £3 sale, the standard rate takes £0.39 while the micropayment rate takes £0.20.
Selling on eBay or Etsy? Here's Where PayPal Actually Fits In
This trips a lot of people up, and it's why generic "PayPal fees for eBay Etsy sellers UK" searches often lead to the wrong answer. eBay UK moved sellers onto Managed Payments a while back, which means eBay now handles payment processing directly and folds it into their Final Value Fee — there's no separate PayPal charge sitting on top for most eBay sales anymore, even if PayPal shows as a payment option to the buyer.
Etsy is different. Etsy Payments still routes through card networks and PayPal in the background, and UK sellers pay Etsy's own payment processing fee as part of their overall Etsy costs, separate from anything covered here. Where this calculator is genuinely useful is for freelancers, direct sellers, and anyone invoicing clients or customers through PayPal directly rather than through a marketplace — that's the situation where these exact percentages apply to you.
How to Avoid PayPal Fees UK Sellers Actually Pay (Realistically)
You can't avoid fees on genuine commercial transactions — that's simply the cost of the protection and convenience PayPal provides — but there are legitimate ways to reduce how much you hand over:
- Ask international buyers to pay in GBP where possible, to sidestep the currency conversion markup entirely.
- Apply for the Micropayment rate if a meaningful share of your sales are under £5.
- Apply for the Charity rate if you're a registered UK charity and haven't already switched over.
- Increase your average order value where it makes sense — the fixed £0.30 becomes proportionally smaller the bigger the transaction.
- Only use Friends & Family for genuine personal payments, never to dodge fees on a sale — the loss of buyer/seller protection isn't worth the saving if anything goes wrong.
- Check whether you qualify for a negotiated merchant rate once your monthly volume is consistent — PayPal will discuss reduced rates directly with higher-volume sellers, and you can plug that rate into the Custom option above to see how much it actually saves you.
How Much Does PayPal Take From £100? Worked Examples
Since "how much does PayPal take from £100" and similar questions come up constantly, here's a quick reference table across a few common amounts at the standard UK domestic rate:
| You receive (gross) | PayPal fee | You keep (net) | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| £20.00 | £0.88 | £19.12 | 4.40% |
| £50.00 | £1.75 | £48.25 | 3.50% |
| £100.00 | £3.20 | £96.80 | 3.20% |
| £250.00 | £7.55 | £242.45 | 3.02% |
| £500.00 | £14.80 | £485.20 | 2.96% |
Notice how the effective rate creeps down as the amount goes up — that's the fixed £0.30 losing significance relative to the total. If you want the same breakdown for your own numbers, in a different currency, or on any of the other payment types, that's exactly what the PayPal transaction fee calculator above does instantly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does PayPal charge to receive money in the UK?
It depends on the payment type. Commercial Goods & Services payments are charged at 2.9% + £0.30 domestically, with higher rates for international payments. Friends & Family payments are free between two UK accounts regardless of funding source, though international Friends & Family transfers cost 5% of the amount (minimum £0.99, maximum £2.99).
How much does PayPal take from £100?
On a standard UK domestic commercial transaction, PayPal takes £3.20 from a £100 payment (2.9% + £0.30), leaving you with £96.80. The exact figure changes if the buyer is based abroad or if currency conversion applies.
How much will I receive if I request £100 on PayPal?
If you request exactly £100 and it's paid domestically as a Goods & Services transaction, you'll receive £96.80 after fees. If you need the buyer to end up paying enough that you receive a full £100 in your account, you'd need to invoice them for approximately £103.29 instead — which is what the "Target net amount" mode on the calculator works out for you automatically.
What's the difference between PayPal Friends and Family and Goods and Services fees?
Friends & Family is free when funded by bank account or balance, but offers no buyer or seller protection and is intended only for personal payments between people who know each other. Goods & Services costs 2.9% + £0.30 (plus any applicable surcharge) but includes PayPal's full buyer and seller protection, which is why it's the required option for any genuine sale.
Are PayPal fees different for US to UK payments?
Yes. A UK seller receiving a payment from a US buyer pays the base 2.9% + £0.30 plus a 1.99% non-EEA cross-border surcharge, for a combined 4.89% + £0.30. If the payment arrives in USD and needs converting to GBP, PayPal's currency conversion markup applies on top of that.
Does PayPal charge fees for eBay or Etsy sales in the UK?
eBay UK sellers on Managed Payments don't pay a separate PayPal fee — payment processing is bundled into eBay's Final Value Fee. Etsy sellers pay Etsy's own payment processing charge rather than a standalone PayPal fee. This calculator is most directly relevant when you're taking payments through PayPal yourself, such as invoicing clients or selling outside a marketplace.
How can I reduce PayPal fees in the UK?
Ask overseas buyers to pay in GBP to avoid the conversion markup, apply for the Micropayment rate if you frequently sell under £5, apply for the Charity rate if eligible, and negotiate a merchant rate with PayPal directly once your volume is consistent enough to qualify.
What is the PayPal fee percentage in the UK for charities?
Registered UK charities can apply for PayPal's discounted rate of 1.4% + £0.20 per domestic transaction, well below the standard 2.9% + £0.30 commercial rate. This has to be requested through PayPal with proof of charity registration.
Rates shown are based on PayPal's publicly available UK merchant fee schedule, verified August 2026. PayPal occasionally adjusts rates, so it's worth double-checking current figures on paypal.com/uk before finalising pricing decisions. This page is provided for guidance only and isn't financial advice.
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