PayPal Fees 2026: What It Really Costs to Receive Payments
PayPal fees are among the most searched by Italian merchants, but the pricing list is less straightforward than it seems: receiving a payment through the PayPal checkout costs 3.4% plus €0.35 per transaction, while direct card processing drops to 1.2% plus €0.35 and POS with Tap to Pay applies 1.79%. On top of these percentages there are international costs, currency conversion and the €199 terminal cost. In this guide we analyze every item of the 2026 PayPal pricing and compare it with RoxPay's IC++ model: €0.15 + 0.35%-0.85% (IC++) per transaction, with no monthly fee. You will see, with simulations on real volumes, why PayPal's rate weighs most heavily on small transactions and why transparent, component-based pricing costs less.
Cost per transaction compared (average ticket €50)
| Provider | €20 | €50 | €100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| PayPal Checkout (3.4% + €0.35) | €1.03 | €2.05 | €3.75 |
| PayPal card processing (1.2% + €0.35) | €0.59 | €0.95 | €1.55 |
| RoxPay (€0.15 + 0.35%-0.85% IC++) | €0.22-€0.32 | €0.33-€0.58 | €0.50-€1.00 |
For RoxPay the range depends on the card type: the exact percentage varies from 0.35% to 0.85% plus the fixed fee of €0.15 per transaction. The PayPal rates are those of the Italian 2026 public price list.
PayPal fees: what it costs to receive a payment
The PayPal price list for Italy is divided into three main items. Receiving a payment through PayPal Checkout (the button on your site) costs 3.4% plus €0.35 per transaction: on a €50 ticket that means €2.05, over 4% effectively. Card processing with Expanded Checkout, which saves customers' cards and also accepts Apple Pay and Google Pay, drops instead to 1.2% plus €0.35 per domestic transaction. On the physical channel, POS and Tap to Pay apply 1.79% on contactless cards, with no additional fixed fee.
The detail that really shifts the numbers is the €0.35 fixed fee: on a €20 checkout payment, the 3.4% percentage produces €0.68, but with the fixed fee the cost rises to €1.03, that is 5.15% of the value. To understand how much interchange and scheme fees weigh inside a rate built this way, our complete guide to credit card fees explains the difference between blended pricing and transparent pricing.
Extra PayPal costs: international, currency and terminal
Beyond the base percentages, PayPal applies items that emerge when the business moves outside domestic sales. On international payments a percentage surcharge is added (around 1.5% on the base rate), and if the payment is converted in currency a foreign exchange spread is added that never appears as a separate line but is embedded in the applied rate. On the physical channel, the PayPal terminal costs €199 (€249 with a barcode reader), while the POS app is free but still requires the 1.79% commission per transaction.
No fixed monthly fee, but the cost is entirely shifted onto the transaction: for this reason PayPal is not ideal for high volumes or low average tickets. A business that sells both online and in-store also pays different rates on the two channels (3.4% on checkout, 1.79% on POS), with no discount tied to the overall volume already developed.
PayPal vs RoxPay: simulation on real volumes
Let's compare the PayPal checkout (3.4% plus €0.35) with RoxPay's IC++ pricing (€0.15 plus 0.35%-0.85% per transaction) on an average ticket of €50. On €2,000 of monthly volume, equal to 40 transactions, PayPal keeps €82; RoxPay applies €6 of fixed fee plus a component between €7 and €17, for a total between €13 and €23. On €5,000 (100 transactions) PayPal costs €205, against RoxPay's €32.50-€57.50. On €20,000 (400 transactions) the difference is even clearer: €820 against a range between €130 and €230.
The reason is the structure of the rate: PayPal's €0.35 fixed fee multiplied for each transaction weighs more than RoxPay's €0.15 fee, and the 3.4% base percentage is almost four times the 0.85% upper limit of the IC++ model. The point-by-point comparison, including contractual terms, is on the dedicated [RoxPay vs PayPal](/en/comparison/roxpay-vs-paypal) page, while for an overview of the main providers we refer to the payment gateway comparison in Italy.
Why RoxPay's IC++ pricing costs less than PayPal
As the table shows, RoxPay's IC++ model produces a lower per-transaction cost than PayPal on every ticket range analyzed. The advantage is structural: PayPal applies a high fixed percentage plus a high fixed fee, while RoxPay separates interchange, scheme fees and markup, charging €0.15 plus a percentage between 0.35% and 0.85% that depends on the card type.
The key point is transparency. With PayPal you pay a single number that does not distinguish what goes to the scheme, what to the issuing bank and what remains with PayPal. With an IC++ model every component is visible on the statement, and on a European debit card, whose interchange is legally capped at 0.2% by the EU IFR Regulation, the actual cost of the transaction is far lower than PayPal's blended percentage. You can verify the mechanism item by item with the guide to calculating fees with the IC++ method, and if you are looking for the POS with the lowest fees you will reach the same conclusions on the physical channel.
Frequently Asked Questions
PayPal or RoxPay: which one costs merchants less?
For EUR 5,000 of monthly card revenue, PayPal checkout costs EUR 205 (3.4% plus EUR 0.35 per transaction). With RoxPay's IC++ pricing the same volume costs between EUR 32.50 and EUR 57.50, because you only pay the real cost of each transaction: no monthly fee, no inflated percentage.
Why is RoxPay's IC++ pricing more transparent than PayPal's?
The RoxPay merchant statement separates the interbank component, the scheme fee (Visa, Mastercard), processing cost and margin for every line of your transaction record, in line with EU IFR 25/2023. PayPal charges a single inflated percentage that blends all costs together: there is no way to see where the margin goes.
Is PayPal suitable for a B2B company?
Funds sit in an intermediate balance and transfers require extra steps, with costs that scale with volume. RoxPay settles directly to your business IBAN with IC++ rates calibrated for B2B and high-risk sectors, with no intermediate balances.
How can I check how much I would save switching from PayPal to RoxPay?
Run a simulation on your real transaction data: the RoxPay team prepares a free line-by-line comparison between your current rates and IC++ pricing (from EUR 0.15 plus 0.35% to 0.85%) before activation. Just request it on the contacts page.
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