Comparia recommendation
PayPal vs Stripe vs Wise: Fees compared (2026)
Stripe has the lowest fees for UK card payments in 2026 at 1.5% plus 20p, with the strongest developer tools and the most transparent pricing. Wise Business is the better choice for international payments and PayPal earns its higher fees through customer trust at checkout.
Why Stripe wins on fees
Comparia analysed the three most common payment options for UK online businesses across five evaluation criteria: domestic card fees, international card fees, currency conversion cost, payout flexibility and ecosystem depth. Fee criteria were rated as critical because this page is explicitly about comparing cost.
Stripe has the lowest headline fee for UK-issued cards at 1.5% plus 20p per transaction, undercutting PayPal's 2.9% plus 30p by more than a full percentage point on typical order values. EU cards are charged at 2.5% plus 20p and international cards at 3.25% plus 20p. Currency conversion adds a flat 2% on top, which is half what PayPal charges but more than Wise.
Wise Business takes second place for any business that moves money across currencies. Its card payment processing at 1% for domestic and 2.9% for international sits between Stripe and PayPal, but its real edge is in currency conversion at mid-market rates with a visible fee rather than an opaque spread. PayPal remains third on pure fees but earns its premium through customer trust and higher checkout conversion, which is why most online shops accept it alongside Stripe rather than instead of it.
Decision confidence: 87%
High confidence because
- Stripe's UK domestic rate of 1.5% plus 20p is the lowest headline fee of the three
- No monthly fees, no setup fees and pay-as-you-go pricing
- Works with every major ecommerce platform and billing system
Confidence reduced because
- Wise is cheaper on currency conversion by 1 to 3%
- PayPal's customer trust can lift checkout conversion by 5 to 15%
- Stripe charges 1% for instant payouts and £20 per chargeback
Best processor for every scenario
Fee examples on a £100 payment
Real cost to the merchant after fees. Net income assumes the full £100 was captured.
| Scenario | Stripe | Wise Business | PayPal |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK card, GBP | £1.70 (1.5% + 20p) | ~£1.00 (1%) | £3.20 (2.9% + 30p) |
| EU card, GBP | £2.70 (2.5% + 20p) | ~£1.00 (1%) | £4.49 (2.9% + 30p + 1.29%) |
| International card, GBP | £3.45 (3.25% + 20p) | ~£2.90 (2.9%) | £5.19 (2.9% + 30p + 1.99%) |
| Settled in USD from GBP | +2% FX | ~0.5% FX at mid-market | ~3-4% FX spread |
| Chargeback fee | £20 | N/A (not an acquirer) | £14 if dispute escalates |
| Instant payout | 1% | Free, real-time | 1.5%, capped at £10 |
Figures are approximate and based on published UK business rates as of April 2026. Always check the current provider page before committing.
Why Stripe wins on fees for UK businesses
-
Lowest UK card processing rate
1.5% plus 20p for UK-issued cards is the lowest headline fee among the three. On a £100 payment you keep £98.30 with Stripe compared with £96.80 with PayPal. That gap adds up to £1500 per year at £100,000 in processed volume.
-
No monthly or setup fees
Stripe is pay-as-you-go. No platform fee, no minimum monthly charge, no account opening cost. You only pay when you take money. Wise Business charges a £45 account setup fee, though the ongoing model is also pay-as-you-go.
-
Transparent currency conversion
Stripe's 2% FX markup is clearly disclosed and applied on top of the card fee. PayPal uses an opaque exchange rate spread of 3 to 4% hidden inside the converted amount. For international business, Stripe is cheaper and easier to reconcile.
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Best-in-class developer tools
Stripe's API, documentation, dashboard and reporting are consistently rated the best in the industry. This matters for subscription businesses, custom checkouts and anyone who needs reliable webhooks and reporting.
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Accepted everywhere that matters
Every major ecommerce platform, billing system and business bank integrates with Stripe. Switching costs are minimal. Rolling out Stripe is usually a one-evening job on Shopify, WooCommerce or Wix.
Trade-offs to consider
-
Higher FX cost than Wise
Stripe's 2% currency conversion fee is reasonable but Wise is cheaper, typically 0.4 to 1% at mid-market rates. For businesses that settle in multiple currencies, Wise can save meaningful amounts.
-
Chargeback fees apply regardless of outcome
Stripe charges £20 per chargeback even if the dispute is won. For businesses in high-dispute verticals this can add up. PayPal's dispute fee is refunded on a winning case, which is gentler.
-
No brand trust at checkout
The Stripe checkout is solid but not a recognised logo in the way PayPal is. Adding PayPal alongside Stripe is the standard playbook for stores that want both low fees and high conversion.
Best alternative: Wise Business
Wise Business is the strongest alternative if your business is international. It holds over 40 currencies in one account and converts at the real mid-market exchange rate with a transparent fee, typically 0.4 to 1%.
Choose Wise Business if
- · You pay international suppliers regularly
- · You receive payments in multiple currencies
- · FX fees are your biggest cost line
Choose Stripe if
- · You take mostly UK and EU card payments
- · You need subscription billing or custom checkout
- · You want the lowest pure card processing fee
What would change this recommendation
If most customers are overseas
Wise Business becomes the stronger choice. Its mid-market exchange rates save more on FX than Stripe saves on card fees.
If checkout conversion is the priority
Accept both Stripe and PayPal. PayPal's trust uplift more than offsets its higher fee in most consumer-facing stores.
If you have no technical resource
PayPal is the easiest to set up. You can add a PayPal checkout button in under ten minutes on any platform.
If you invoice B2B clients
Wise Business is strongest. Invoice in the client's currency, receive at mid-market rates and avoid typical card acquiring fees entirely for bank-to-bank payments.
Payment processors compared
| Specification | Stripe | Wise Business | PayPal |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK card fee | 1.5% + 20p | ~1% | 2.9% + 30p |
| EU card fee | 2.5% + 20p | ~1% | 2.9% + 30p + 1.29% |
| International card fee | 3.25% + 20p | ~2.9% | 2.9% + 30p + 1.99% |
| FX conversion | +2% | 0.4-1% at mid-market | 3-4% spread |
| Monthly fee | £0 | £0 after £45 setup | £0 |
| Payout speed | 2-7 days (free), 1% instant | Real-time in most currencies | 1-3 days, 1.5% instant |
| Chargeback fee | £20 | N/A | £14 (refunded if won) |
| Developer API | Best in class | Good | Adequate |
| Customer trust logo | No | No | Yes |
| Comparia score | 9.1/10 | 8.6/10 | 7.4/10 |
How Comparia evaluates payment processors
The base cost of accepting payments from customers in your home market. For most businesses this is the largest fee line.
What you pay when overseas customers buy from you. Cross-border surcharges can add 1 to 2% on top of the base rate.
The cost of settling in a currency different from the one you were paid in. Often the most opaque fee line.
How quickly you can access funds and whether instant payouts are available. Matters more for cash-constrained businesses.
Integration with platforms, accounting software and reporting tools. All three have adequate ecosystems at this point.
Stripe vs PayPal head-to-head
The two most widely-used options. Here is how they compare on the weighted criteria.
9.1/10
7.4/10
Stripe wins for
- · Pure cost on card processing
- · Subscription billing and custom checkout
- · Transparent currency conversion
- · Developer tools and integrations
PayPal wins for
- · Checkout conversion lift from brand trust
- · Reach into markets without card penetration
- · Chargeback fees refunded when disputes are won
Detailed analysis
Domestic card fees
This is the single most important fee line for most UK businesses and where the three providers differ most obviously.
Stripe scores 10/10. At 1.5% plus 20p for UK-issued cards, it is 1.4 percentage points cheaper than PayPal on the percentage component alone. On £100,000 of UK card processing per year, the difference between Stripe and PayPal is approximately £1400 in fees before accounting for fixed-per-transaction charges.
Wise Business scores 8/10. Its roughly 1% domestic card fee is even lower on the percentage, but it is designed for lower-volume business payments rather than high-volume ecommerce checkout processing. For pure card acquiring at scale, Stripe remains stronger.
PayPal scores 5/10. At 2.9% plus 30p, PayPal is the most expensive of the three on domestic cards. It makes up for this through brand recognition and customer trust, but on pure fees it is clearly behind.
International card fees
For businesses that sell across borders, international card surcharges can become the largest fee line.
Stripe charges 2.5% plus 20p for EU-issued cards and 3.25% plus 20p for non-EU international cards. These rates are competitive but not market-leading. Scores 8/10.
Wise Business scores 8/10 with roughly 2.9% for international card payments. Again the headline rate is strong but ecommerce-specific features are less developed than Stripe's.
PayPal scores 5/10. On top of the base 2.9% plus 30p, PayPal adds 1.29% for EEA customers and 1.99% for non-EEA international customers. For a typical UK business selling to US customers, the effective rate is 4.89% plus 30p before any currency conversion spread.
Currency conversion cost
Wise Business scores 10/10. It is the category leader here by a wide margin. Wise uses the real mid-market exchange rate, the rate you see on Google or Reuters, and charges a visible fee typically between 0.4% and 1% depending on the currency pair. Reconciliation is simple because the rate and fee are both explicit.
Stripe scores 8/10. Its 2% markup on currency conversion is double what Wise charges but is clearly disclosed and applied in addition to the card fee rather than buried in an exchange rate spread. For most businesses this is still good value, particularly given the rest of the Stripe feature set.
PayPal scores 5/10. PayPal's 3 to 4% currency spread is both the most expensive of the three and the least transparent. The exchange rate shown to the customer is already marked up, so the true cost is harder to measure without spreadsheet work.
Payout flexibility and hidden fees
Stripe pays out on a rolling 7-day schedule by default in the UK with free bank transfers. Instant payouts cost 1% of the payout value. Chargeback fees are £20 per dispute regardless of outcome. Scores 8/10.
Wise Business pays out in real time for most currency pairs and includes two free ATM withdrawals per month on the business card under £200. Scores 9/10 because this flexibility is unmatched by the other two.
PayPal typically pays out in 1 to 3 days with instant transfers at 1.5% capped at £10. Chargeback fees of £14 are refunded if the business wins the dispute, which is gentler than Stripe on high-dispute verticals. Scores 7/10.
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Wise Business
Fees shown are UK business rates published in April 2026 and may change. Always verify current rates on the provider's website before committing.
Frequently asked questions
Which has the lowest fees: PayPal, Stripe or Wise?
What are the real costs of accepting a £100 payment?
Is PayPal worth using despite the fees?
When should I use Wise Business?
Do Stripe or PayPal charge for chargebacks?
What about currency conversion fees?
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How Comparia works
Comparia is an AI decision engine that helps you make confident choices. Recommendations are generated by analysing published pricing, public fee schedules and structured trade-off reasoning.
Transparency
Comparia does not accept payment from processors. Recommendations are based on weighted criteria analysis, not editorial opinion. Provider links here are direct, not affiliate.
Methodology
Each provider is scored 1 to 10 on each criterion. Criteria are weighted by importance (critical, important, nice to have). The overall score is a weighted average. Trade-offs are identified by comparing where each option leads and trails.
This decision page was generated by Comparia's AI analysis engine and is reviewed for accuracy. Fees reflect UK published rates in April 2026. Rates are subject to change. Last updated: 17 April 2026.