PayPal Fee Calculator UK 2026
What a UK seller keeps from a PayPal payment, in pounds, including payments from abroad.
Fees verified 19 Oct 2026
Where every fee comes from
Each line links to the PayPal page we checked on 19 Oct 2026.
- PayPal checkout3.49% + $0.49
- Cards2.99% + $0.49
- Pay Later4.99% + $0.49
- QR code2.29% + $0.09
- International payer+1.5%
- Currency conversion3% to 4%
- Friends and familyFree
- PayPal checkout2.9% + £0.30
- Pay Later3.9% + £0.30
- QR code2% + £0.05 up to £10, 1.5% + £0.10 above £10
- International payer+1.29% from EEA, +1.99% elsewhere
- Currency conversion3%
- Friends and familyFree
- PayPal checkout2.9% + C$0.30
- QR code2.4% + C$0.05 up to C$10, 1.9% + C$0.10 above C$10
- International payer+0.8% from US, +1% elsewhere
- Currency conversion3% to 4%
- Friends and familyFree
- PayPal checkout2.9% + A$0.30
- International payer+1%
- Currency conversion3% to 4%
- Friends and familyFree
- Payment£40.00
- Percent fee-£1.16
- Fixed fee-£0.30
- You keep£38.54
- Currency conversion adds a spread of 3% above PayPal's base rate. It is not included.
Rounded per fee.
You keep £38.54, margin 96%
Same sale elsewhere
How PayPal fees work for a UK seller in 2026
A UK seller pays a percent of each payment plus a fixed fee in GBP. A payer in another country adds a surcharge to the percent.
- Buyer pays
- £40.00
- PayPal fees
- -£1.463.6% of the sale
- Your costs
- -£0.00item and label
- You keep
- £38.5496.35% margin
That is a £40.00 payment received in the UK. From a payer abroad you would keep £37.74.
Full walkthrough
PayPal takes a percent of the amount the payer sends, plus a fixed fee for each payment. In the UK the checkout rate is 2.9% + £0.30. Each fee is rounded to the penny on its own.
Here is one payment from the calculator above, worked through. A payer sends £40.00 with PayPal checkout to a UK account. All amounts are in GBP.
- Buyer pays£40.00
- Percent fee2.9% of £40.00-£1.16
- Fixed fee£0.30 on each payment received in GBP-£0.30
- You keep£38.54
PayPal took £1.46 in fees, which is 3.6% of the payment. If the payer were abroad, the surcharge would add £0.80 at the highest rate and you would keep £37.74.
PayPal UK fees, by payment type
| Payment type | Rate | Fee on £40.00 | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| PayPal checkout | 2.9% + £0.30 | £1.46 | £38.54 |
| Pay Later | 3.9% + £0.30 | £1.86 | £38.14 |
| QR code | 2% + £0.05 up to £10, 1.5% + £0.10 above £10 | £0.70 | £39.30 |
Fees are for receiving a payment in GBP. The percent is worked out on the full payment and each fee is rounded on its own. Currency conversion is not included.
International payers sending to the UK
| Payer | Surcharge | Fee on £40.00 | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payer in the same country | none | £1.46 | £38.54 |
| Payer in the EEA | +1.29% | £1.98 | £38.02 |
| Payer elsewhere | +1.99% | £2.26 | £37.74 |
The surcharge is added to the 2.9% percent fee, so the combined percent is rounded once. A payer who pays in another currency also meets a conversion spread of 3%, which is not calculated.
PayPal in the UK and in the US
| UK | US | |
|---|---|---|
| The payment | £40.00 | $50.00 |
| Standard checkout | 2.9% + £0.30 | 3.49% + $0.49 |
| Payer abroad | +1.29% from a payer in the EEA, +1.99% from a payer elsewhere | +1.5% from any country |
| Currency conversion spread | 3% | 3% to 4% |
| Fee on the payment | £1.46 | $2.24 |
| Fee as a share of the payment | 3.6% | 4.5% |
| You keep | £38.54 | $47.76 |
| Friends and family at home | Free | Free |
Both are domestic checkout payments in their own currency, and the US payment is the default one on the main calculator. The UK surcharge depends on where the payer is. Amounts are not converted between currencies.
What changed recently
3 updates, latest 19 Oct 2026
- Rates re-checked against PayPal's merchant fee pages for the US, UK, Canada and Australia.
- PayPal's Canada and Australia merchant fee pages show a last updated date of 13 October 2026.
- PayPal's US and UK merchant fee pages show a last updated date of 1 October 2026.
PayPal fees in the UK, answered
How much does PayPal charge to receive a payment in the UK?
Checkout payments to a UK account cost 2.9% + £0.30. On a £40.00 payment that is £1.16 plus £0.30, £1.46 in all (3.6%), so you keep £38.54. The fixed fee is for payments received in pounds.
What does PayPal charge on a payment from outside the UK?
PayPal adds a surcharge to the percent fee: 1.29% when the payer is in the EEA and 1.99% when the payer is anywhere else. On £40.00 you would keep £38.02 from the EEA and £37.74 from elsewhere, against £38.54 from a UK payer. A payer in the US is outside the EEA, so the higher rate applies.
What does PayPal cost when money goes from the UK to the US?
When a US buyer pays a UK seller, the seller pays the fee: the checkout rate plus 1.99%, which is £2.26 on £40.00. Sending a personal payment from the UK to the US is a separate charge: 5% (0.99 to 2.99 GBP). If the buyer pays in dollars and you hold pounds, the conversion spread below applies as well. Sending payments is not in the calculator.
Is there a currency conversion fee on PayPal in the UK?
When a payment needs converting, PayPal applies a spread of 3% above its base exchange rate. On £40.00 that would be about £1.20. It is a spread, not a fixed fee, and PayPal can disclose a different amount at the time, so we do not calculate it. Asking the payer to pay in pounds avoids it.
What do PayPal Pay Later and QR code payments cost in the UK?
Pay Later costs 3.9% + £0.30, so £1.86 on £40.00. QR code payments cost 2% + £0.05 up to £10, 1.5% + £0.10 above £10. A QR payment of £10.00 costs £0.25 and one of £10.01 costs £0.25, because the rate changes above £10.
Why are small PayPal payments expensive in the UK?
The £0.30 fixed fee does not shrink with the payment. On £5.00 PayPal takes £0.45, which is 9%, against 3.6% on £40.00. PayPal also lists micropayment rates on application and a volume plan with lower percent rates on request. We do not model either.
Are PayPal friends and family payments free in the UK?
Sending to friends and family inside the UK is free when you fund it from a balance or bank account. We could not confirm the charge when a card funds it. Sending abroad costs 5% (0.99 to 2.99 GBP). These are personal payments, not sales, so they are not in the calculator.
How much should I ask for to receive an exact amount in the UK?
Switch the calculator to "Find price" and enter the amount you want to receive. It solves for the payment to request after the percent fee, the £0.30 fixed fee and any surcharge you switch on.
Sources and methodology
How we checked every number
Every number on this page comes from one data file, checked against PayPal's own United Kingdom fee pages on 19 Oct 2026. The calculator, the worked example, the tables and the FAQ all read from it, so they cannot disagree.
The UK fixed fee applies to payments received in GBP. Currency conversion is a spread above PayPal's base rate (3%), so it is described here and not calculated. Where PayPal did not state a rate or a fixed fee, we left the option out instead of guessing.
What we could not confirm or do not model
- UK card payments from a payer without a PayPal account (1.2%) take their fixed fee from a different table and PayPal says to confirm it in your account, so it is not offered.
- Fixed fees depend on the currency received. Only the fixed fee in your market's own currency is used, so a payer who pays in another currency is not modelled.
- Currency conversion is a spread above PayPal's base exchange rate: 3% in the UK, 3% or 4% depending on the transaction in the US, Canada and Australia. PayPal may disclose a different amount at the time. It is not a fixed fee, so it is not calculated.
- The optional UK tiered rate plan (2.9%, 2.4% or 2.1% by last month's volume, on request), micropayment rates (on application), Pay by Bank and invoice subscription fees, withdrawals and dispute fees are not modelled.
- The international surcharge is added to the domestic percent for every payment type. The US page names commercial, invoicing and micropayment receipts, so treat it as an estimate for QR.
- PayPal says rates can differ from the page as disclosed during the transaction.
- Friends and family sends are personal payments, not sales, and are listed in the FAQ only. The Canada consumer page may be out of date.