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PayPal vs Stripe
PayPal covers 187 countries and Stripe covers 46; they overlap in 45, with 142 served only by PayPal and 1 only by Stripe. PayPal supports 9 payment methods and Stripe 50, 9 of them in common. Stripe publishes its pricing, while PayPal quotes fees per merchant.
PayPal and Stripe at a glance
| PayPal | Stripe | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Provider & method | Provider |
| Headquarters | United States | |
| Founded | 2010 | |
| Part of | ||
| Countries covered | 187 | 46 |
| Payment methods | 9 | 50 |
| Currencies | 24 — AUD, BRL, CAD, CHF, CNY, CZK… | 33 — AED, ARS, AUD, BRL, CAD, CHF… |
| Pricing | On request | 1.5%–3.15% + 0.2 GBP per transaction |
| Settlement | T+2 in the US and Australia, T+3 in the UK and EU; first payout after 7-14 days | |
| Regulators | Financial Conduct Authority, Central Bank of Ireland, US state banking regulators (NMLS), Monetary Authority of Singapore | |
| Categories | ACH, BNPL, Bank Transfer, Cards, Crypto, Direct Debit, Open Banking, Remittance, Wallet | ACH, BNPL, Card Issuance, Cards, Cross Border, Crypto, Direct Debit, Gateway, Open Banking, POS, PayTech |
| Industries | Charity, Cosmetics, Crypto, Food & Drink, Forex / CFD, Healthcare, SaaS, Travel, eCommerce, iGaming | Charity, Fintech, Food & Drink, Marketplace, Retail, SaaS, Travel, eCommerce |
Countries
45 in common · 142 only PayPal · 1 only Stripe
Only PayPal
Only Stripe
Payment methods
9 in common · 0 only PayPal · 41 only Stripe
Only PayPal
None.
Only Stripe
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between PayPal and Stripe?
PayPal covers 187 countries and Stripe covers 46; they overlap in 45, with 142 served only by PayPal and 1 only by Stripe. PayPal supports 9 payment methods and Stripe 50, 9 of them in common. Stripe publishes its pricing, while PayPal quotes fees per merchant.
Which covers more countries, PayPal or Stripe?
PayPal has more: PayPal covers 187 countries and Stripe covers 46. Only PayPal serves Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda and 136 more. Only Stripe serves Gibraltar.
Does PayPal or Stripe support more payment methods?
Stripe has more: 9 for PayPal against 50 for Stripe, with 9 in common. Only Stripe offers ACH, Affirm, Afterpay, Alipay, Alma, Amazon Pay and 35 more.
Is PayPal cheaper than Stripe?
PayPal quotes fees per merchant. Stripe publishes its pricing (1.5%–3.15% + 0.2 GBP per transaction). Which is cheaper depends on your payment methods, countries, volumes and risk profile, so compare quotes from both for your own mix.
Can you use PayPal and Stripe together?
Yes. Many merchants use more than one payment provider — to cover countries or payment methods only one of them offers, or as a backup if one has an outage. A payment orchestration platform can route each payment to whichever provider suits it best.
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Compiled from public sources, information supplied by providers and AI-generated content — always confirm coverage and pricing with each provider. Disclaimer