PayPal offers checkout and payment-link options for merchants, with integration choices for different sales flows.
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PayPal vs Stripe
Key differences, specifications and fit guidance for PayPal and Stripe, compiled from official documentation and the iThub profiles.
Stripe offers APIs and hosted components for payments; Billing and Radar add subscription and risk workflows with their own scopes.
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- Self-hosting not recorded
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On this page
Quick verdict
Choose Stripe if developers will build and own the payment flow: it is an API-based payments platform with pay-as-you-go pricing, 100+ payment methods, machine-learning fraud screening, Billing for recurring revenue and Connect for marketplaces. Choose PayPal if you want buyers to pay with their PayPal or Venmo accounts, need payment links, buttons or invoices without a website, or want PayPal Checkout to handle unauthorized-transaction chargebacks and compliance reporting for you. The deciding factor is who owns checkout and its risk: your engineering team or PayPal.
Choose PayPal if
Shortlist PayPal when your buyers already use PayPal or Venmo, you want payment links or invoices without a website, or you prefer PayPal Checkout to handle chargebacks and compliance reporting.
Choose Stripe if
Shortlist Stripe when your team will own the payment integration and needs hosted or embedded checkout, recurring billing, marketplace payouts through Connect and broad local payment method coverage.
Key differences
| Aspect | PayPal | Stripe |
|---|---|---|
| Product approach | PayPal Open helps merchants accept payments online, in person and on the go, with buyers paying by PayPal, Venmo in the US, cards, digital wallets or installments. | Stripe offers payment-processing software and APIs for websites and mobile apps, covering online and in-person payments, embedded financial services and custom revenue models. |
| Checkout options | Customers click the PayPal button and pay with any funding source in their PayPal account. Expanded Checkout also accepts cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. | Stripe lets you embed a pre-built payment form in your site or send customers to a Stripe-hosted page, and its libraries keep sensitive card data off your servers. |
| Pricing model | PayPal fees vary by transaction type and checkout option, and custom rates with interchange-plus pricing are available for established businesses with large annual volume. | Stripe uses pay-as-you-go pricing with no setup or monthly fees, and offers custom packages for large payment volumes or unique business models. Rates vary by country. |
| Chargeback handling | With PayPal Checkout, PayPal handles unauthorized transactions, chargebacks and compliance reporting. With Expanded Checkout you pay a lower fee and handle these yourself. | You respond to disputes yourself, helped by Smart Disputes, which prepares evidence with AI, and by prevention tools powered by Verifi from Visa and Ethoca from Mastercard. |
| Fraud and protection | PayPal says it is fully PCI compliant and offers Seller Protection on eligible unauthorized-transaction and item-not-received claims for PayPal Checkout merchants. | Stripe detects and blocks fraud using machine learning trained on data across millions of companies, and Radar can be enabled for risk evaluation. |
| Subscriptions and platforms | PayPal's checkout integration can save and reuse stored payment methods for recurring payments, and adds refunds, voids and delayed captures through server-side endpoints. | Stripe Billing sets up recurring billing for SaaS or e-commerce, and Connect supports marketplaces that collect payments and pay out a portion to sellers or service providers. |
| Selling without a website | Payment Links, Payment Buttons, QR codes and online invoices let you take payments without a website, and the PayPal app accepts contactless payments on a phone. | Stripe can generate no-code payment links, so a business can start accepting payments in minutes before building a full integration. |
| Global reach | PayPal says it is available in more than 200 global markets and supports 130+ send currencies. | Stripe supports cardholders in 195+ countries and 100+ payment methods, and lets you accept payments globally through a single integration. |
More specifications
From the iThub profiles. “Not recorded” means the profile does not confirm it. Confirm prices and editions with each vendor.
| Attribute | PayPal | Stripe |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | See vendor pricing ↗ | See vendor pricing ↗ |
| API | Yes ↗ | Yes ↗ |
| Founded | 1998 | 2010 |
| Headquarters | San Jose, California, USA | San Francisco, California, USA |
| GitHub stars | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Documentation | Official docs ↗ | Official docs ↗ |
What are PayPal and Stripe?
PayPal
PayPal provides merchant payment acceptance for online and in-person sales. Its US business page is titled Accept Online and In-Person Payments, and the developer documentation describes a standard checkout integration. Merchants can also collect payments through shareable payment links.
The fees page lists an Expanded Checkout option where customers can pay with cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and more, and shows card processing rates with a fixed fee per transaction. Capabilities, eligible payment methods and fees depend on market and account setup, so check them for the merchant's country and use case.
Stripe
Stripe describes itself as financial infrastructure to grow your revenue. Its homepage says businesses can accept payments, offer financial services and implement custom revenue models, from the first transaction to the billionth. Stripe Payments covers online collection through hosted or custom integrations, and the Payments documentation is the entry point for developers.
Two further products have their own documentation sections. Billing handles recurring charges and Radar handles risk evaluation. Each has its own scope, settings and pricing, so a team adopting Payments does not automatically get the others.
How to evaluate PayPal and Stripe
Stripe and PayPal both process online and in-person payments, but they start from different places. Stripe is an API-based platform that developers assemble into checkout, subscriptions and marketplace payouts, priced pay-as-you-go. PayPal builds on its consumer wallet and Venmo, offers links, buttons and invoices that need no website, and with PayPal Checkout takes on chargeback and compliance work.
List the markets, currencies and payment methods your customers actually use, and decide who will own checkout, fraud review and dispute handling. Then request quotes from each provider based on your expected card mix, average order value and monthly volume, and confirm payout timing and dispute processes with the merchant account you will actually use.
Criteria to verify
- Payment methods your customers use
- Countries and currencies you sell in
- Who handles chargebacks and disputes
- Recurring billing and payout needs
- Fees at your volume and card mix
- Engineering effort to integrate and maintain
Proof-of-concept plan
In sandbox or test mode, build the same checkout on both: one one-time purchase, one subscription renewal, one refund and one disputed payment. Test from two target countries with the main local payment methods, then compare conversion steps, webhook handling, reconciliation exports and the time your developers spent on each.
Frequently asked questions
What is the main difference between Stripe and PayPal?
Stripe is a developer-focused payments platform: you build checkout with its APIs, hosted pages or payment forms and add Billing, Radar or Connect as needed. PayPal centers on its own buyer wallet, letting customers pay with PayPal, Venmo in the US, cards and installments, and PayPal Checkout takes on chargeback and compliance work for you.
Is Stripe cheaper than PayPal?
There is no single answer. Stripe uses pay-as-you-go pricing with no setup or monthly fees, and its rates vary by country. PayPal fees vary by transaction type, and Expanded Checkout costs less than PayPal Checkout because you handle chargebacks and compliance reporting yourself. Compare quotes for your country, card mix and monthly volume.
Can you accept PayPal through Stripe?
In some regions, yes. Stripe documents PayPal as a payment method processed through Stripe for businesses in supported European countries. Outside those countries, or to process PayPal through your own PayPal account, Stripe points to its PayPal custom payment method. Check availability for your Stripe account's country before planning a single integration.
Can I accept PayPal payments without a website?
Yes. PayPal Payment Links and Payment Buttons create a link, button or QR code you can share by email, social media or text, and you can send online invoices that customers pay instantly. Stripe also offers no-code payment links that let you start accepting payments in minutes.
Which is better for subscriptions and marketplaces?
Stripe documents dedicated products for both: Billing for recurring billing in SaaS or e-commerce, with 15+ built-in models such as flat rate, per seat and tiered, and Connect for marketplaces that pay out a portion to sellers. PayPal's checkout integration supports recurring payments by saving and reusing stored payment methods.
Does PayPal or Stripe handle chargebacks for me?
PayPal Checkout does: PayPal says it handles unauthorized transactions, chargebacks and compliance reporting, in exchange for a higher fee than Expanded Checkout. With Stripe you respond to disputes yourself, helped by Smart Disputes, which prepares evidence with AI, and by dispute prevention tools from Verifi and Ethoca.
Sources
Facts on this page come from these official pages, checked on , and from the iThub profiles. Vendors change plans and features: confirm with them before buying.