Stripe vs. PayPal: What are The Differences?

Spreedly’s vendor-agnostic approach to open payments technology equips our clients with the freedom to choose providers that fit their needs — the trick is determining which providers best suit your company.

Making informed decisions regarding different payment platforms and services requires an in-depth understanding of what each specific payment solution brings to the table from both a technical and philosophical perspective. 

When it comes to payment systems, Stripe and PayPal have made equally significant and impressive names for themselves. Each of these payment technology providers offer substantial advantages to businesses and play a key role in supporting global payment growth, helping companies reach new customers in the farthest reaches of the world.

With both holding the status of preferred payment partners at Spreedly, we have created this guide to help you determine how Stripe and PayPal compare. 

An Introduction to Stripe and PayPal, Two Leading Payment Tech Providers

After its launch in 2010, Stripe has grown into a multinational powerhouse. Capital One Shopping Research found that Stripe supports more than 1.49 million active websites as of March 2024, with one in ten people worldwide completing transactions through the platform in 2022. 

Meanwhile, PayPal hosts 426 million active users and merchants, completing 25 billion transactions in 2023 alone. Founded back in 1998, the company has expanded to encompass more than the PayPal brand alone, acquiring providers like Braintree and Venmo in 2013.

A Comprehensive Comparison of Stripe and PayPal

From a philosophical perspective, the two companies share similar values and objectives, with both striving to offer businesses of all sizes not just streamlined payments but a comprehensive collection of technological solutions aimed at optimizing business operations. 

Check out how the two platforms compare:

Stripe’s Complete Payments Platform

Self-described as a “fully integrated suite of financial and payments products,” Stripe offers everything you need for global expansions. The platform supports more than 50 global payment methods, including localized payments to attract customers in different regions. In terms of the specific payment methods Stripe accepts, these methods include:

• Cards
• Digital wallets
• Bank debits and transfers
• Bank redirects
• Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL)
• Cash-based vouchers

The platform also offers exceptional support for currency conversions, accepting more than 135 currencies across 46 countries. Stripe continues to further its own expansion initiatives, meaning more currencies and payment methods are sure to join the list as the company increases availability in new countries and regions of the world. 

While Stripe offers a wide range of solutions, most generally fall into three broad categories:

• Global payments (including payment processing and payment gateways)
• Embedded finance and treasury 
• Revenue and finance automation

Along with offering back-end payment processing and financial services, the platform also ensures you can achieve a user-friendly experience that welcomes hundreds of third-party and pre-built integrations. 

In terms of pricing, Stripe offers both standard pricing and custom pricing. Standard pricing provides access to the complete payments platform and follows a pay-as-you-go pricing model. The payment processing rate in the standard model is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful card charge. 

The custom pricing model is designed to handle large transaction volumes and cross-border operations, offering additional features like: 

• Volume discounts
• Multi-product discounts
• Country-specific rates
• IC+ pricing

Developers have long favored Stripe for its ease of use and excellent customizability. The platform even offers a host of complementary tools for developers to use at their discretion. 

PayPal’s All-In-One Payments Platform

PayPal business solutions encompass an all-in-one platform that offer businesses of all sizes the tools necessary for global expansion and optimized finances. Along with accepting transactions through the company’s various branches (PayPal, PayPal Credit, Pay Later, Venmo, Braintree, etc.), the platform also supports payment methods such as:

• Credit and debit cards
• Digital wallets
• Deferred payments
• Bank transfers
• Bank debits
• Vouchers

Like Stripe, PayPal offers global availability to businesses both small and large. The platform is currently available to merchants across 200 countries and regions, with support for 25 currencies as of 2024. Features of PayPal vary depending on if you are a small business or enterprise but always include:

• Payment acceptance and optimization
• Financial services (such as business loans and business debit cards)
• Business operation services (risk management, reporting, etc.) 

While Stripe’s pricing and fee model is relatively straightforward, PayPal’s is a bit more complex. As of September 2024, the standard fees according to payment type are as follows, with fixed fees varying based on currency:

• PayPal Checkout: 3.49% + fixed fee
• PayPal Guest Checkout: 3.49% + fixed fee
• QR code transactions: 2.29% + fixed fee
• QR code transactions through third-party integrators: 2.29% + 0.09USD
• Pay with Venmo: 3.49% + fixed fee
• Send/Receive money for goods and services: 2.99%
• Standard credit and debit card payments: 2.99% + fixed fee
• All other commercial transactions: 3.49% + fixed fee

You can find PayPal’s full pricing and fee model here.

Integrate as Many Payment Technologies as You Need with Spreedly

Spreedly’s Open Payment Platform enables you to offer both Stripe and PayPal to your customers by integrating multiple payment gateways and service providers into your payment stack, ensuring you can connect to the technologies you need and want most. 

Spreedly gives you the flexibility to enable payment methods and gateways across the globe so your customers can pay the way they want. Spreedly also offers intelligent payment routing to ensure your payments are optimized to increase authorization and reduce payment failures.

With the recent addition of our Advanced Vault, Spreedly has the capabilities you need to secure your payments at all stages of a transaction, keep customer payment details evergreen and avoid vendor lock in. 

Request a Spreedly demo today to get started. 

Download the Multiple Payment Gateways eBook Below