What is the difference between Stripe and PayPal?

Stripe is best for Developers wanting the best payment API, while PayPal is best for Businesses wanting universal payment acceptance. Stripe starts at 2.9% + $0.30 and PayPal starts at 2.9% + $0.30.

Is Stripe or PayPal cheaper?

Stripe starts at 2.9% + $0.30 with a free tier. PayPal starts at 2.9% + $0.30 with a free tier.

Is there a free alternative to PayPal?

Both Stripe and PayPal offer free tiers.

Stripe vs PayPal (2026) — notanothertool

At a glance

	Stripe	PayPal
Best for	Developers wanting the best payment API	Businesses wanting universal payment acceptance
Starting price	2.9% + $0.30	2.9% + $0.30
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	—	—
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	—	—
Checkout	—	✓
Connect	✓	—
Global	—	✓
Invoicing	✓	✓
Payments	—	✓
Payments API	✓	—
Subscriptions	✓	—

Stripe

Strengths

Includes Payments API as a core feature, purpose-built for payment processing workflows
Includes Subscriptions as a core feature, purpose-built for payment processing workflows
No monthly fees — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Established product with 16+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Developer-oriented tooling may not suit non-technical team members
Ecosystem of third-party integrations is smaller than the market leaders in payment processing
Mobile experience lags behind the desktop version in features and polish

Try Stripe → Full review

PayPal

Strengths

Includes Payments as a core feature, purpose-built for payment processing workflows
Includes Invoicing as a core feature, purpose-built for payment processing workflows
No monthly fees — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Established product with 28+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Ecosystem of third-party integrations is smaller than the market leaders in payment processing
Mobile experience lags behind the desktop version in features and polish

Try PayPal → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Both tools offer free tiers, so you can test each before committing. Stripe's free plan: No monthly fees. PayPal's free plan: No monthly fees.

Feature gaps: Stripe offers Connect, Payments API and Subscriptions that PayPal lacks. PayPal brings Checkout, Global and Payments that Stripe does not have. Both share Invoicing.

Team fit: Both tools target any size teams, so the decision hinges on features and workflow fit rather than scale.

Where each tool shines: Stripe's biggest strengths are: includes payments api as a core feature, purpose-built for payment processing workflows. includes subscriptions as a core feature, purpose-built for payment processing workflows. PayPal's biggest strengths are: includes payments as a core feature, purpose-built for payment processing workflows. includes invoicing as a core feature, purpose-built for payment processing workflows.

Watch out for: With Stripe, users commonly note that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade. With PayPal, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.

Choose Stripe if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: developers wanting the best payment api
You specifically need Connect and Payments API
You care about includes subscriptions as a core feature, purpose-built for payment processing workflows
The free tier works for you: no monthly fees

Choose PayPal if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: businesses wanting universal payment acceptance
You specifically need Checkout and Global
You care about includes invoicing as a core feature, purpose-built for payment processing workflows
The free tier works for you: no monthly fees