Alternatives to PayPal
PayPal competitors worth switching to
Stripe if you are taking card payments on your own site, Square if you also sell in person, Wise if the pain is cross-border fees. Payoneer suits freelancers and marketplace sellers receiving money internationally. The thing PayPal keeps that none of them match is buyer recognition — a familiar checkout button genuinely converts, which is why most sellers add an alternative rather than removing PayPal.
Pricing verified 2026-07-28 · we re-check quarterly ·
how we compare
Why people leave PayPal
- Account holds and freezes with slow, opaque resolution
- Currency conversion costs on cross-border payments
- A checkout that pulls buyers out of your own flow
- Fees that add up once volume is meaningful
The alternatives
1 
Stripe
Best for: Developers building a real checkout
Pricing: Per-transaction pricing with no monthly fee on the standard product. source
Strengths
- Best developer experience and documentation in the category
- Checkout stays on your own site
- Deep subscription and invoicing tooling
- Predictable per-transaction pricing
Trade-offs
- No merchant of record — sales tax is your problem
- Needs development work to integrate
- Also freezes accounts, though less commonly reported
Verdict: The default for anyone selling from their own site rather than through a marketplace.
2 
Best for: Selling in person as well as online
Pricing: Flat per-transaction rates; hardware sold separately. source
Strengths
- Strong in-person hardware and POS
- Flat, predictable rates
- Free online store included
- Fast payouts
Trade-offs
- Weaker for complex subscription billing
- Fewer countries supported
- Less flexible API
Verdict: The right answer if part of your revenue is taken face to face.
3 
Best for: Getting paid across borders without the FX markup
Pricing: Low fixed fees plus the real mid-market exchange rate, rather than a marked-up one. source
Strengths
- Real mid-market exchange rate, not a marked-up one
- Local account details in several currencies
- Transparent, low fixed fees
Trade-offs
- Not a card-payment gateway for a website
- No subscription billing
- Built for receiving, not checkout
Verdict: Solves a different problem: it is the answer to FX costs, not to accepting card payments.
4 
Best for: Freelancers and marketplace sellers
Pricing: Fees per withdrawal and on currency conversion; built around cross-border receipts. source
Strengths
- Built for cross-border receipts
- Widely supported by marketplaces
- Local receiving accounts in multiple currencies
Trade-offs
- Fees on withdrawal and conversion
- Not a checkout for your own site
- Interface feels dated
Verdict: The practical choice for freelancers and marketplace sellers being paid from abroad.
Don't switch if…
- Buyer trust is doing real work for you — the recognition genuinely lifts conversion
- You sell to consumers who expect the button and would abandon without it
- Your volume is small and per-transaction differences are negligible
- You use it as a payment method alongside another processor, which is the sensible setup
We say this on every page. A comparison that never recommends staying put is an
advert, not a comparison.
Questions people actually ask
Who is PayPal's biggest competitor?
Stripe for online payments, Square in person, and Adyen at enterprise volume. Apple Pay and Google Pay compete for the wallet position rather than the processing itself.
Is Stripe better than PayPal?
For a business taking payments on its own website, generally yes — better developer tools, a checkout that stays on your site, and stronger subscription support. PayPal wins on buyer familiarity and being faster to switch on.
Why does PayPal hold funds?
It holds funds for risk and chargeback protection, most often on new accounts, sudden volume increases or disputed transactions. It is a long-standing complaint; every processor does it, but PayPal's holds are the most frequently reported.
Can I use PayPal and Stripe together?
Yes, and many sellers do. Offering PayPal as a payment method alongside a card processor tends to lift conversion, because some buyers will only pay one way.