Top 5 PayPal alternatives: Compare fees, features, and benefits

PayPal is an American-owned financial technology company that operates in most countries around the world.

Founded in 1998, the company provides online payment software that allows buyers and sellers to transact without using a payment card or bank transfer.

PayPal is used by over 36 million merchants², as well as individuals, and works by storing customers’ bank account and card details so they can purchase from vendors without providing any sensitive financial information. 

As well as using PayPal to buy services or products from merchants, you can also use it to send money to friends and secure credit. Since its inception, PayPal’s features have evolved to include:

• PayPal Working Capital

• Pay in 3

• Cash cards

• Business debit cards

• Xoom wire transfer services.

The top alternatives to PayPal

Here are the top alternatives to PayPal.

Airwallex is a global financial platform that offers a range of financial services, including international payments, multi-currency accounts, and Corporate Cards. It aims to empower businesses of all sizes to drive their global growth through easy-to-use transaction solutions.

Payoneer is a fintech company that offers digital payment solutions. It enables small businesses to send and receive funds, manage finances, and operate internationally. With Payoneer, users can handle cross-border payments and access global markets with compelling fees if both sender and receiver are Payoneer customers.

Square equips businesses with the means to accept payments, oversee sales, and optimise operations. It's mostly recognised for its portable card readers and innovative POS systems but does offer online payment processing.

Stripe equips businesses with a comprehensive suite of payment processing tools and APIs to facilitate payment acceptance, payouts, and financial management online.

Wise, previously recognised as TransferWise, provides international money transfers, multi-currency accounts, and affordable foreign exchange services like Airwallex.

Compare the top 4 alternatives to PayPal

Compare PayPal with Airwallex

Use our comparison table to see how PayPal measures up against Airwallex on fees, features, and benefits.

What questions should I ask alternative providers to PayPal?

 As a business owner, it’s important you understand how your payments provider works and the checkout experience you’re providing to your customers. Choosing the right fit for your needs now can save you stress and money down the track.

 Here’s a list of useful questions to guide your decision making when comparing PayPal with the best alternatives on the market. 

1. What are the transaction fees?

2. Are there any hidden fees?

3. What payment methods are supported?

4. How is currency conversion handled?

5. What integration options are available?

6. How long do transactions take to process?

7. How do you protect my financial data?

8. Is the platform safe for my customers to use?

9. What countries do you accept payments from?

10. How flexible are the contract terms?

11. What reporting and analytics tools are available?

12. Can the platform support my future growth?

Final thoughts: Why choose Airwallex over PayPal?

PayPal is a major player in the digital wallet market, but it’s not for everyone. Businesses usually switch to Airwallex to take advantage of our additional tools and competitive fees that help streamline their financial operations.

Unlike PayPal, Airwallex was built purely for businesses. As a cross-border payment specialist, we know how quickly costs can stack up so we offer:

• 0% domestic transaction fees

• 0% international transaction fees in 110+ countries

• Competitive FX rates at interbank rate + 0.5–1%

• The ability to hold 23 currencies in a multi-currency wallet.

If you’re moving money across borders, PayPal’s high transaction fees can become expensive. Although it’s free to open a PayPal for Business account, as soon as you start receiving or sending money, you’ll pay a fee.

The platform has a complex payment structure that varies between transaction type, but for receiving international commercial transactions, PayPal charges between 2.49% + 30p and 4.89% + 30p¹².

Plus, you could be charged an extra 3% for forced currency conversions for international transactions.

Businesses also turn to Airwallex because we’re an end-to-end financial solution. Over 100,000 companies around the world use our platform to simplify their global payments and financial operations.

Beyond facilitating cross-border payments, we also offer:

• Expense Management features including reconciliation of expenses and reimbursements, real-time visibility over spend and multi-layer approval workflows

• Bill Pay support through intuitive data entry and automated accounts payable features

Multi-currency employee and Corporate Cards with spending limits and 0% foreign card transaction fees. 

Sources and references

For more information on Airwallex, visit Airwallex Business Account and Airwallex pricing.

1. https://www.chargeflow.io/blog/paypal-statistics-facts#:~:text=PayPal%20has%20426%20million%20active,%2C%20an%208.19%25%20YoY%20increment.

2. https://www.chargeflow.io/blog/paypal-statistics-facts#:~:text=PayPal%20has%20426%20million%20active,%2C%20an%208.19%25%20YoY%20increment

3.  https://www.payoneer.com/get-paid-by-clients/#:~:text=Payment%20request%20%E2%80%93%20sent%20payment%20requests,bank%20debit%2C%20direct%20bank%20payment

4.  https://www.payoneer.com/about/pricing/#pay-your-supplier

5.  https://squareup.com/au/en/payments

6.  https://squareup.com/gb/en/pricing

7.  https://stripe.com/payments/payment-methods 

8. https://wise.com/us/blog/stripe-international

9.  https://stripe.com/gb/pricing

10.  https://wise.com/au/business/receive-money

11.  https://wise.com/gb/pricing/business 

12. https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/merchant-fees

13. https://www.paypal.com/uk/cshelp/article/where%E2%80%99s-my-withdrawal-help456

14. https://www.paypal.com/uk/cshelp/article/how-can-i-release-my-payments-on-hold-help129

Disclaimer: We wrote this article in Q1 2025. The information was based on our own online research and we were not able to manually test each tool or provider. The information is provided for educational purposes only and a reader should consider the specific requirements of their business when evaluating providers. If you would like to request an update, feel free to contact us at [email protected].