Head to head
PayPal vs Square: the fee math
Same invoice, two processors, published standard rates. The table shows what PayPal and Square each take at typical freelance invoice sizes and what actually lands in your account.
Square is cheaper at every size we sampled. At $2,500, the difference compounds to about $119 per year.
| Invoice amount | PayPal fee | Square fee | PayPal net | Square net | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $300 | $10.96 | $10.2 | $289.04 | $289.8 | Square |
| $1,000 | $35.39 | $33.3 | $964.61 | $966.7 | Square |
| $2,500 | $87.74 | $82.8 | $2,412.26 | $2,417.2 | Square |
| $5,000 | $174.99 | $165.3 | $4,825.01 | $4,834.7 | Square |
| $10,000 | $349.49 | $330.3 | $9,650.51 | $9,669.7 | Square |
Published standard US rates, checked 2026-09-26. Providers adjust pricing quietly; our calculators use these same dated constants.
Run your own numbers in the calculator · See the full fee dataset
FAQ
Are these the only fees PayPal and Square charge?
These are published US online payment rates for the methods modeled. PayPal Checkout and a card-only flow can have different prices. International payments, disputes, and payout options can add fees; check each provider's pricing page for your setup.
Can I make the client pay the processing fee?
Sometimes, but card-network rules and some state laws restrict surcharging, and clients dislike visible fees. The cleaner move is pricing the ~3% into your rate, or offering ACH bank transfer, which costs a fraction of card processing for larger invoices.
Do these rates change often?
Rarely but quietly. The date under the table is when we last verified them against the official pricing pages; the fee calculators on this site run on the same dated constants, so if one updates, everything updates.