🇦🇺 AU PayPal Fee Calculator

For PayPal merchants & consumers in Australia!

Up-to-date as of 29 Apr 2022

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PayPal is, without a doubt, one of the most popular digital wallets in Australia. Most online and brick-and-mortar shops accept PayPal payments through a wide range of products.

PayPal account types

PayPal offers three types of accounts for different users.

Personal account

As the name suggested, this is for personal PayPal transactions. You can use it to send money to friends and family, and pay for goods and services. You can also link it with your bank account in order to add funds to your PayPal account.

It is worth noting that if you sell your second-hand items through online marketplaces (eBay, Etsy, etc) and linked to your personal account, you will be charged the standard fees. Selling using a personal PayPal account also limits the form of payments you can accept.

Business account

This type of account caters to small and medium business owners. You can sell under your business, company or charity name with this account. There are additional benefits such as employees access, track payments, get live customer support and more.

PayPal Payment Pro account

For large corporations and businesses dealing with a large number of transactions, PayPal Payment Pro will be ideal.

How much are PayPal fees?

PayPal fees differ across various types of transactions.

The fees charged by PayPal depend on multiple factors:

the type of account (merchant or consumer)
the type of transaction
the transaction currency
the region of the buyer or recipient

Our PayPal calculator above has taken these conditions into consideration. You can use it to calculate the exact amount PayPal charges you.

Commercial transactions

The standard rate for each commercial domestic transaction is 2.6% (variable fee) plus 30¢ (fixed fee), while charities are being charged less, starting from 1.1% plus 30¢ per local transaction.

The formula is Standard fee = (Total transaction amount * 0.026) + $0.30

For international transactions, the rates will be higher. If the transaction currency is different, there will be an additional currency conversion fee and a different fixed fee.

Different types of transactions/products also have different fees. For more information on PayPal merchant rates, check out merchant fees page.

Personal transactions

There is no fee when you use PayPal to buy things or send money to your family and friends locally, provided there is no need for currency conversion. There is also no charge for receiving money from your family and friends.

PayPal fees apply when you

receive donations (merchant rate applies)
send money overseas (international payments)
withdraw from your PayPal balance to your bank account or credit card

For more information on PayPal consumer rates, check out consumer fees page.

How to calculate PayPal AU fees

Let’s do some manual calculations.

If a customer paid $100 for an order, PayPal will take ($100 x 0.026) + $0.30 = $2.90 and the merchant will receive $100 – $2.90 = $97.10
For a domestic charity transaction, PayPal will take a lower cut of ($100 x 0.011) + $0.30 = $1.40 and the nonprofit will receive $100 – $1.40 = $98.60

For PayPal consumers, buying something using PayPal is free as long as you use the same currency (AUD for AUD, etc). Sending and receiving money within Australia is free too.

How do you avoid PayPal fees?

For merchants

Just by getting a merchant account, you have started the first step to saving more money

Apply for Micropayment rate

If most of your payments are under $10, you should definitely apply for Micropayments. Although the rate for Micropayments is 5%, its fixed fee is only 5 cents.

For a standard transaction, if a customer paid $5, PayPal will take ($5 x 0.026) + $0.30 = $0.43 and you will receive $5 – $0.43 = $4.57 after fees.

For a micropayment payment, the PayPal fee is only ($5 x 0.05) + $0.05 = $0.30 and you will get $5 – $0.30 = $4.70.

That’s a 30% reduction in fees so using Micropayments will earn you heaps in the long run.

Accept payments in one currency

Receiving payments in currencies other than your default one will inccur a currency conversion fee which is 3% after all PayPal’s fees. Besides the additional fee, you might also lose out on lousy currency exchange rates.

The formula is Currency conversion fee = (Total transaction amount – (Total transaction amount * Variable fee) – Fixed fee) * 0.03

Note that the fixed fee is based on the transaction currency and it might be higher or lower than the 30 cents charged for AUD.

Receive payment less often

Since PayPal charges a fixed fee per transaction, consolidating your payments will cost you less over time. Ask your customers to pay a larger sum in a longer interval instead of frequent small payments.

Include PayPal fees in your payment request

Lastly, you can let your customers foot the PayPal fees by adding them on top of the amount they need to pay you. This is a common practice in many cases such as when oversea independent contractors request businesses to cover the bank fees for international payments.

For consumers

Shop in your default currency

Always pay in your PayPal account’s default currency to save on the 3% currency conversion fee and worse-than-usual FX rate.

Never send money funded through your card

Sending money to family and friends funded by your card is a terrible idea as it costs 2.6% plus 30 cents per domestic transaction. Always send money that is funded either by your bank account or from the PayPal balance.

Only send money to local accounts

There will be international fees for oversea transactions. As long as you send money to a local personal PayPal account, there won’t be additional fees.

Leave the money in your PayPal balance

A fee incurs no matter how you withdraw your money from your PayPal account. Just leave it there and use it for your shopping or when you need to pay back your family and friends.

Include PayPal fees in your donation request

For those accepting donations, you can include the PayPal charges in your request. Let your donators pay the bill instead,

How does this PayPal fee calculator work?

Our PayPal fee calculator provides a easy way of estimating the fee you need to pay.

Choose the account type (merchant or consumer).
Select the fee rate or input your own rate.
Enter your transaction amount.
Confirm the transaction currency.
For merchants, you can enter your cost to understand your profit margins.

If you’re trying to understand your eBay fees, try our eBay fee calculator to work out your final value fee.

Fee structure for PayPal merchants

Commercial transaction fees

As known as PayPal goods & services fees, this is the most common type of transaction for merchants. If you sell something through PayPal, it is usually considered a commerical transaction.

Payment type	Domestic transactions	International transactions
Standard	2.6% plus $0.30	3.6% plus $0.30
QR code	$10.01 and above 0.9% plus $0.10 $10.00 and below 1.4% plus $0.05	$10.01 and above 1.9% plus $0.10 $10.00 and below 1.4% plus $0.05

Donation transaction fees

Payment type	Domestic transactions	International transactions
Standard	2.6% plus $0.30	3.6% plus $0.30
QR code	$10.01 and above 0.9% plus $0.10 $10.00 and below 1.4% plus $0.05	$10.01 and above 1.9% plus $0.10 $10.00 and below 1.4% plus $0.05

Charity transaction fees

Non-profits enjoy further discount. Refer to PayPal’s charity page for more details.

Payment type	Domestic transactions	International transactions
Standard	1.1% plus $0.30	2.1% plus $0.30
QR code	$10.01 and above 0.9% plus $0.10 $10.00 and below 1.4% plus $0.05	$10.01 and above 1.9% plus $0.10 $10.00 and below 1.4% plus $0.05

PayPal Online Card Payment Services

Payment type	Domestic transactions	International transactions
Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments	1.75% plus $0.30	3.6% plus $0.30
Website Payments Pro – Hosted Solution	1.75% plus $0.30	3.6% plus $0.30
Virtual Terminal	3.6% plus $0.30	4.6% plus $0.30

PayPal Payouts

Send payments to businesses in 96 countries and 24 currencies.. Learn more on this page.

Domestic transactions	International transactions
2% A maximum fee of 1.25 AUD	2% A maximum fee of 60.00 AUD

Micropayments

These are payments under $12. Learn more on this page.

Type	Domestic Transactions	International Transactions
Non-digital goods	5% + $0.05	5.5% + $0.05
Digital goods	5% + $0.05	6% + $0.05

Fee structure for PayPal consumers

Buying with PayPal

You don’t have to pay any extra fees for purchasing something through PayPal. The merchant bears the cost.

Receiving donations

Standard

In Australia	Outside Australia
2.6% plus $0.30	3.6% plus $0.30

QR code

Transaction amount	In Australia	Outside Australia
$10.01 and above	0.9% plus $0.10	1.9% plus $0.10
$10.00 and below	1.4% plus $0.05

Sending money

To	In Australia	Outside Australia
PayPal balance or a bank account	0%	5% A minimum fee of 0.99 AUD A maximum fee of 5.99 AUD
Cards	2.90% plus $0.30	7.90% plus $0.30 A minimum fee of 0.99 AUD A maximum fee of 5.99 AUD

Receiving money

There is no fee for receiving money. The sender will bear the cost if there is any.

Withdrawals out of PayPal

It might be better to spend the money than withdrawing it to your bank account or card.

Withdrawal/Transfer to	Rate
Bank account	3% A minimum fee of 0.25 AUD A maximum fee of 10.00 AUD
Cards	1.5% A minimum fee of 0.25 AUD A maximum fee of 10.00 AUD

FAQs

How do I calculate PayPal fees?

The standard commercial fee is 2.6% plus 30¢. If the transaction is $100, the PayPal fee will be ($100 x 0.026) + $0.30 = $2.90

How much does it cost to send $1000 on PayPal?

If it is funded by PayPal balance or a bank account, there is no charge for domestic transactions. If it is funded by a card, PayPal will take $26.30.

How do I avoid PayPal fees when sending money?

Just remember to fund the money with either your PayPal balance or bank account. If it is funded by a card, there is a 2.6% PayPal fee.