PayPal fee calculator for friends and family payments
Quick answer
Enter the amount, how you pay and whether your friend is abroad. As of October 2026, PayPal's fee page (last updated May 19, 2026) lists no fee from a PayPal balance or bank account to someone in the US, 2.90% + $0.30 for a card, and 5.00% (at least $0.99, at most $4.99) more for an international payment. On $50 by card to someone abroad, that is $4.25.
Key points
- As of October 2026, a personal PayPal payment from a balance or bank account to someone in the US has no fee, at any amount.
- As of October 2026, a card adds 2.90% + $0.30, so the fee is 4.4% of a $20 payment but 2.93% of a $1,000 one.
- As of October 2026, the international fee is 5.00%, never under $0.99 or over $4.99. The minimum holds below $19.80 and the maximum from $99.80 up.
- On $50 the fee is $0 from balance or bank, $1.75 by card, and $4.25 by card to someone abroad.
- The sender pays these fees and the friend gets the full amount. Currency conversion (4.00% or 3.00%) is not in the result.
On this page
Total PayPal fee for these choices $1.75
You pay in total (amount plus fee) $51.75
Your friend receives (before any currency conversion) $50.00
Card fee (2.90% + $0.30) $1.75
International fee (none for a recipient in the US) $0.00
Fee as a share of the amount 3.5%
Same amount from balance or bank, to someone in the US $0.00
Same amount by card, to someone in the US $1.75
Same amount from balance or bank, to someone abroad $2.50
Same amount by card, to someone abroad $4.25
Show the formula
- Card fee = amount × 2.90% + $0.30 when you pay by card, otherwise $0
- International fee = amount × 5.00%, but never less than $0.99 and never more than $4.99, when the recipient is abroad, otherwise $0
- Total fee = card fee + international fee, each rounded to the cent
- You pay = amount + total fee. Your friend receives the full amount, because receiving a personal payment has no fee when no currency conversion is involved
- The currency conversion spread (4.00% or 3.00%) is not included
When to use this calculator
Use it before you send a friend their share of a dinner or a trip, to see what PayPal charges and who pays it. It covers personal payments (the Friends and Family option) in US dollars from a US account, using the rates on PayPal’s fee page as of October 2026. That page was last updated on May 19, 2026, and PayPal can change it, so read the page before you rely on a result.
What does a Friends and Family payment cost?
The fee depends on how you pay and where your friend is, and three rules set it. The calculator applies them to the amount you type:
- Balance or bank account, recipient in the US: no fee.
- Card: 2.90% of the amount plus $0.30.
- Recipient abroad: an international fee of 5.00%, never less than $0.99 and never more than $4.99, added to whatever the funding source costs.
The calculator opens on $50 by card to someone in the US. That is 2.90% of $50, which is $1.45, plus $0.30, so the fee is $1.75. You pay $51.75 and your friend gets $50.00. Abroad by card, the fee runs from $1.58 on $10 to $19.79 on $500, and the international part stops growing at $4.99. A balance or bank payment to someone in the US is $0.00 at every amount, so the table leaves it out:
| Amount | Card, US | Balance or bank, abroad | Card, abroad |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10 | $0.59 | $0.99 | $1.58 |
| $20 | $0.88 | $1.00 | $1.88 |
| $50 | $1.75 | $2.50 | $4.25 |
| $100 | $3.20 | $4.99 | $8.19 |
| $200 | $6.10 | $4.99 | $11.09 |
| $500 | $14.80 | $4.99 | $19.79 |
The fixed $0.30 weighs most on small payments. A $20 payment by card costs $0.88, which is 4.4% of it, while a $500 payment costs 2.96%.
Who pays the fee, and how do you pay none?
The sender pays. PayPal’s send-money page says there may be a small charge to the sender depending on how they pay or whether the payment is international, and the fee page lists no fee for receiving a personal payment when no currency conversion is involved. So the calculator shows you paying the amount plus the fee, and your friend receiving the full amount.
To pay no fee, fund the payment from your PayPal balance or a bank account and send it to someone PayPal counts as living in your market. Between two people in the US, paying by card is what adds a fee on the listed rates.
Where do the minimum and maximum apply?
The international fee is 5.00% only in the middle. It reaches the $0.99 minimum at $19.80 ($0.99 ÷ 0.05), so any payment below $19.80 pays $0.99. It reaches the $4.99 maximum at $99.80 ($4.99 ÷ 0.05), so from $99.80 up the fee stays at $4.99. A $200 payment from a balance abroad costs exactly $4.99, the same as $100 or $500. As a share of the amount, the fee runs from 9.9% on $10 down to 1.0% on $500.
What does the calculator leave out?
- Currency conversion. PayPal lists a currency conversion spread of 4.00% or 3.00% depending on the case. It is not in the result, so a payment that changes currency costs more than shown.
- Other currencies. The $0.30 is the US dollar fixed fee.
- Rounding. Each fee is rounded to the nearest cent, so PayPal’s own figure can differ by a cent.
How can you pay fewer fees on a shared cost?
Send fewer card payments, because the $0.30 comes with each one. Three $25 payments by card cost $3.09 in fees ($1.03 each), while one $75 payment costs $2.48. A balance or bank payment to someone in the US avoids the fee altogether. If a group shares costs through the month, a running balance in EvenOut lets everyone add expenses as they happen, so only the net amount is sent at the end, and “Settle up” records that payment. EvenOut records payments and does not move money, so you still pay through PayPal or any other way.
For the request side, see how to request money on PayPal, and for what these payments do and do not cover, see PayPal Friends and Family scams. The Venmo equivalent is the Venmo fee calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Can you undo a payment you sent the wrong way?
As of October 2026, PayPal's send-money page says that once you send money you can't cancel or reverse the payment. If you make a mistake, including the wrong amount or the wrong payment type, you have to contact the recipient and ask for a refund. Check the amount, the funding source and the payment type before you confirm, because they decide the fee.
What counts as an international payment?
PayPal's fee page defines it as a transaction where the sender and receiver are registered with or identified by PayPal as residents of different markets. PayPal groups some markets when it works out international rates, and as of October 2026 its grouping table lists only European groups (the European Economic Area, Europe I, Europe II, Northern Europe and the United Kingdom). The United States is not in any of them, so from a US account a friend registered in another country counts as abroad.
Does the calculator work for other currencies?
No, it is for US dollars. The fixed part of the card fee depends on the currency received, and the $0.30 used here is the US dollar figure. Other currencies have their own fixed fee in PayPal's table, and a payment that has to be converted costs more than the result shows.
Sources
Checked October 6, 2026.
- PayPal: Fees
- PayPal: How do I send money?
Keep reading
- Guide PayPal Friends and Family scams: what is and isn't covered PayPal Friends and Family payments have no Purchase Protection and cannot be reversed once sent. What that means, the fees and how to cancel a request.
- Guide How to request money on PayPal, step by step Ask for money on PayPal from the website or the app, send a reminder, cancel a request, use a request link, and see which fees apply. Steps and examples.
- Comparison PayPal vs Venmo: fees, limits and how requests work Venmo is $0 from a debit card and 3.00% from a credit card; PayPal is 2.90% plus $0.30. Compare limits and requests, and see why EvenOut adds no fee.
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- Guide PayPal Pools: how they work, limits and fees PayPal Pools hold up to $20,000, with 5 active pools per person. Contributors need no account, creating is free, and charity use is barred. See a $360 example.