PayPal is the best-known online payment method in the world: buyers pay without typing a card and can fall back on buyer protection. Currency conversion and receiving fees are high, and automated compliance reviews and account holds represent key considerations for users.
Best in Acceptance and coverage
Founded
1998
Based in
San Jose, United States
Business model
Online wallet and payments
Available in
46 countries: United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Egypt, India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana
Score by criterion, against the category
The tick on each bar is the category average; the signed number is the distance from it.
Security88+2
Fees60-15
Transaction speed84-2
Spending insight and fraud detection72-6
Acceptance and coverage95+12
Good fit for
Buying online from an unfamiliar shop with buyer protection
Sending money between people in supported countries
A small seller who wants a fast, well-known checkout
Less suited when
People in Iran; PayPal is not available there
Anyone who converts between currencies often
Strengths
Wide acceptance in online shops worldwide
Buyer protection when an item does not arrive or is not as described
Paying without sharing card details with the seller
Person-to-person transfers in many countries
Opportunities for improvement
Can improve by offering more competitive foreign exchange fee structures for cross-border payments
Opportunity to provide clearer guidance and expedited reviews when security checks occur
Room to make direct human support more accessible for merchant dispute resolution
Verdict
For buyers it is the safest way to pay online in the world; for sellers and currency conversion, compare fees with Stripe and local options.
What PayPal actually is
Since the late 1990s PayPal has let people pay online without typing a card on every site. Today it is both a personal wallet and a merchant checkout, the gateway role Zarinpal plays in Iran.
What you pay and what you get
Buying is usually free for the buyer. Sellers pay a fee per transaction, and currency conversion costs extra.
Where it is strong
Wide acceptance and buyer protection make it safe for buying from unfamiliar shops. Checkout takes one login, with no card details repeated.
How it can improve, and what we could not verify
Account limits and security holds, especially for new merchants, represent important operational considerations. PayPal is not available in Iran and some other countries such as Pakistan. Features differ by country, and the countries listed are only those where its presence was clear.
Questions about PayPal
Does PayPal work in Iran?
No; in the Iran view, Zarinpal covers this space.
Does paying with PayPal cost the buyer anything?
Usually not, unless currency conversion is needed.
Is PayPal better than Stripe?
For buyers PayPal; for a seller who wants checkout on their own site, usually Stripe.
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Disclosure: Seemerce is developing products in some of these same areas (Seemerce Infinity). Scores are editorial assessments by Seemerce based on public information. Companies can send corrections or a reply to mahdiparto94@gmail.com. Names and logos belong to their owners and are used only to identify them; Seemerce is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.
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