PayPal

PayPal charges nothing monthly for a business account and takes its money on each transaction, which is what makes it the default for anybody whose income arrives unevenly. Buyers can pay with a PayPal balance, a card, Venmo or a pay-later option without a merchant account of their own. The rate depends on how the money arrives rather than on a plan, and receiving from another country adds a percentage on top. Its dispute process is the part sellers complain about, and it is worth reading before it matters.

There is no monthly fee. PayPal Checkout and guest checkout are 3.49 percent plus a fixed fee, standard card payments are 2.99 percent plus a fixed fee, goods and services transfers are 2.99 percent, QR code transactions are 2.29 percent, and pay-later options are 4.99 percent. Receiving from another country adds 1.50 percent on top. The fixed fee depends on the currency received and is published in its own table alongside the rates.

Anybody whose income is uneven enough that a monthly subscription would be dead weight in a quiet month, and anybody selling to buyers who will not enter card details on an unfamiliar site. The published fee table makes it easy to model. Sellers at steady volume will find a dedicated processor beats these rates, and anybody who has read about frozen balances should have a second route to getting paid before they need one.