PayPal vs SumUp, and a 0.31% gap.

The short answer

PayPal is cheaper in person and it is not close.

PayPal’s card-present rate through its Point of Sale product is 2.29% + $0.09. SumUp’s is 2.6% + 10¢. PayPal wins on the percentage by 0.31% and on the per-item by a penny. At $20,000 a month of in-person volume that is roughly $62 a month before the per-item, and at $50,000 it is about $155.

Keyed, PayPal’s manual entry in person is 3.49% + $0.09 and SumUp’s is 3.5% + 15¢. Effectively the same.

Both have a free entry tier with no monthly fee. SumUp states no monthly minimums and no hardware rentals; PayPal’s standard products have no monthly fee.

So the honest version is that SumUp’s case here is simplicity and nothing else. For a very small trader taking a few hundred dollars a week, that is a reasonable case. For anyone doing real volume, 0.31% is a lot to pay for a slightly tidier app.

PayPal — 2.29% + $0.09$1.24

SumUp — 2.6% + 10¢$1.40

Published pricing, side by side

PayPal: www.paypal.com — read 2026-10-08. SumUp: www.sumup.com — read 2026-10-08.

Published prices change. These were read on the dates above and are list prices for a business buying direct — a quote you are given may differ, and should be compared as a quote rather than against a price list.

PayPal, also published:

• Pay by Bank (ACH) 1%, capped at $10.00

Where they actually differ

Disclosure. PayPal publishes a long, specific fee schedule including a $20.00 chargeback fee, instant withdrawal at 1.50%, Pay by Bank at 1% capped at $10.00, and rates for every channel and product. SumUp’s US pricing page does not state payout timing or a chargeback fee. PayPal’s disclosure is substantially better, and on a page about cost that counts for something.

Online. PayPal’s online rates are its weakness — PayPal Checkout is 3.49% + $0.49 and standard cards 2.99% + $0.49. SumUp groups online and manual entry at 3.5% + 15¢. If online is a real share of your volume, neither is a good answer and you should be looking at a proper e-commerce arrangement. Selling online.

Software tiers. SumUp publishes POS tiers at $49, from $99, $269 and $349 a month. PayPal’s point-of-sale product is narrower and priced separately for its advanced products. Neither is a business operating system in the way Square is. Square versus SumUp.

The PayPal button. PayPal’s real strategic advantage is that a share of buyers trust and prefer it, which matters online rather than at a counter. For an in-person-only business, it is irrelevant.

Both are aggregators. You are a sub-merchant under each, not underwritten in your own right, with the same post-hoc risk review and the same hold risk. When an aggregator freezes you.

Who each one suits

PayPal suits any mobile trade, market stall, pop-up or small counter taking cards in person where 0.31% is worth having, and any seller who also wants the PayPal button available online.

SumUp suits a very small or very occasional trader who wants the leanest possible setup and will not notice the rate difference at their volume.

Neither suits an established business. Above roughly $25,000 to $40,000 a month in card volume, interchange-plus through your own underwritten merchant account generally costs less than either — and at small average tickets with heavy debit, which describes most businesses choosing between these two, the gap is wider than usual. Debit versus credit cost.

What the comparison does not show

Neither rate shows you interchange. Both are flat, which means both charge identically for a plain debit card and a premium rewards card. If your customers are mostly on debit, a flat rate is expensive for you and neither provider will mention it. What an effective rate is.

SumUp does not publish payout timing or a chargeback fee on its US pricing page. Get both in writing before choosing it.

PayPal’s schedule is long and channel-specific. The card-present figure above is one line of many. If you use Venmo, invoicing, subscriptions or payouts, each has its own rate.

Work out your average ticket. At a $12 average the per-item difference is 0.08% and the percentage difference is the whole story. At a $5 average the per-item starts to matter too. Small-ticket fees.

How to settle it with your own numbers

Both of these are flat rates, which means both charge you the same whether your customer handed over a plain debit card or a premium rewards card. The published difference between PayPal and SumUp is therefore real but narrow, and neither figure is your cost.

Your cost is your effective rate: total fees for a month divided by total card volume. Work it out, then price PayPal and SumUp against it at your own average ticket — the per-item is often what separates them — and remember that neither can show you the card mix underneath, which is what decides whether a flat rate is treating you generously or not.

The calculator works it out from two figures on a statement, and what an effective rate is explains why it so often differs from the rate on the quote.

What we charge

Interchange + 0.50% + 10¢ in person, interchange + 0.75% + 25¢ keyed, with no contract, no monthly fee and no monthly minimum.

Both PayPal and SumUp are flat rates, and so is the limitation they share: above roughly $25,000 to $40,000 a month in card volume, interchange passed through at cost generally costs less than either. Send us a statement and we will tell you which side of that line you are on — including when the answer is that you should stay where you are.

While we are on the subject

Is PayPal cheaper than SumUp in person?

Yes, on both halves of the rate — 2.29% + 9¢ against 2.6% + 10¢.

Does SumUp charge monthly fees?

The free tier does not. Its POS tiers are $49, from $99, $269 and $349 a month.

Which is better for selling online?

Neither is good. PayPal Checkout is 3.49% + 49¢ and SumUp’s online rate is 3.5% + 15¢. For real online volume, look at a proper e-commerce arrangement.

Can either hold my money?

Both can. Both are aggregators, so the risk review happens after you start trading rather than before.