Stripe Payments vs Paypal - Comparison for UK Businesses

UK businesses operating online and taking customer card payments in person will need support from a payment processing service. Payment processing partners enable secure messaging for safe transactions with a credit or debit card, allowing convenient and reliable ways for customers to pay.

If you’re weighing up the choice of Stripe payments vs PayPal for your business, this guide is for you. We’ll walk through an overview of Stripe vs PayPal on features and fees, and highlight some of the key services on offer from each. To make sure you get the best for your business we’ll also look at Stripe fees vs PayPal charges, so you can pick the one that’s most economical.

If you're a business sending more than 100,000 GBP (or equivalent) monthly across different currencies, get in touch with the Wise Business sales team to discuss the best solutions for your needs.

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Stripe vs PayPal - Key comparison

Let’s kick off our review of Stripe vs PayPal for online payments with a head to head comparison.

Stripe offers end to end payment processing services, for businesses of all sizes, to take payments by card in person and online. You can pick low or no code options, or build out a custom solution for your specific needs if you have the time and technical knowhow.

PayPal also offers a full suite of payment processing options, with a particular focus on ecommerce. There are business friendly extras like access to working capital and loans, with options to suit entrepreneurs starting out, right up to enterprise level companies.

Here’s a side by side review:

Stripe payments overview

Stripe offers UK businesses easy ways to accept customer card payments domestically and from overseas, in person, online, and using shareable payment links.

Services include low and no code payment options and pre-built payment forms which are aimed at startups and newer businesses. For larger and more established companies with more complex needs there are also customisable payment UIs. Stripe issues POS terminals for in person payments, and has innovative ways to take customer card payments with just your phone.

Stripe key features

Stripe splits out its service offerings by business stage and size, with features intended to suit everything from start-ups to major global enterprises. Here are a few of the services you’ll be able to access with Stripe - for a full rundown of the options, check out the Stripe desktop site:

• Online payments using a pre built payment form
• Customizable payment UIs
• No code payment links
• Terminals for in person payments
• Subscription management
• Invoicing services
• Sales tax and VAT automation, and accounting automation options
• Fraud and risk management support
• Startup incorporation
• Banking as a Service options to embed financial services in a business platform or product

Is Stripe safe?

Yes. Stripe is a fully licensed and regulated payment processing service, and a level 1 Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) provider^⁶. It’s safe and reliable, handles 250 million or more API requests a day, and has a historical uptime of over 99.999%.

PayPal business overview

While Stripe specialises in business services, PayPal is a more familiar household name thanks to their dominance in ecommerce, with a huge personal PayPal user base as well as merchant services.

It’s important to know that PayPal business accounts are different to PayPal personal accounts. Business accounts are intended for registered business entities trading under a company name, and have different features and fees compared to a personal PayPal account. If you’re not sure whether a PayPal personal account or a PayPal business account is right for you, it’s worth reading the account terms and conditions carefully. Using the wrong type of PayPal account for your needs may result in paying unnecessary fees or having your account blocked by PayPal.

When it comes to business services, PayPal merchant accounts let you take customer online card payments, and you can get a physical payment terminal to take money in person. Depending on your specific needs you can also send an invoice, use a personal payment link or a QR code to request a customer payment.

PayPal key features

PayPal's key features sit around processing payments for businesses - but there are also quite a few additional ancillary services designed to help businesses grow and improve the experience and protections in place for anyone shopping or selling online. Here are a few of the PayPal services that are available:

• Accept online and in person payments
• Shareable personalised payment links
• QR code that can be shared to request a payment
• Working capital
• Risk management and reporting
• Business debit card
• Shipping
• Dispute management
• Services for charities and others accepting donations

Is PayPal safe?

PayPal is regulated and licensed for the services it offers. It’s a large, established and reliable provider which you can trust. When you shop with PayPal you’re covered by PayPal’s Purchase Protection scheme - but as a seller it’s also good to know you’ll benefit from PayPal Seller Protection for eligible claims, chargebacks and reversals^⁷.

Paypal vs Stripe fees UK

With any service for your business, cost matters. The exact products and services available from Stripe and PayPal are somewhat different, so you’ll need to double check the provider you prefer has all the features you need before you sign up. Here we’ve listed out the key charges that apply for UK merchants, specifically when it comes to taking customer payments. Other fees apply to the additional services available from both Stripe and PayPal, details of which can be found on their desktop sites.

Receive Stripe payments with Wise Business account

Whichever payment processing partner you pick, you’ll need to link your merchant account to your business account to access your money. Choose to link your merchant account from Stripe to Wise Business, to make it easier and cheaper to receive payments in multiple currencies and expand your customer base internationally.

Open a Wise Business account online or in the Wise app for a low one time fee, with no monthly charges and no minimum balance. You’ll be able to hold and exchange 40+ currencies, and get paid from PSPs like Stripe with local bank details in 9 currencies.

Let your customers pay in the currencies they prefer and then use Wise to convert your balance to GBP - or any other currency you need - with the mid-market exchange rate and low and transparent fees from 0.43%^⁸ when you want to. Or, just leave the money in its original currency, and use it to pay contractors and suppliers abroad when needed. That cuts out unnecessary fees and makes your business more flexible.

Get started withWise Business 🚀

Both Stripe and PayPal offer interesting services for business owners who need ways to get paid by customers online, through social media, in an app, or in person. While a lot of their products are overlapping, they each have their own unique advantages and disadvantages - so which one suits you may simply come down to the specific transactions you need to process and your personal preferences. Combine your payment processor merchant account with Wise Business, and you could also make it easier to receive customer payments in a range of currencies. Use Wise, to do business across borders with low fees and the mid-market exchange rate.

Sources used in this article:

Sources last checked November 16, 2023

Disclaimer: The UK Wise Business pricing structure is changing with effect from 26/11/2025 date. Receiving money, direct debits and getting paid features are not available with the Essential Plan which you can open for free. Pay a one-time set up fee of £50 to unlock Advanced features including account details to receive payments in 22+ currencies or 8+ currencies for non-swift payments. You’ll also get access to our invoice generating tool, payment links, QuickPay QR codes and the ability to set up direct debits all within one account. Please check our website for the latest pricing information.