PayPal vs Alipay vs Wise (formerly Wise): payments provider comparison

Alipay, PayPal and Wise are all providers which offer personal and business customers options for sending and receiving payments, holding digital currency balances and more. However, all three providers have some quite distinct features, which could mean that one suits you better than another, based on where in the world you are, and the type of transactions you need to make.

Alipay is one of the biggest payment providers in China, and has expanded to cover other broad global regions. PayPal is one of the pioneers of digital payments, with global coverage and a full suite of services. And Wise offers personal and business multi-currency accounts, payments, debit cards and more.

If you’re not sure which suits you, this Alipay vs PayPal vs Wise comparison is for you. Let’s dive right in.

PayPal vs Alipay vs Wise - main comparison

We’ll work through a comparison of Alipay to PayPal and Wise on fees and rates in more detail a little later - plus a quick look at an Alipay PayPal comparison for business users, with some more details about how Wise Business measures up as an alternative.

First, though, let’s look at a feature comparison between PayPal vs Alipay vs Wise as an overview:

Pricing/fees: Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information

What is PayPal?

PayPal is a global expert in payment services, offering a huge selection of personal and business products and features, through PayPal itself and associated PayPal family companies. As one of the original payment platforms for ecommerce, PayPal has a huge global user base, and processes enormous volumes of payments around the world every day.

With PayPal you can send money to friends and family, receive and request transfers from others, shop online, in person and in app with secure payment services, and access extras like payment cards and consumer finance, depending on where in the world you are. PayPal business customers can easily integrate PayPal into ecommerce sites for seamless payments from customers - even without much technical knowledge.

PayPal is safe to use for personal and business customers, thanks to global regulation, and PayPal’s own buyer and seller protection services.

What is Alipay?

Alipay is one of China’s most popular apps, used for making in person, online and in app payments conveniently. Alipay has had a large user base in China for a while, and has relatively recently started to allow foreign customers to use non-Chinese issued bank and card details to create an account. This has opened up Alipay for global personal customers - particularly helpful for anyone living and working in China, or even for visitors looking for convenient ways to pay.

Alipay customers can send money to friends and family, buy things in stores by scanning a QR code, shop online and in app, and more - although services may vary based on your location and account type. Alipay business customers can integrate Alipay using a PSP like Stripe⁵, to allow customers to pay conveniently using their Alipay digital wallets when shopping online.

Alipay is a huge platform in China, and now globally, and is generally viewed as safe to use for both personal and business customers.

What is Wise?

Wise is a specialist in online international payments and multi-currency accounts for business and personal customers. Wise account holders can get linked payment cards for spending and withdrawals in 170+ countries, and can access local account details to get paid in up to 10 currencies. Wise multi-currency accounts can hold and exchange 50+ currencies, and send payments to 80+ countries around the world.

Personal customers can use Wise to send low cost international payments which use the mid-market exchange rate, with fees from 0.41%. Or you can use your linked Wise card to pay in person, online, and using a wallet like Apple Pay - again with the mid-market rate and low fees, no matter where in the world you are.

Wise Business customers get all the benefits personal customers have, plus handy extras like batch business payments and cloud accounting integrations. You can use your local bank details to get paid easily from customers in 30+ countries, keeping the costs of doing business internationally down.

Wise is available in all but a small handful of unsupported countries, and overseen by official regulatory bodies around the world.

Pricing/fees: Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information

PayPal vs Alipay vs Wise - fees

If you’re a personal customer and you’re torn between PayPal vs Alipay vs Wise, the fees you pay to transact are pretty important. For personal customers you’ll usually find you can open an account with a specialist provider like Alipay, Wise or PayPal conveniently online and for free. However, service fees can then apply depending on how you transact.

Exact fees can vary based on where in the world you’re located, so do double check your provider account’s terms and conditions before you start sending or spending money. Here are a few key costs to know about:

Exchange rates

If you’re planning on travelling, if you enjoy shopping online with international ecommerce stores, or if you need to send money to people based overseas, the exchange rate used to switch your balance to the currency required is crucial when calculating the overall cost of your transaction.

PayPal, Alipay and Wise may treat your currency conversion differently - which can result in significant differences in the overall amount you have to pay for the services you need.

If you have a PayPal account, for example, and you need to send a payment in a foreign currency, or convert a currency in your account, you’ll pay a currency conversion fee. The exact fee amount varies based on your location and the transaction type, but it’s usually about 3% to 4%.

You may also find that if you’re sending a payment in a foreign currency with Alipay, fees apply - which can include a markup on the exchange rates used wherever currency conversion is required.

Wise is a little different, in that Wise currency conversion uses the mid-market exchange rate with no markup. Instead, Wise splits out the costs of your transaction, including currency conversion fees, so they’re easy to see and compare. Wise currency conversion starts from around 0.41% for major currencies, which can mean that transacting internationally costs you less.

PayPal vs Alipay vs Wise for business owners comparison

If you’re a business owner, the decision between Alipay vs PayPal vs Wise may come down to where in the world you are, and the type of transactions you need to make. Alipay is an obvious option if you’re trading in China, while PayPal has great global coverage. Wise is also available almost all over the world, and comes with low fees and some great multi-currency options to support international businesses.

Let’s have a quick look at how these providers measure up side by side for business fees - so you can see if any looks to be a good fit for your company/

Verdict: which provider should you choose?

There’s not a single best provider between Alipay, PayPal and Wise. In fact many individuals and business owners may benefit from using two or more of these platforms for their varied transaction types. However, which of the three providers suit you could simply depend on where you are and how you’re planning on using your account.

Alipay is a good option if you live in mainland China, as it’s accepted extremely widely there. PayPal is offered for online payments at huge numbers of international retailers, so can be a smart option if you’re spending online in your local currency. And finally, Wise can be a winner if you’re transacting internationally, thanks to the low cost currency conversion and payment services offered.

To see which provider is best for you it’s useful to dig into the services available from each in your location - and the fees you’ll pay when transacting - to see which stands out.

Frequently asked questions

Can I transfer money from PayPal to Alipay?

You can’t directly link PayPal and Alipay. That means that to transfer money from PayPal to Alipay you’ll usually have to withdraw your funds from PayPal to your bank, before adding them manually to Alipay.

Can I send money from Alipay to PayPal?

You can’t send money from Alipay to PayPal without adding in an extra step. You’ll usually only be able to top up funds to your PayPal account through a linked bank account or card - not an ewallet like Alipay. That means to get your money from Alipay to PayPal you’ll need to withdraw it to your bank or card first, and then transfer over to your PayPal account manually.