Both let your clients pay you online. But they're built for different workflows, have different fees, and attract different types of clients. Here's how to choose.
When you add a payment method to your invoice, the choice you make affects how fast clients pay, how much you keep, and how professional the experience feels. Stripe and PayPal are the two most common options for freelancers — and they're more different than they look.
Most freelancers are best served by setting up both and letting the client choose.
| Feature | Stripe | PayPal |
|---|---|---|
| Card processing fee | 2.9% + $0.30 | 3.49% + $0.49 (invoices) |
| ACH / bank transfer | 0.8% (capped at $5) | Not available for freelancers |
| International payments | Strong, 135+ currencies | Strong, widely recognized abroad |
| Payout speed | 2 business days (instant for fee) | 1–3 business days |
| Client experience | Clean checkout page | Redirects to PayPal site |
| Business client preference | Preferred | Often blocked by corp policy |
| Individual client trust | Moderate | High (brand recognition) |
| Disputes / chargebacks | Standard process | More buyer-friendly, riskier for seller |
| Setup complexity | Requires business verification | Quick to set up |
PayPal charges 3.49% + $0.49 per invoice payment. Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30. On a $2,000 invoice, that's a $12 difference — and it compounds if you're billing regularly. For ACH bank transfers, Stripe's 0.8% fee (capped at $5) is a significant advantage for large invoices.
Many mid-size and larger companies have policies against paying via PayPal — it's not set up for B2B payments at scale. With Stripe, clients pay with a standard credit card on a clean, unbranded checkout page. It looks like paying any other vendor.
Stripe's payment links (buy.stripe.com) are purpose-built for one-time collections. You create a link, set the amount, paste it into your invoice, and the client clicks Pay. It's the cleanest invoicing integration available.
If your clients are individuals — photography clients, homeowners, tutoring students — many of them have a PayPal account and trust it more than entering card details on a new page. PayPal removes that hesitation.
In some countries and markets, PayPal is the default way people expect to pay online. If you work with clients in Southeast Asia, parts of Europe, or Latin America, PayPal may be the more practical choice.
PayPal account setup is faster than Stripe's business verification process. If you're just starting out and need to accept a payment this week, PayPal gets you there quicker.
Both add a currency conversion fee (typically 1–1.5%) on top of the base rate when clients pay in a foreign currency. For high-volume international work, neither is the cheapest option — Wise (formerly TransferWise) or a dedicated global payment platform is worth looking at. But for occasional international invoices, either Stripe or PayPal is fine.
This is the most underappreciated difference: PayPal's dispute resolution process is heavily weighted toward buyers. If a client files a dispute, PayPal often freezes the funds and rules in the client's favor, even when you can prove the work was delivered. Stripe's process is more balanced.
For project-based work with clear deliverables, this risk is low either way. But it's worth knowing if you work with unfamiliar clients or in high-dispute industries.
Set up a Stripe account and a PayPal account. On your invoice, include your Stripe link as the primary option — it's cheaper and cleaner — and note that PayPal is also available if the client prefers. Invoifly lets you embed either link as a live Pay button in your PDF.
For enterprise clients: Stripe only, or offer bank transfer (ACH) as an alternative to avoid card fees entirely.
Add your Stripe or PayPal link to your invoice — it becomes a live Pay button in the PDF.
Create a free invoice →