Platform and payment fees
What PayPal, Stripe, Upwork and Fiverr actually take, worked out on real amounts.
How much does PayPal take from sellers?
PayPal takes a flat 2.99% on Goods & Services payments, but invoices and checkout work differently. Here's what you'll keep, and how to pay less.
Can you sell AI art? Etsy's new rules and more
Etsy, Amazon KDP, Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, Fiverr and Redbubble each draw the AI line somewhere else. Etsy moved its line on October 22. Here's what each one allows, and what a $10 AI print earns on Etsy.
Upwork vs Fiverr fees: who takes more?
Fiverr takes a flat 20% from sellers; Upwork takes 0% to 15%. What freelancers keep, what clients pay at each project size, and when Fiverr is still the better deal.
How much does Fiverr take? Seller and buyer fees
Fiverr keeps 20% of every order and charges buyers 5.5% plus $3.50 under $200. What you keep, what clients pay, and the $200 price point where a cheaper gig costs more.
How much does Upwork cost for clients?
Upwork charges clients 5% plus a contract initiation fee — and the pricier plan is occasionally the cheaper one.
PayPal vs Stripe fees: which actually costs less?
It depends on how the client pays: a card-paid PayPal invoice beats Stripe Invoicing, one paid from a PayPal account doesn't. Here's every route.
PayPal business account fees: what you actually pay
A business account doesn't have one fee, it has several. Which rate applies depends entirely on how the money reached you.
How much does Stripe take from sellers?
Stripe's US base rate is 2.9% + $0.30, but international cards, currency conversion, and manual entry each stack extra fees on top.
How much does Upwork actually take from freelancers?
Upwork's freelancer fee is now 0-15% and set per contract, so you only see your rate when you bid or get an offer. Here's what you actually keep.
Two kinds of fee
Payment processors and marketplaces both take a cut, but for different things. PayPal and Stripe charge for moving the money: usually around 3% of each payment, sometimes with a small fixed fee on top. Upwork and Fiverr charge for bringing you the client, so they take far more: up to 15% of each contract on Upwork and a flat 20% on Fiverr.
The headline rate is rarely the whole bill, though. How the client pays, where they are and whether the money gets converted can each add to it, which is why the posts above work the common cases through on real amounts.
Here's what each one takes from a freelancer's $1,000 in the US:
| Platform | What it charges | Fee on $1,000 | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| PayPal, Goods & Services | 2.99% | $29.90 | $970.10 |
| Stripe, US card | 2.9% + $0.30 | $29.30 | $970.70 |
| Upwork | 0% to 15%, about 10% typical | about $100 | about $900 |
| Fiverr | 20% | $200 | $800 |
US rates for a direct payment, before withdrawal and currency-conversion fees. PayPal invoices cost more: 3.49% + $0.49 when the client pays from a PayPal account. The calculators below cover other countries and payment types.
Choosing a marketplace? Start with Upwork vs Fiverr fees. Taking payments yourself? PayPal vs Stripe fees shows which costs less for the way your clients pay.
Clients pay a fee too: 5% on Upwork plus a contract fee of $0.99 to $14.99 (see what Upwork costs clients), and 5.5% on Fiverr, plus $3.50 on orders under $200.