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Alternatives to PayPal

A world-renowned payment system with a lot of perks, but there are many apps like PayPal.

PayPal is one of the most widely known and accepted payment options in the world. It offers a convenient way to check out when online shopping and even peer-to-peer (P2P) payments to friends and family. It also features the PayPal Debit Card that’s linked to your PayPal balance and multiple credit products, such as its PayPal Cashback Mastercard. While PayPal can make international payments and transactions, it has an overwhelming number of other fees around those transactions.

When it comes to alternatives to PayPal, some other apps, like Cash App, Venmo and Apple Pay, may suit your needs better.

6 PayPal alternatives

Alternative for most similar

Cash Card by Cash App

8.8 Great

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Fee$0 per month
Minimum deposit to open$0

Alternative for P2P payments to debit cards

Chime® Checking Account

9.6 Excellent

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on Chime's secure site
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Fee$0 per month
Minimum deposit to open$0

Alternative for international payments

Revolut

9.6 Excellent

Get a $10 cash reward when you first use your card on a qualifying $1+ transaction. Terms & Conditions apply.
Read review
APYUp to 3.50%
FeeFrom $0 per month
Minimum deposit to open$0

Alternative for P2P payments with your bank

Zelle®

Fee$0 per month

Alternative for Facebook users

Meta Pay

Fee$0 per month

Apple Pay

Fee$0 per month

How PayPal compares

PayPal is a great option for P2P payments, online shopping and domestic and international transactions. Unlike most P2P apps, PayPal offers international payments and has an investing platform to buy or sell crypto. Using PayPal’s Friends and Family tab, you can send cash to other users using your linked accounts and cards. It also owns Venmo, another popular P2P app that’s very similar to Cash App, allowing you to send money to Venmo users using your PayPal account. You can link PayPal’s no-fee debit card to your PayPal balance, very similar to Apple’s Cash card and Cash App’s Cash Card. PayPal also accepts mobile check deposits and cash deposits at Green Dot locations and offers 24/7 customer support.

However, PayPal has several fees to watch out for, such as the 2.5% foreign transaction fee with the PayPal Debit Card, a 5% international payment transaction fee and a 2.9% fixed fee for P2P payments using a card.

Pros

  • P2P, in-store and online payments
  • No-free debit card
  • Compatible with Venmo
  • International payments
  • 24/7 customer support

Cons

  • 5% international payment transaction fee
  • 2.9% fixed fee for P2P transfers using a card
  • PayPal Debit Card 2.5% foreign transaction fee
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To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Holly Jennings as part of our fact-checking process.
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Written by

Editor, Banking

Bethany Hickey is the banking editor and personal finance expert at Finder, specializing in banking, lending, insurance, and crypto. Bethany’s expertise in personal finance has garnered recognition from esteemed media outlets, such as Nasdaq, MSN, Yahoo Finance, GOBankingRates, SuperMoney, AOL and Newsweek. Her articles offer practical financial strategies to Americans, empowering them to make decisions that meet their financial goals. Her past work includes articles on generational spending and saving habits, lending, budgeting and managing debt. Before joining Finder, she was a content manager where she wrote hundreds of articles and news pieces on auto financing and credit repair for CarsDirect, Auto Credit Express and The Car Connection, among others. Bethany holds a BA in English from the University of Michigan-Flint, and was poetry editor for the university’s Qua Literary and Fine Arts Magazine. See full bio

Bethany's expertise
Bethany has written 424 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Personal finance
  • Banking
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  • Cryptocurrency and NFTs

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