Send $1,000 from dollars to euros and Wise takes about $3.44, while PayPal takes roughly $35.00. On pure price this is not close. Wise runs about 0.34% all-in, while PayPal's exchange-rate markup sits near 3.5%.
PayPal's real edge is not the cost. It is the convenience. Hundreds of millions of people already hold a PayPal balance, so paying into one can feel as easy as sending a text. The figures below use the current mid-market reference, a possible Wise account-holder API estimate, and the site's stored PayPal fee model.
- On price, Wise wins by a mile. A $1,000 transfer costs Wise roughly 0.5% all-in, while PayPal's exchange-rate markup runs near 3.5%.
- PayPal's cost hides in the rate. There is rarely a separate fee line to read, because the charge is baked into a worse exchange rate.
- PayPal's real edge is convenience. So many people already hold a balance that paying into an existing account is fast and familiar.
- For a bank-account transfer, pick Wise. PayPal makes sense mainly when the person you are paying already lives inside PayPal.
How Wise charges
Wise hands you the mid-market rate and adds a variable fee on top, around 0.33–0.5% on popular routes like US dollars to euros, plus a small fixed charge of roughly $0.61. No subscription, no monthly limit, no weekend surcharge. The number at checkout is the number you pay.
On a $1,000 transfer that works out to about $3.44, or 0.34% of what you send. Because Wise prices the rate honestly, almost the entire cost sits in the visible fee rather than hidden in the exchange. You never check the calendar or track a running total before you hit send. If you are also weighing Revolut, our Wise vs Revolut guide covers that matchup in the same detail.
How PayPal charges
PayPal works differently. On most international transfers it does not show you a separate fee line at all. Instead it quotes an exchange rate that sits roughly 3.5% above the base rate and keeps the gap. The cost is real, but it is buried in the rate rather than printed as a charge.
The exact markup varies by route and by how you fund the payment, and PayPal's Xoom transfer service prices things its own way. The pattern still holds: the bulk of what you pay is in the exchange rate, not in a fee you can point to.
On a $1,000 transfer that markup is worth about $35.00, or 3.50% of the total. That is several times what Wise charges for the same move. What you get in return is reach. A recipient with a PayPal account can have the money almost instantly, with no bank details exchanged and no wait on a bank transfer. The PayPal provider page breaks down how that pricing comes together.
Head to head, by amount
The gap is wide at every size, but it helps to see it in dollars. Here is the same US-dollar-to-euro transfer at two amounts, with the current estimates.
$1,000: the gap is already clear
At $1,000, Wise's 0.34% sits a long way under PayPal's 3.50%. On a transfer this size the difference is tens of dollars, enough to cover a month of groceries. Small in percentage terms, but it is money you simply keep.
$10,000: the gap turns into real money
At $10,000 the percentage gap is the same, but the dollars are not. Because PayPal's markup is a percentage, it scales with the amount you send, and now it costs a few hundred dollars more than Wise. That is the kind of gap that pays for a flight, and it appears without PayPal ever printing a fee.
Who should pick what
Pick Wise if you are sending money to a bank account and you care about how much actually arrives. Its 0.34% all-in cost is a fraction of PayPal's, and the price is the same every time you send, whatever the day or the amount. See the Wise provider page for the full breakdown.
Pick PayPal if the person you are paying already has a PayPal account and speed or simplicity matters more than squeezing out the last few dollars. The money lands in a balance they can spend or withdraw right away, with no bank details to collect and no waiting on a bank transfer. For a small, one-off payment to someone you know, that ease can be worth the markup.
Check Interactive Brokers when a large currency trade is part of investing or hedging inside the brokerage. Its spot-currency commission can be dramatically lower than either provider's cost. It is not a replacement for paying another person's PayPal balance or bank account. Run the amount through our comparison tool and confirm the supported pair and traded price before deciding.
Frequently asked questions
Is Wise cheaper than PayPal?
Yes, by a wide margin on most routes. Wise charges roughly half a percent all-in, while PayPal's exchange-rate markup runs near 3.5%. On a $1,000 transfer that is the difference of a few dollars versus a few tens, and the gap only grows on larger amounts.
Why is PayPal so much more expensive?
Most of PayPal's cost is hidden in the exchange rate rather than shown as a fee. It quotes a rate a few percent worse than the real mid-market rate and keeps the difference. That is convenient and familiar, and many people happily pay it for the ease of sending to an existing PayPal balance. On a pure price basis, though, it costs several times what a specialist provider charges.
When does PayPal make sense?
When the person you are paying already uses PayPal and you value speed and simplicity over the lowest cost. The money lands in a balance they can spend or withdraw right away, with no bank details to gather. For a transfer that lands in a bank account, Wise is almost always the cheaper choice.
Cost figures are worked out from each provider's published fee structure applied to the current mid-market reference rate, modelled estimates for typical major-currency routes. PayPal's markup varies by route and payment method; the figures shown are representative. Always confirm the final quote on the provider's own site before you transfer. We may earn a commission from affiliate links at no extra cost to you; this never affects rankings. Nothing here is financial advice.
Sources: Wise pricing (opens in a new tab), PayPal fees (opens in a new tab), IBKR spot-currency commissions (opens in a new tab), Interactive Brokers (U.K.) Limited Client Agreement for Carried Products (opens in a new tab), IBUK and IBLLC Client Agreement (opens in a new tab), IBKR third-party withdrawals (opens in a new tab). Accessed 22 August 2026.