Tipalti vs PayPal: Cost and Fees Calculator
Enter your volumes to compare estimated monthly costs and fees for Tipalti and PayPal across the selling types both offer, using published US pricing.
Selling online (eCommerce)
Estimates combine processing fees and monthly subscriptions on the plans noted above. One-time hardware, setup, and add-ons are excluded. Rates are published or typical US pricing as of mid-2026 and may have changed.
How the Tipalti vs PayPal calculator works, and how the two compare
Tipalti is an accounts payable and mass payout automation platform for paying suppliers and partners globally. Tipalti's platform fee starts around $99 per month plus per-payout transaction fees; it automates money going out of your business (supplier and partner payments), not money coming in. PayPal is the best-known online payments brand, which also covers in-person sales through PayPal Zettle card readers. PayPal charges 3.49% + $0.49 for standard online PayPal checkout and 2.29% + $0.09 in person via Zettle (reader $79, or $29 for your first), with no monthly fee.
How they are similar: Where they overlap: both Tipalti and PayPal cover selling online, which is what this calculator compares. In both cases the bill is driven by a percentage of each sale plus any fixed per-transaction fee, which is why your average transaction size changes the effective rate as much as the headline percentage does.
How they differ: Only PayPal offers in-person card readers, so that side of the business is not part of this comparison. Tipalti operates as financial infrastructure priced on usage rather than merchant card acceptance, while PayPal operates as flat-rate card processing with published per-transaction fees. Tipalti is the mirror image of a payment processor: it pays your vendors and creators at scale with tax forms handled, while processors like Stripe or PayPal collect from your customers. PayPal brings the trust of its consumer brand and one of the lowest in-person rates via Zettle, but its 3.49% + $0.49 online checkout is among the most expensive standard online rates.
Assumptions used in this calculator
- Tipalti is modeled on: Accounts payable platform from around $99 per month plus per-payout fees; does not accept customer payments.
- PayPal is modeled on: 3.49% + $0.49 for standard PayPal online checkout.
- Rates are published or typical US pricing as of mid-2026 and change often; quote-based providers are modeled at representative rates. Always confirm current pricing with the provider.
- One-time hardware, setup, add-on apps, keyed-in transactions, international cards, and chargeback fees are excluded from the monthly figures.