Two Excellent Options
Meetario supports both Stripe and PayPal for collecting payments on your booking pages. Both are trusted, well-established payment processors — but they differ in ways that matter depending on your business, your location, and your guests. This guide breaks down the key differences to help you choose.
The good news: you do not have to pick just one. You can connect both and assign different payment providers to different event types. For setup instructions, see our guides on accepting payments with Stripe and accepting PayPal payments.
Fee Comparison
Both providers charge per-transaction fees. Here is how they compare for the most common scenarios:
Stripe Fees
- Domestic cards (US): 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
- International cards: Additional 1.5% for cross-border transactions
- Currency conversion: Additional 1% if the charge currency differs from your settlement currency
- No monthly fees — You only pay when you process a payment
PayPal Fees
- Domestic transactions (US): 3.49% + $0.49 per transaction for standard payments
- International transactions: Additional 1.5% for cross-border transactions
- Currency conversion: 3-4% above the base exchange rate
- No monthly fees for the standard Business account
For a $100 booking: Stripe would charge roughly $3.20, while PayPal would charge roughly $3.98. On a $50 booking: Stripe takes about $1.75, PayPal about $2.24. The difference adds up if you process many bookings per month.
Supported Countries
This matters in two directions: where you can receive payments, and where your guests can pay from.
- Stripe is available for businesses in 40+ countries. Guests can pay from almost anywhere in the world using credit or debit cards.
- PayPal is available for businesses in 200+ countries. Guests can pay using their PayPal account or cards in most countries worldwide.
If you are based in a country where Stripe is not yet available, PayPal may be your only option. If both are available in your country, the choice comes down to other factors.
Guest Checkout Experience
The checkout experience directly affects your conversion rate — the percentage of people who complete the booking after starting it.
Stripe Checkout
- Clean, embedded payment form — guests never leave your branded experience.
- No account required — guests enter card details and pay immediately.
- Apple Pay and Google Pay supported — one-tap payment for mobile users.
- Optimized for conversion — Stripe Checkout is specifically designed to minimize abandonment.
PayPal Checkout
- Redirects to PayPal — guests leave your booking flow briefly to complete payment on PayPal's site.
- PayPal account optional — guests can pay with a card without creating a PayPal account, though the option is less prominent.
- Familiar brand — 400+ million active PayPal accounts worldwide. Many guests already have PayPal and prefer it.
- One Touch checkout — returning PayPal users can pay with a single click.
If your guests are tech-savvy professionals, Stripe's streamlined card-entry experience tends to convert better. If your guests are in markets where PayPal is widely used (eBay sellers, international freelancers, some European markets), PayPal's familiarity wins.
Payout Speed
How quickly do you get your money?
- Stripe: Standard payouts arrive in 2-7 business days depending on your country and account age. Eligible accounts can enable Instant Payouts (additional fee) for same-day access.
- PayPal: Funds are available in your PayPal balance immediately. Transferring to your bank takes 1-3 business days (standard) or seconds with Instant Transfer (additional fee).
PayPal has an edge here — funds hit your PayPal balance instantly, and you can spend them with a PayPal debit card or send them without waiting for a bank transfer.
Refund Handling
When a paid booking is cancelled, you may need to issue a refund. Both providers handle refunds, but differently:
- Stripe: Refunds are free. When you issue a refund, the transaction fee is returned to you (for refunds initiated within a certain period). Full and partial refunds are supported.
- PayPal: Refunds return the payment to the guest, but PayPal keeps the fixed portion of the transaction fee. Full and partial refunds are supported.
If you expect frequent cancellations and refunds, Stripe's refund-friendly policy saves you money. For more on refund workflows, see our guide on managing refunds and cancellations.
Currency Support
- Stripe: 135+ currencies. You can charge in your guest's local currency and settle in your own — Stripe handles the conversion.
- PayPal: 25+ currencies. Fewer options, but covers the major currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, CAD, etc.).
If you serve an international audience and want to price in multiple currencies, Stripe's broader currency support gives you more flexibility.
When to Choose Stripe
- You want the lowest transaction fees.
- Your guests prefer paying by credit card without creating an account.
- You need Apple Pay / Google Pay for mobile bookings.
- You charge in multiple currencies.
- You expect to issue refunds regularly.
When to Choose PayPal
- Your guests already have PayPal accounts and prefer it.
- You are in a country where Stripe is not available.
- You want instant access to funds in your PayPal balance.
- Your audience is in markets where PayPal adoption is high.
- You sell to consumers who trust the PayPal brand for buyer protection.
Use Both
Meetario lets you connect both Stripe and PayPal at the same time. This is the recommended approach for most businesses:
- Create event types that use Stripe for your primary offerings.
- Create event types with PayPal for audiences that prefer it.
- Or assign different providers based on the price point or service type.
Connect both providers at /app/integrations. Then select the payment provider on each event type individually at /app/event-types. For the complete setup walkthrough, see our complete guide to paid event bookings.