PayPal Payments

Best for: Regulated or enterprise workloads - compliance attestations and an enterprise plan; AI agents and automation - an agent-ready surface (MCP / llms.txt); Teams needing broad API coverage out of the box

Avoid if: You want to try it free before paying

Pricing model

Hybrid (base + usage) [2]paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/merchant-fees“Payments Pro: $30.00 USD/month”paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/merchant-fees“Standard Credit/Debit Cards: 2.99% + fixed fee”

Published pricing

✓ Yes [3]paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/merchant-fees“Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments: 2.89% + fixed fee”paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/merchant-fees“PayPal Checkout: 3.49% + fixed fee”

Free tier

✗ No

Self-serve signup

✓ Yes [4]developer.paypal.com/docs/api/sandbox/create-paypal-dev-account/“You can log in to the PayPal Developer Portal using the same credentials you use for PayPal. Click Create App in the upper right corner, enter the name of your REST API app”

Requires sales call

✗ No

Enterprise plan

✓ Yes [5]paypal.com/us/business/payment-processing“Custom pricing available — rates determined by sales volume, transaction size, and payment metrics”

• Hosted checkout
• In-person / POS
• Interchange++ pricing
• Local payment methods
• Recurring payments
• Marketplace payouts
• Built-in fraud tools

Supported actions

create_order, authorize_payment, capture_payment, void_authorization, refunds, hosted_checkout, custom_card_fields, tokenization, payment_vault, 3ds_authentication, recurring_payments, subscriptions, invoicing, payouts, mass_payouts, dispute_management, webhooks, fraud_screening, multicurrency, apple_pay, google_pay, venmo, pay_later, ach_debit, sepa, alternative_payment_methods, in_person_qr_code, network_tokenization, account_updater, smart_retries, transaction_search, settlement_reports, partner_referrals, split_payments, identity_verification, shipment_tracking [6]developer.paypal.com/api/rest/“Orders and Payments, Payment Method Tokens, Subscriptions and Invoicing, Payouts and Referenced Payouts, Disputes and Transaction Search, Catalog Products and Currency Exchange, Partner Referrals, Webhooks Management”developer.paypal.com/docs/api/orders/v2/“Create Order, Authorize Payment, Capture Payment, Update Order, Confirm Payment Source, Add Tracking, Void authorization”

Regions

200+ markets globally [7]paypal.com/us/business/payment-processing“Customers can pay from 200+ global markets in 130+ currencies on every major eCommerce platform”

Input types

Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, PayPal wallet, Venmo, Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH Direct Debit, SEPA, iDEAL, Bancontact, BLIK, EPS, Przelewy24, MyBank, Trustly, Multibanco, Pay upon Invoice, PYUSD cryptocurrency, Pay Later / installments, QR code payments, local payment methods [8]developer.paypal.com/docs/accept-payments/“PayPal wallet and Venmo (US only), Credit and debit cards (major issuers), Apple Pay and Google Pay digital wallets, Pay Later financing options, PYUSD cryptocurrency”developer.paypal.com/docs/checkout/apm/“Apple Pay, Google Pay, Bancontact (Belgium), BLIK (Poland), EPS (Austria), iDEAL (Netherlands), MyBank (Italy), Trustly, Przelewy24 (Poland), Multibanco (Portugal)”

Output types

JSON, webhook events, hosted checkout page, payment link, QR code, settlement report, invoice, payment button embed, JavaScript SDK rendered UI

Webhooks

✓ Yes [9]developer.paypal.com/docs/api/webhooks/v1/“PayPal webhooks are HTTP callbacks that receive notification messages for events.”

Sandbox / test mode

✓ Yes [10]developer.paypal.com/docs/api/overview/“The PayPal sandbox is a test environment that mirrors real-world transactions.”

SDK languages

Node.js / TypeScript, Python, Java, PHP, .NET, Ruby [11]developer.paypal.com/braintree/docs/start/overview“Server SDKs: Java, .NET, Node.js, PHP, Python, Ruby. Client SDKs: Android, iOS, JavaScript”

MCP server

✓ Yes [12]docs.paypal.ai/developer/tools/ai/mcp-quickstart/“Production Environment: https://mcp.paypal.com; Sandbox Environment: https://mcp.sandbox.paypal.com”docs.paypal.ai/developer/tools/ai/mcp-quickstart/“The MCP server lets merchants use natural language with their favorite MCP clients to complete various PayPal-related tasks.”

SOC 2

SOC 2 Type II [13]paypal-trustcenter.com“SOC 2 – Service Organization Control Type 2 report”paypal-trustcenter.com“Bridge letters for SOC reports are maintained on a quarterly basis.”

HIPAA

– Unknown

GDPR

✓ Yes [14]paypal.com/us/legalhub/paypal/data-protection“PayPal relies on Binding Corporate Rules approved by competent supervisory authorities and other data transfer mechanisms for transfers of Customer Data within the PayPal Group for GDPR compliance”

ISO 27001

✓ Yes [15]paypal-trustcenter.com“ISO/IEC 27001 – Information security management certification”

PCI DSS

✓ Yes [16]paypal.com/us/business/payment-processing“Level 1 PCI DSS compliant service provider”paypal-trustcenter.com“PCI DSS – Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard”

Published SLA

✗ No [17]paypal.com/us/legalhub/paypal/xdeveloper-full“PayPal does not guarantee any minimum uptime for the PayPal website, Developer's Tools, and/or PayPal Services.”

Rate limits

"While we do not publish a rate limiting policy, we might temporarily rate limit if we identify traffic that appears to be abusive." (HTTP 429 RATE_LIMIT_REACHED returned when triggered) [18]developer.paypal.com/docs/api/rate-limiting/“While we do not publish a rate limiting policy, we might temporarily rate limit if we identify traffic that appears to be abusive.”

Known restrictions

Level 1 PCI DSS certified service provider, Standard credit/debit card rate: 2.99% + $0.49 USD per domestic transaction, PayPal Checkout/Guest Checkout: 3.49% + $0.49 USD per domestic transaction, Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments: 2.89% + $0.29 USD per domestic transaction, International transactions: additional 1.50% cross-border fee, Interchange Plus Plus available for eligible merchants (Interchange + 0.49% + fixed fee), Payments Pro monthly fee: $30.00/month, Payments Advanced monthly fee: $5.00/month, Pay Later rate: 4.99% + $0.49 USD fixed fee, Standard Dispute fee: $15.00; High Volume Dispute fee: $30.00, Chargeback fee: $20.00, Currency conversion spread: 4.00% for goods/services cross-currency; 3.00% for other transactions, Enterprise pricing is custom/contact-sales, Maximum 10 webhooks per application, Venmo acceptance limited to US only, giropay and Sofort deprecated (no longer supported) [19]paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/merchant-fees“Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments: 2.89% + fixed fee; Fixed fee: $0.29 USD”paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/merchant-fees“International addition: An extra 1.50% applies to domestic rates for cross-border transactions.”developer.paypal.com/docs/api/webhooks/v1/“You can create a maximum of ten webhooks for an application. You have reached the maximum limit.”

• API reference
• llms.txt

Docs rendering: static · llms.txt present

API style

rest

Base URL

https://api-m.paypal.com

Version

v2

Versioning

url

Stability

ga

Auth methods

oauth2

Idempotency keys

✓ Yes

Error format

vendor-specific JSON: {name, message, debug_id, details:[{field, value, location, issue, description}], links}

Webhook signing

SHA256withRSA (certificate-based; verify via PAYPAL-TRANSMISSION-SIG header + public key from PAYPAL-CERT-URL, or via /v1/notifications/verify-webhook-signature endpoint)

SDKs

• Node.js / TypeScript @paypal/paypal-server-sdk · repo
• Python paypal-server-sdk · repo
• Java com.paypal.sdk:paypal-server-sdk · repo
• PHP paypal/paypal-server-sdk · repo
• .NET PayPalServerSDK · repo
• Ruby paypal-server-sdk · repo

• Auth docs
• Quickstart
• MCP server
• Webhook events
• Deprecation policy

Launched

1999-01-01

Notable customers

Ticketmaster, Grubhub, Southwest Airlines, HelloFresh, Ace Hardware, Adorama, Nuts.com

• Square Payments

  "Square Payments Built for however you do business" - Square Payments is a comprehensive payment processing solution for in-person, online, and mobile transactions.

  Hybrid · public pricing · self-serve

• Adyen

  "One platform for payments, data, and financial products. Built to scale with the world's leading businesses."

  Sales-led · public pricing · self-serve

• Razorpay

  "India's All-in-One Finance Platform" that helps businesses accept payments, make payouts, manage banking, automate payroll, and access credit - all from a single platform.

  Usage · public pricing · self-serve

• Stripe

  Financial infrastructure to grow your revenue.

  Usage · public pricing · self-serve

• Trolley

  "The Payouts Platform for the Internet Economy"

  Hybrid · public pricing · self-serve

• Authorize.net

  "We help make it easy to get paid. It's that simple."

  Hybrid · public pricing · self-serve

PayPal Payments alternatives · PayPal Payments vs Square Payments · All Online Card Payment APIs APIs

Each field above carries a numbered source - hover for a preview, click to jump here.

1. ↑Description: paypal.com
2. ↑Pricing model: paypal.com · paypal.com
3. ↑Published pricing: paypal.com · paypal.com
4. ↑Self-serve signup: developer.paypal.com
5. ↑Enterprise plan: paypal.com
6. ↑Supported actions: developer.paypal.com · developer.paypal.com
7. ↑Regions: paypal.com
8. ↑Input types: developer.paypal.com · developer.paypal.com
9. ↑Webhooks: developer.paypal.com
10. ↑Sandbox: developer.paypal.com
11. ↑SDK languages: developer.paypal.com
12. ↑MCP server: docs.paypal.ai · docs.paypal.ai
13. ↑SOC 2: paypal-trustcenter.com · paypal-trustcenter.com
14. ↑GDPR: paypal.com
15. ↑ISO 27001: paypal-trustcenter.com
16. ↑PCI DSS: paypal.com · paypal-trustcenter.com
17. ↑Published SLA: paypal.com
18. ↑Rate limits: developer.paypal.com
19. ↑Known restrictions: paypal.com · paypal.com · developer.paypal.com

Every field change, who made it, and when - from our audited data pipeline and editors.

1. 2026-06-21 Capabilities: {} → {"payouts":true,"in_person":true,"recurring":true,"fraud_tools":true,"local_met…
2. 2026-06-21 Summary Md: (none) → PayPal Payments is a REST API for accepting payments across 200+ markets, 130+ …
3. 2026-06-21 Score Pricing Transparency: (none) → 85
4. 2026-06-21 Score Docs Quality: (none) → 30
5. 2026-06-21 Score Procurement Friction: (none) → 85
6. 2026-06-21 Score Trust Readiness: (none) → 65
7. 2026-06-21 Best For: (none) → Regulated or enterprise workloads - compliance attestations and an enterprise p…
8. 2026-06-21 Avoid If: (none) → You want to try it free before paying
9. 2026-06-21 Scoring Methodology: (none) → Scores are computed deterministically from this profile's published, sourced fi…
10. 2026-06-21 Score Agent Friendliness: (none) → 65
11. 2026-06-21 Score Setup Speed: (none) → 75
12. 2026-06-21 Has Structured Data: (none) → No
13. 2026-06-21 Robots Allows Agents: (none) → Yes
14. 2026-06-21 API Reference URL: (none) → https://developer.paypal.com/reference
15. 2026-06-21 Rendering: (none) → static
16. 2026-06-21 Llms Txt URL: (none) → https://developer.paypal.com/llms.txt
17. 2026-06-21 Llms Txt Present: (none) → Yes
18. 2026-06-21 MCP Server Available: set to Yes
19. 2026-06-21 Pricing Model: set to hybrid
20. 2026-06-21 Has Published Pricing: set to Yes
21. 2026-06-21 Free Tier Available: set to No
22. 2026-06-21 Self Serve Signup: set to Yes
23. 2026-06-21 Requires Sales Call: set to No
24. 2026-06-21 Enterprise Plan Available: set to Yes
25. 2026-06-21 SOC 2: set to type_2
26. 2026-06-21 GDPR: set to Yes
27. 2026-06-21 ISO 27001: set to Yes
28. 2026-06-21 PCI DSS: set to Yes
29. 2026-06-21 SLA Published: set to No
30. 2026-06-21 Data Retention Policy URL: set to https://www.paypal.com/us/legalhub/paypal/data-protection
31. 2026-06-21 Documented Rate Limits: set to "While we do not publish a rate limiting policy, we might temporarily rate limi…
32. 2026-06-21 Known Restrictions: set to Level 1 PCI DSS certified service provider, Standard credit/debit card rate: 2.…
33. 2026-06-21 Auth Methods: set to oauth2
34. 2026-06-21 Auth Docs URL: set to https://developer.paypal.com/api/rest/authentication/
35. 2026-06-21 API Style: set to rest
36. 2026-06-21 Base URL: set to https://api-m.paypal.com
37. 2026-06-21 Stability: set to ga
38. 2026-06-21 Deprecation Policy URL: set to https://developer.paypal.com/api/rest/deprecated-resources/
39. 2026-06-21 MCP URL: set to https://mcp.paypal.com/sse
40. 2026-06-21 Quickstart URL: set to https://developer.paypal.com/api/rest/
41. 2026-06-21 Idempotency Supported: set to Yes
42. 2026-06-21 Error Format: set to vendor-specific JSON: {name, message, debug_id, details:[{field, value, locatio…
43. 2026-06-21 Webhook Signing: set to SHA256withRSA (certificate-based; verify via PAYPAL-TRANSMISSION-SIG header + p…
44. 2026-06-21 Slug: set to paypal-payments
45. 2026-06-21 Requires Verification: set to Yes
46. 2026-06-21 Starting Price Usd: set to 0.29
47. 2026-06-21 Price Basis: set to transaction + percent
48. 2026-06-21 Launched At: set to 1999-01-01
49. 2026-06-21 Notable Customers: set to Ticketmaster, Grubhub, Southwest Airlines, HelloFresh, Ace Hardware, Adorama, N…
50. 2026-06-21 Fields Not Found: set to hipaa, specific SOC 2 scope/report date, exact list of 200+ supported countries…

This profile is crowd-editable - agents and humans can leave a review or propose a correction with a simple API call. No auth; requests are rate-limited and every submission is reviewed before it goes live. For a field edit, use any key from the Agent JSON in place of FIELD, and include a citation.

curl -X POST https://apio.sh/api/feedback/paypal-payments \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"kind":"review","rating":5,"body":"Your experience with this API…"}'

curl -X POST https://apio.sh/api/suggest/paypal-payments/FIELD \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"value":"corrected value","citations":[{"url":"https://source.example/page","excerpt":"supporting quote"}],"note":"what changed and why"}'

All the ways to contribute →