CentriWebStripe vs PayPal mostly comes down to how your customers pay you. Stripe is a card and bank payment platform that sits inside your website, invoices and booking tools, and in Australia it charges 1.65% + A$0.30 for a domestic card paid online, as at November 2026. PayPal is a wallet many buyers already have, which can help when people who have never dealt with you before buy online, and it publishes its own Australian fee schedule.
The figures below come from each provider’s own Australian pages, in Australian dollars, opened in November 2026. Fees change, so check their page for current prices before you decide. If you trade outside Australia, both companies set fees country by country, so use the page for your own country.
Stripe vs PayPal at a glance
| Stripe | PayPal | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A payment platform that websites, invoicing and booking software build on | A buyer wallet, plus checkout buttons and card fields for your website |
| How it charges (Australia) | A percentage plus a fixed fee per payment. No setup or monthly fee on standard pricing | Per transaction, set out on PayPal’s Australian fees page |
| Who maintains it | Stripe runs the platform. You, or whoever set up your website or software, keep the connection working | PayPal runs the wallet. You, or your web developer, keep its buttons or plugin working |
| Who it suits | Businesses taking deposits, invoices, subscriptions or website checkouts | Online sellers whose buyers like paying through an account they already trust |
Plenty of businesses end up using both: Stripe for cards and invoices, with a PayPal button offered as an extra choice at checkout. For a wider fee table that includes Square, Zeller and Airwallex, see our guide to payment gateways in Australia.
What Stripe costs in Australia
As at November 2026, Stripe’s Australian pricing page lists these standard fees, in Australian dollars. Stripe says its card and wallet fees include GST.
- Domestic cards online: 1.65% + A$0.30.
- International cards: 3.5% + A$0.30, plus 2% if currency conversion is needed. The page notes lower pricing for international cards from 1 April 2027.
- Bank payments (PayTo and BECS Direct Debit): 1% + A$0.30, capped at A$3.50.
- In person with a Stripe card reader: 1.65% + A$0.10 for domestic cards.
- Instant payouts: 1.5% of the amount, with a minimum fee of A$0.50.
- Monthly fee: none on standard pricing. Optional products such as Stripe Billing carry their own monthly charges.
The bank payment cap matters for larger amounts. On a $5,000 deposit, 1% would be $50, but the cap holds the fee at A$3.50. A domestic card on the same deposit would cost $82.80 at the listed rate. If you take big deposits from people who are happy to pay from their bank account, that difference adds up fast.
What PayPal costs in Australia
PayPal’s Australian fee pages refused our automated requests when we checked in November 2026, so we have not quoted its rates here. Read them on PayPal’s Australian business fees page, and compare the same lines you would for Stripe:
- the rate for a domestic payment for goods or services, and the fixed fee per payment
- any extra percentage when the buyer is overseas, and the currency conversion charge
- the fee for card payments taken through PayPal’s card fields rather than the PayPal button
- the chargeback and dispute fees
- any cost to move money from PayPal to your bank account
Two things PayPal’s own developer pages do confirm. PayPal’s Expanded Checkout supports Australian card payments on Mastercard, Visa, American Express and eftpos (eftpos in AUD only). And Pay in 4 lets eligible Australian buyers split a purchase of $1 to $1,999.99 into four interest-free payments, the first at checkout and the rest every two weeks. To offer it you need to be an Australian PayPal merchant selling in Australian dollars.
Payouts: when the money reaches your bank
For cash flow, payout timing can matter more than a small gap in rates.
Stripe’s payout documentation lists two business days as the settlement timing for Australia. Your first payout usually takes longer: Stripe says it typically schedules the first one within 7 to 14 days of your first live payment, depending on industry, country and risk. After that you can choose daily, weekly, monthly or manual payouts.
With PayPal, check its fee page and your account settings for how and when you can move funds to your bank, and whether a fee applies. Ask the same question of any provider: if a job worth ten times your usual amount comes through, will the money be held for review? Telling support before a large payment is a sensible habit with either.
Disputes and chargebacks
A dispute is when a customer tells their bank, or the payment provider, that a charge was wrong. The money is usually taken back while it is reviewed.
Stripe. Its pricing page lists a A$25.00 fee for each dispute you receive, and another A$25.00 if you counter it, which is refunded only if you win. Stripe’s dispute guide says you usually have 7 to 21 days to respond, depending on the card network, that you get one chance to submit evidence, and that the bank’s decision can take up to three months.
PayPal. PayPal’s dispute documentation describes two routes. A buyer can open a dispute with PayPal within 180 days of the payment date, and the two of you have up to 20 days to settle it. If either side escalates, PayPal reviews the evidence and decides within 10 days. A buyer can also go to their card issuer for a chargeback, in which case the bank decides and PayPal passes evidence between you.
The evidence that wins disputes is the same either way: a signed quote or order, clear terms, proof the work was done or the goods arrived, and your messages with the customer. Keeping these in one place, such as your CRM, makes a reply quick.
Surcharging: you can no longer add a card fee
The Reserve Bank of Australia’s surcharging FAQ says eftpos, Mastercard and Visa each introduced no-surcharge rules from 1 October 2026, and that PayPal also decided to remove surcharging, with its no-surcharge rule taking effect from 5 October 2026. Turn off any “pass on fees” setting in either account. Our guide to credit card surcharge rules in Australia sets out what the RBA and ACCC say you can still do. This is general information, not legal advice.
Where each one is strong
Stripe
- Supported by many website, booking, quoting and invoicing tools, so it may already slot into software you use. Check yours.
- Published Australian rates for cards, bank debits and card readers on one page.
- Bank debits with a capped fee, useful for deposits and regular billing.
- Payout schedules you can set to daily, weekly, monthly or manual.
PayPal
- A familiar button for buyers who would rather not type card details into a site they don’t know.
- Pay in 4 for Australian buyers spreading a purchase up to $1,999.99.
- Its own dispute process, which can settle a problem before it reaches the bank.
- Card fields alongside the wallet button, so card and PayPal payments can run through one account.
A builder taking a $20,000 progress payment and an online shop selling $60 products have very different needs. The builder cares about bank debits, invoices and payout timing. The shop cares about checkout trust and instalments. Our Stripe vs Square comparison covers the in-person side if you also take payments at a counter or on site.
When a system set up for you fits better than a self-serve account
Opening either account takes minutes. The work is everything around it: the quote that turns into a deposit request, the payment that marks the job as paid in your CRM, the reminder that goes out when an invoice is late, and the payout that lands in your accounts already matched. When those steps are joined, nobody retypes anything and nothing slips.
That is what our payments set-up covers: we connect Stripe or PayPal to your website, CRM and accounting, and look after it. It is not worth it for everyone. If you take a handful of payments a month, if you enjoy setting tools up yourself, or if your invoicing software’s built-in payment button already does the job, the standard account is enough.