Does this use live PayPal rates?

No. Enter only the percent and fixed fee from your current fee schedule.

When should I use gross-up?

When you need the invoice or payment request large enough that after fees you still keep a target net.

Why do small payments look more expensive?

The fixed fee is a larger share of small payments, so effective fee percent rises.

Is this official PayPal guidance?

No. It is an educational fee arithmetic guide.

PayPal Fee Basics: Percent, Fixed Fee, and Invoice Gross-Up

PayPal commercial payments usually combine a percentage of the payment with a fixed fee. This guide walks through the educational worksheet math—fees on a known payment, or the payment total needed so you keep a target net. Enter rates from your PayPal fee schedule; nothing here is a live merchant quote.

What This Worksheet Actually Answers

Transparent arithmetic on assumptions you control: total fees, net payout, effective fee percent, and optional gross-up so an invoice covers those fees. It does not encode goods-and-services vs friends-and-family, Micropayments, Checkout product variants, or currency conversion.

Educational worksheet, not a PayPal quote

Illustrative defaults (for example 2.99% + $0.49) are planning placeholders. Replace them with the schedule for your country and product. Confirm fees in your PayPal business documentation.

The Inputs That Drive the Math

Solve mode, payment amount (or desired net), percent fee, and fixed fee per payment. Use one currency and one product type so comparisons stay honest.

Inputs and Limits

Input	Role in the model	Common confusion
Solve mode	Fees on a payment vs payment needed for a net	Assuming friends-and-family rates apply to goods
Amount	Payment total, or desired net when grossing up	Mixing payout currency with charge currency
Percent fee	User-entered commercial rate	Treating a viral tip as your contract rate
Fixed fee	Per-payment fixed fee you enter	Ignoring conversion or receiving-side fees

How the Worksheet Orders the Math

Step 1

Choose currency and whether you know the payment or the net.

Step 2

Enter the payment amount—or the net you want to keep.

Step 3

Enter percent and fixed fees from your PayPal fee page.

Step 4

Review total fees, net, modeled payment, and effective fee percent.

Open the PayPal Fee Calculator

Enter your scenario and review the worksheet outputs:

Open PayPal Fee Calculator

Worked Scenario

On a $100 payment at 2.99% + $0.49: percentage fee $2.99 + fixed $0.49 = $3.48 total fees; net $96.52. To keep $100 net: payment = (100 + 0.49) ÷ (1 − 0.0299) ≈ $103.59.

What This Model Intentionally Omits

Live PayPal fee APIs and account-specific discounts
Friends-and-family, Micropayments, and Checkout variants
Currency conversion and chargeback costs
Tax engines and personalized merchant advice

Bottom Line

Label the product type, source rates from your own fee page, and verify outside the worksheet before you promise a customer a net or an invoice total.