How payment-app fees work
PayPal, Venmo and Cash App charge sellers a percentage plus, in some cases, a fixed amount on each sale, and each offers a different way of getting paid out. The calculators apply each service’s published seller rates to your sale and show the fee and your net amount. PayPal’s standard goods-and-services rate for U.S. domestic payments, for example, is 3.49% plus $0.49, and it has a separate micropayments rate for small transactions.
Selling versus sending money
These apps treat paying a friend and getting paid for something you sold very differently. Cash App’s personal payments remain free, while Cash App for Business charges a 2.75% selling fee. Cash App also charges roughly 1.5% for an instant deposit compared with a free standard deposit that takes one to three days. Using a personal payment for a sale can break the service’s terms, so use the business or goods-and-services option when you are selling.
Confirming your rate
Rates change and some accounts have different terms. Check your app’s payment settings for the rate that applies to you, and see how we calculate for how these tools are built.
Which app for which sale?
For a one-off payment between friends, a personal payment may be free, but a sale of goods or services is different, and the app’s terms usually reserve personal payments for friends and family. For regular selling, use the business or goods-and-services option, which carries a fee. Run each app’s calculator on your typical sale amount to see how the fixed and percentage parts add up: a fixed fee matters most on small sales.