The PayPal Donate button has a fee problem
PayPal's hosted Donate button charges 2.89% + €0.35 per donation, locks recipients into PayPal-only checkouts, and routes donors through a popup that ignores your branding. Here's how to swap it for a branded button that costs less and accepts every payment method donors expect.
What's wrong with PayPal's Donate button
PayPal's Donate button is fine for getting started — five minutes to embed, donations land in your PayPal balance. The problem is what happens after. Donors are funnelled into a PayPal-branded popup with PayPal-only payment options. Recurring donations are buried behind a separate setup. Fees compound on small donations (a €5 coffee tip becomes €4.50 after fees). And the button you embedded looks nothing like your site.
- Standard fee: 2.89% + €0.35 per donation in the EU (charity rate is similar but harder to qualify for).
- Donors have to sign in to PayPal or 'pay as guest' — no iDEAL, SEPA, Klarna or Bancontact.
- The popup ignores your brand colours, fonts and logo.
- Recurring donations require a separate subscription button setup.
- If a donor's card fails, PayPal doesn't retry — the donation is lost.
What a real donation button looks like
PayRequest's Payment Button is a single HTML anchor styled by one CSS file. Drop it on any site, give donors a branded checkout that accepts everything from PayPal to iDEAL to Apple Pay, charge variable amounts (let donors pick what to give), enable recurring donations with one toggle, and pay 0% PayRequest fees on top of your provider rate. The button is yours, the checkout is yours, the donor experience is yours.
Lower fees, every time
Connect Stripe (1.4% + €0.25 EU cards), Mollie (€0.25 iDEAL flat) or Ponto (free bank transfers). PayRequest charges 0% on top — you keep the full provider fee structure.
Donors pay with what they have
Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, iDEAL, Bancontact, SEPA, Klarna, PayPal — all on one branded checkout. The PayPal Donate button shows them PayPal.
Variable amount + recurring
Toggle on 'donor picks amount' and 'recurring monthly' — every donor sees the option to support you ongoing. PayPal needs separate buttons for that.
Branded, not PayPal-branded
Your logo, your colours, your domain. Donors trust a checkout that looks like your nonprofit, not a generic PayPal popup.
Fees on a €25 donation, side by side
Small donations get hit hardest by PayPal's percentage + fixed-fee structure. Here's what reaches your account on a typical €25 donation across providers PayRequest connects to.
| Method | Donor pays | Fees | You receive | % lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
PayPal Donate (standard EU rate) | €25.00 | €1.07 | €23.93 | 4.3% |
PayPal Donate (charity rate, qualified) | €25.00 | €0.55 | €24.45 | 2.2% |
PayRequest + Stripe (card) | €25.00 | €0.60 | €24.40 | 2.4% |
PayRequest + Mollie (iDEAL)Best | €25.00 | €0.25 | €24.75 | 1.0% |
PayRequest + Ponto (SEPA bank transfer)Best | €25.00 | €0.00 | €25.00 | 0% |
PayRequest adds 0% on top of provider fees. iDEAL and bank transfer rates are dramatically lower than PayPal's percentage-based pricing on small donations.
PayPal Donate vs PayRequest Payment Button
| Feature | PayPal Donate | PayRequest |
|---|---|---|
| Embed format | iframe + JavaScript SDK | Plain HTML anchor + CSS |
| Branded checkout | PayPal-branded popup | Your colours, your domain |
| Card payments | Yes (PayPal-processed) | Yes (Stripe / Mollie) |
| iDEAL / SEPA / Bancontact | No | Yes |
| Klarna / Buy now pay later | No | Yes |
| Apple Pay / Google Pay | Limited | Yes |
| Donor picks amount | Yes | Yes |
| Recurring donations | Separate subscribe button | Same anchor, toggle |
| Failed-payment retry (dunning) | Manual | Automatic |
| Fee on €25 EU card donation | €1.07 (4.3%) | €0.60–€0.25 depending on method |
| Charity rate qualification | Application required | Not needed (already low) |
| Self-service donor receipts | PayPal email | Branded email + PDF |
Step-by-step: replace your PayPal Donate button
Sign up for PayRequest
Free to start. Connect Stripe, Mollie, PayPal or Ponto on your account — you can keep PayPal as one of the methods if your existing donors prefer it.
Create a Donation Smart Link
Payment Page → Smart Links → New. Tick 'Donor picks amount' for variable donations or set a fixed amount. Tick 'Recurring' if you want monthly support. Pick which methods to enable.
Copy the Payment Button snippet
On the Smart Link's Share menu, click 'Embed Button'. Pick a style (Blue, Dark, Outline). Copy the two-line snippet.
Replace the PayPal Donate code on your site
Find the existing PayPal Donate button HTML (it'll be a <form action="https://www.paypal.com/...">). Delete it. Paste the PayRequest snippet in its place. Save the page.
Test and announce
Click your new button, donate €1 to yourself, confirm the receipt arrives. Send a one-line email to donors: 'we now accept iDEAL, Apple Pay and recurring donations'. Watch retention go up.
Who switches from PayPal Donate
Small nonprofits and charities
Lower fees on every donation translate directly to programme funding. iDEAL support unlocks Dutch donors who refuse to use PayPal.
Open-source projects and creators
Replace the GitHub Sponsors / PayPal Donate combo with one branded button. Recurring monthly support without forcing donors into PayPal.
Religious organisations and community groups
Tithing, building funds, project drives — all from one branded checkout. Variable amount + recurring covers every common donation pattern.
Indie developers and content makers
Tip jar with a donor-picks-amount toggle. Apple Pay and iDEAL convert better than 'log in to PayPal' on mobile.
Why PayRequest beats PayPal Donate on every metric except brand recognition
PayPal Donate has one thing going for it: donors recognise the logo. That's it. On fees, methods, branding, recurring support, dunning, and donor experience, a Payment Button connected to Stripe + Mollie + Ponto wins on every measure. And the irony — you can still offer PayPal as one of the methods on your PayRequest checkout. Your donors see PayPal as an option, not as the only option.
- Keep PayPal as a payment method without making donors use only PayPal.
- iDEAL converts at 95%+ in the Netherlands; PayPal is well below that.
- Recurring donations don't need a separate widget or subscription page.
- Fees on small donations drop dramatically when you add iDEAL or bank transfer.
- Branded checkout means donors trust the page they're paying on.
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep PayPal as one of the donation methods?+
Will my existing PayPal-recurring donations transfer?+
Do I need to apply for a charity rate?+
Can donors pick their own amount?+
How do I add the button to my WordPress / Wix / Squarespace site?+
What about donor receipts and tax letters?+
Ditch the PayPal Donate fees today
Sign up, create a Donation Smart Link, replace the PayPal embed with two lines of HTML. Five minutes, lower fees on every donation, branded checkout from day one.