Key Takeaways
- payrequest.me supports 20+ payment methods; PayPal.me only works with PayPal
- PayRequest charges 2% per payment, capped at €25. PayPal.me charges 3.49% plus a fixed fee on business payments
- Payers do not need a PayRequest account to pay via payrequest.me — just a card or bank account
- payrequest.me includes professional invoicing, subscriptions, and custom branding on the same free plan
- Both links are free to create, but the ongoing cost difference compounds quickly at volume
What Is a Personal Payment Link?
A personal payment link is a shareable URL that takes whoever clicks it directly to a payment page with your name on it. Instead of asking clients to navigate to your website or sending them an invoice PDF, you send one link and they pay immediately.
The format is simple: payrequest.me/yourname or paypal.me/yourname. Both follow the same idea — a branded, memorable link that makes getting paid feel instant. The differences emerge when you look at what happens after someone clicks.
Asking someone to pay you used to mean emailing a bank account number, hoping they remembered to transfer it, and then chasing for confirmation. Payment links solved that. But not all payment links are equal. Some only work if both parties have the same app. Others route through a platform that takes a large percentage. The question for anyone setting up a personal payment page in 2026 is which link delivers the cleanest experience at the lowest cost.
When you create a personal payment page, you set up your name, optionally add services or amounts, and get a permanent URL. You paste it in your email signature, bio, or anywhere clients reach you. When someone visits, they see a branded checkout page and can pay immediately. No invoices, no chasing, no back-and-forth.
payrequest.me vs PayPal.me: Feature Comparison
The most important distinction between the two is scope. PayPal.me is deliberately minimal — it does one thing: send someone to a PayPal payment flow. payrequest.me is a full payment page built on PayRequest's billing platform, which means it inherits every feature PayRequest offers.
PayPal.me directs payers to PayPal's standard checkout. If the payer has a PayPal account, they can pay from their balance or a linked card. If they do not have a PayPal account, PayPal shows a guest checkout for cards — but this still routes through PayPal's system and counts as a "goods and services" payment, not a friends-and-family transfer.
payrequest.me connects to Stripe, Mollie, and PayPal simultaneously. A payer can choose from cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex), iDEAL, SEPA Direct Debit, Bancontact, Klarna, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, and more — over 20 methods in total. If you serve a Dutch audience, iDEAL is often the fastest option. If you work internationally, card and SEPA cover most markets.
PayPal.me requires the payer to either log into PayPal or use guest checkout through PayPal's interface. The PayPal branding is front and center throughout the flow, and PayPal collects customer data at the point of payment.
payrequest.me has no account requirement for payers. They arrive at a PayRequest-branded checkout, pick their preferred method, and pay. No registration, no app download, no friction.
PayPal.me does not support invoicing, subscriptions, product listings, or custom branding. It is a link that routes money — nothing more. payrequest.me, because it runs on PayRequest, gives you access to invoicing, recurring billing, security deposits, digital product delivery, and a customer portal — all on the same free account.
Fee Comparison: The Real Cost of Each Link
Fees are where the two platforms diverge most clearly, and the difference has real financial consequences at scale.
PayPal.me uses PayPal's standard transaction pricing. For business payments (which is what most professional use cases are), PayPal charges 3.49% plus a fixed fee that varies by currency — typically €0.35 in Europe. On a €100 payment, that is approximately €3.84 in fees. On a €500 payment, it is approximately €17.80.
PayRequest charges 2% per successful payment, capped at €25 per transaction. On a €100 payment, the fee is €2.00. On a €500 payment, the fee is €10.00. On a €2,000 payment — a reasonable consulting invoice — PayRequest's fee is €25.00. A comparable PayPal transaction at 3.49% plus €0.35 would cost €70.15.
| Payment Amount | PayPal.me Fee (3.49% + €0.35) | payrequest.me Fee (2%, max €25) | Saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| €50 | €2.10 | €1.00 | €1.10 |
| €200 | €7.33 | €4.00 | €3.33 |
| €500 | €17.80 | €10.00 | €7.80 |
| €1,000 | €35.25 | €20.00 | €15.25 |
| €2,000 | €70.15 | €25.00 | €45.15 |
| €5,000 | €174.85 | €25.00 | €149.85 |
The cap at €25 is the critical number for anyone receiving larger payments. A freelancer billing €3,000 per project pays €25 with PayRequest versus approximately €105 with PayPal.me — a difference of €80 per project.
Which Platform Accepts More Payment Methods?
PayPal.me's payment method coverage depends entirely on what PayPal accepts in your country. In most markets, that means PayPal balance, credit and debit cards (routed through PayPal), and Pay Later options where available. It does not include iDEAL, SEPA Direct Debit, Bancontact, Klarna as a standalone option, or bank transfers.
payrequest.me inherits whatever payment methods you enable through your connected providers. With Mollie, you get iDEAL, Bancontact, SEPA, and Klarna alongside cards. With Stripe, you get cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and SEPA. With PayPal, you get the PayPal wallet and Pay Later. Most PayRequest users connect two or three providers and cover every major payment method their clients prefer.
For European businesses especially, this matters. iDEAL alone accounts for the majority of Dutch online payments. Offering it through your personal payment page removes a barrier that PayPal.me cannot address.
Who Should Use payrequest.me?
payrequest.me is the right choice if you receive payments regularly and want the lowest fees, the broadest payment method coverage, and room to grow into more advanced billing features without switching platforms.
Freelancers who send invoices, take project deposits, or bill for recurring retainers will get the most value from payrequest.me. The 2% fee cap means a €2,000 invoice costs €25 — a fixed, predictable number. Beyond the link, the same account handles professional PDF invoices, payment reminders, and a client-facing billing portal.
Coaches selling sessions or packages benefit from payrequest.me's ability to show fixed-price services directly on the payment page. A client visiting payrequest.me/yourcoach sees your services, picks what they want, and pays — no back-and-forth email to agree on an amount.
European businesses needing iDEAL, Bancontact, or SEPA cannot use PayPal.me as their primary payment link. payrequest.me covers all of these natively and works as both a personal link and a more structured product catalog page.
The €25 fee cap makes payrequest.me dramatically cheaper than PayPal.me at any payment above approximately €700. If you regularly receive payments of €1,000 or more, the fee difference alone covers the cost of switching many times over.
Who Should Stick With PayPal.me?
PayPal.me works well in specific situations where its simplicity and PayPal's global recognition matter more than low fees or broad payment method coverage.
If both you and the person paying you already use PayPal and you are collecting an informal payment between friends or trusted contacts, PayPal's friends-and-family option avoids fees for the sender (though PayPal restricts this for business use). If your audience is primarily in the United States and uses PayPal habitually, PayPal.me's brand familiarity can reduce checkout friction. And if you want to collect small, infrequent payments with zero setup, PayPal.me's one-step link creation has a marginal speed advantage.
For everything else — professional use, European payment methods, recurring billing, or payments above a few hundred euros — payrequest.me is the more capable and cheaper option.
How to Set Up Your payrequest.me Link
Getting your personal payment page live takes under five minutes.
Go to payrequest.app/register and sign up. No credit card required. The free plan includes every feature.
During onboarding, choose your handle — this becomes your permanent URL at payrequest.me/yourhandle. Pick something memorable, ideally your name or business name.
Connect Stripe, Mollie, or PayPal (or all three) in the settings. Each takes about two minutes and activates the payment methods that provider supports. Stripe covers cards and SEPA; Mollie adds iDEAL and Bancontact; PayPal adds the PayPal wallet.
Add your photo or logo, a short description, and optionally list services with fixed prices. You can also leave the amount open so payers enter what they owe. Both options work well depending on your use case.
Your payrequest.me page is live. Add it to your email signature, LinkedIn profile, invoice footer, and anywhere you communicate with clients. Every payment flows through your PayRequest account and settles to your bank account.
FAQ
What is payrequest.me? payrequest.me is a personal payment page hosted by PayRequest. You claim a custom URL like payrequest.me/yourname and share it so anyone can pay you directly — no app download required from the payer.
Is payrequest.me free? Yes. Creating a payrequest.me page is completely free. PayRequest charges 2% per successful payment, capped at €25 per transaction. There are no monthly fees and no setup costs.
How is payrequest.me different from PayPal.me? payrequest.me supports 20+ payment methods including cards, iDEAL, SEPA, and Klarna — not just PayPal. Payers do not need a PayRequest account. Fees are 2% capped at €25, versus PayPal.me's 3.49% plus a fixed fee on business payments.
Can I use payrequest.me without a PayPal account? Yes. payrequest.me works entirely independently of PayPal. Payers can pay by card, bank transfer, iDEAL, Klarna, Apple Pay, and more — no PayPal account needed on either side.
What payment methods does payrequest.me support? payrequest.me supports cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex), iDEAL, SEPA Direct Debit, Bancontact, Klarna, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal — over 20 payment methods in total, depending on your connected payment provider.
Conclusion
PayPal.me built its reputation on simplicity, and that simplicity still works for informal, low-value payments between people who both use PayPal. But as a professional payment tool in 2026, it shows its age. The 3.49% fee structure, the PayPal-only acceptance, and the complete absence of invoicing or recurring billing make it a limited choice for anyone who gets paid for their work.
payrequest.me covers the same use case — a personal link anyone can share — and adds everything a professional needs: 20+ payment methods, a 2% fee capped at €25, invoicing, subscriptions, deposits, and a full billing platform underneath it.
For freelancers, coaches, consultants, and small businesses, the switch is straightforward. Create your account, claim your handle, and your payrequest.me link is live in five minutes.