Choose PayPal if your immediate job is to share a hosted checkout with buyers who want PayPal. Consider Authorize.net if you need a payment gateway with a merchant-account arrangement, especially when you already have an acquiring relationship to keep. Compare the actual payment product and contract before choosing by a headline percentage.
This guide is for a business choosing how to collect sales, with a clearly labeled US domestic cost example. A payment gateway, a PayPal wallet checkout and software that manages your offers are different parts of that decision.
What are you actually buying?
PayPal Payment Links provide hosted checkout shared by URL. PayPal also offers other products; a rate or feature from one should not be applied to every PayPal transaction.
Authorize.net's current pricing separates All-in-one, including a merchant account, from Gateway only, which is for a business that already accepts cards. It also includes digital invoicing, so it would be wrong to say every Authorize.net seller must build a custom checkout.
| Your requirement | What to evaluate | Decision evidence to request |
|---|---|---|
| Send a repeatable offer by chat or email | Hosted checkout/link and eligible buyer methods | Buyer can open the offer and pay the correct amount |
| Keep an existing merchant account | Gateway compatibility and acquiring contract | Written confirmation of compatibility and every fee |
| Bill a named client | Invoice records, reminders and reconciliation | Payment can be matched to the right invoice |
| Collect an authorized recurring charge | Recurring agreement and cancellation handling | Renewal permission and a clear cancellation process |
| Deliver a paid file | Fulfillment in addition to collection | The right buyer receives the right file after payment |
Start with the row that describes your sale. Choosing a gateway does not, by itself, decide who owns your catalog, download delivery or customer support.
A reproducible US cost worksheet
Assume a fictional US merchant receives only domestic USD orders of $100. For this example, every PayPal order is classified as PayPal Checkout. PayPal's US merchant fee schedule lists that category at 3.49% + $0.49. Its standard credit/debit card category is different; do not call this the rate for all PayPal payments.
Authorize.net's public US All-in-one offer lists $25/month plus 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, subject to eligibility. Use those inputs only for that offer, not Gateway only.
| Hypothetical monthly orders | PayPal Checkout calculation | Authorize.net All-in-one calculation |
|---|---|---|
| 20 × $100 = $2,000 sales | 20 × $3.98 = $79.60 | $25 + 20 × $3.20 = $89.00 |
| 100 × $100 = $10,000 sales | 100 × $3.98 = $398.00 | $25 + 100 × $3.20 = $345.00 |
The simplified crossover is $25 ÷ ($3.98 − $3.20) ≈ 32.05 orders. At 33 identical orders, the second formula becomes lower. That is arithmetic using these assumptions, not a customer saving, approval result or prediction that one checkout converts better.
Replace the inputs with your product, account terms, average order and payment mix. International charges, currency conversion, refunds, disputes, taxes, other services and any separate selling-software subscription are outside this model. A different PayPal category changes the comparison.
Authorize.net lists Gateway only at $25/month, $0.10 per transaction and a $0.10 daily batch fee. That does not include the separate merchant-account processing cost. Ask the acquirer for its complete schedule and settlement arrangements before putting this option beside an all-in-one rate. Counting the gateway's ten cents as the entire card fee produces a misleading comparison.
Keep collection, renewals and delivery together in your decision
For a custom service, a named invoice may be more useful than a repeatable offer link. For a downloadable product, add delivery and buyer access to your requirements. For a retainer, distinguish sending another invoice from collecting under an authorized recurring agreement.
When switching, retain the old transaction records, refund responsibility and any active recurring arrangements until their replacement is agreed. A copied customer name is not proof that a payment authorization has transferred. Choose the new workflow around the business obligation, then work out which provider handles each charge.
Where PayRequest can fit
If you choose the PayPal route and want to manage shareable offers, explore PayRequest payment links. The current PayRequest PayPal connection documentation requires an eligible PayPal Business account and limits PayPal support to payment links; invoice and subscription billing use Mollie. PayRequest is not an Authorize.net integration or a way around provider eligibility.
PayRequest pricing lists Free at €0/month with a 2% standard platform fee, Premium at €5/month and Business at €20/month. An active paid plan removes the standard platform fee; provider fees and commission-payment exceptions remain separate. This is a software cost to add to the provider comparison, not a replacement for processing fees.
Use the article CTA to create an account, complete setup and prepare one eligible PayPal offer. If automatic file delivery is your deciding requirement, evaluate digital products before choosing the collection route. Business can be ordered through Business registration; setup and paid checkout activate access, while signup alone does not.
Editorial note: prepared with AI assistance. Official sources were reviewed on 6 November 2026. The cover is illustrative and the worksheet is hypothetical; no live provider, migration or conversion test is claimed.
