Stripe vs PayPal vs GoCardless for UK websites: fees and which to choose

For most UK websites, Stripe is the best default for card payments, PayPal is worth adding alongside it because a lot of shoppers prefer it, and GoCardless is usually the cheapest sensible way to collect regular or large payments by Direct Debit. At the time of writing, Stripe’s UK pricing page lists 1.5 % + 20p for standard UK cards, PayPal’s UK merchant fees page lists 2.9 % + 30p for standard domestic PayPal payments, and GoCardless’s standard plan is 1 % + 20p per payment, capped at £4. Shops should usually offer Stripe plus PayPal; memberships and B2B invoices should look hard at Direct Debit.

Fees change, and all three providers have more pricing lines than fit in a sentence, so check each provider’s current UK pricing page before you sign up. Below we compare them properly, with worked examples and what we actually recommend to clients.

Quick comparison

Standard published UK rates at the time of writing (October 2026). Negotiated rates are available at higher volumes.

Sources: Stripe’s GB pricing page, PayPal’s UK merchant fees page and GoCardless’s pricing page, checked at the time of writing.

Stripe

Stripe is a payments platform built for developers, and it is what we use on most projects. One account handles cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Bacs Direct Debit, subscriptions, invoices and payment links.

Why we like it

• Low fees on UK cards. 1.5 % + 20p for standard UK consumer cards is hard to beat for an online business without negotiating.
• Saved cards and deposits. You can save a card securely at booking and charge a no-show fee later, which is gold for salons, clinics and trades.
• Subscriptions. Stripe Billing handles recurring payments, upgrades and failed-card retries. It adds a percentage of billing volume (0.7 % on pay-as-you-go at the time of writing) on top of card fees.
• Good integrations. An official WooCommerce plugin, modules for Magento and PrestaShop, and a clean API for custom Laravel or Node builds.
• Strong Customer Authentication handled. Its current checkout flows apply 3D Secure when UK rules require it.

What to watch

• Premium UK cards (many business and rewards cards) and international cards cost noticeably more, which matters for B2B and export sales.
• Some customers like seeing a brand they know. Stripe is invisible at checkout, which is fine for cards but does not add trust.
• Like every provider, Stripe may review accounts or hold funds in higher-risk sectors. Fill in your business details accurately at sign-up.

PayPal

PayPal is the online payment brand UK shoppers recognise most. Many buyers use it because they would rather not type card details into a site they have never used before.

Why it is worth offering

• Trust and speed. A returning PayPal user can pay in two taps, and buyer protection makes them more willing to try a small shop.
• Pay in 3. PayPal’s buy now, pay later option is available to eligible UK customers in the same checkout, at a higher merchant fee.
• International buyers who already have PayPal accounts in their own currency.

What to watch

• Higher fees on standard PayPal payments: 2.9 % + 30p domestically at the time of writing, with extra percentages for international payments and currency conversion.
• Money sits in PayPal until you transfer it, which adds a step to your bookkeeping.
• Disputes lean towards buyers. Keep proof of postage and delivery for every order.

GoCardless

GoCardless specialises in bank payments, mainly Direct Debit. It suits businesses that take money from the same customer again and again: gyms, clubs, membership bodies, accountants, agencies, subscription boxes and B2B suppliers on monthly terms.

Why it is worth considering

• Capped fees. On the Standard plan, 1 % + 20p, capped at £4. A £2,000 invoice costs £4 to collect, against around £30 on a standard UK card through Stripe.
• No expiring cards. A Direct Debit mandate does not expire, so you lose fewer subscribers to failed renewals.
• You pull, rather than chase. The payment arrives on the due date without anyone sending reminders.
• Charities get a discount on eligible fees, at the time of writing.

What to watch

• It is slower. Bacs Direct Debit takes several working days, so it is wrong for instant checkout in a shop.
• The Direct Debit Guarantee lets customers reclaim payments from their bank if something goes wrong. That is good for them and means you need clear records and notifications.
• Higher plans (Advanced and Pro) cost more per payment. Only move up if you need their failed-payment recovery or fraud tools.

One wrinkle worth knowing: Stripe also offers Bacs Direct Debit, at 1 % with a 20p minimum and £4 cap at the time of writing. If you already run cards through Stripe and only need simple Direct Debits, compare it against GoCardless before adding a second provider.

Worked fee examples

Using the standard UK rates above, for illustration only:

A shop taking 400 orders a month

Say an online shop in Leeds takes 400 orders a month at an average of £45, with 70 % paying by card through Stripe and 30 % through PayPal. Stripe: 280 orders × (67.5p + 20p) = £245. PayPal: 120 orders × (£1.305 + 30p) = £192.60. Total about £438 a month. If every order went through PayPal, fees would be around £642 a month; if every order went through Stripe, around £350. Offering PayPal costs you something, but most shops find the extra conversions are worth it. Test it: run both for three months and look at the numbers.

A gym with 200 members at £50 a month

• Stripe cards plus Stripe Billing: 200 × 95p = £190, plus 0.7 % Billing on £10,000 = £70, so about £260 a month
• PayPal: 200 × £1.75 = £350 a month
• GoCardless Standard: 200 × 70p = £140 a month
• Stripe Bacs Direct Debit: 200 × 50p = £100 a month, before any extra charges that may apply, so check current terms

Over a year, the difference between the dearest and cheapest option here is about £3,000. For recurring revenue, the payment method matters more than the provider brand.

Which should you choose?

For bookings in particular, our guide to booking systems, deposits and Stripe covers deposits and no-show fees in more detail.

Getting the integration right

Fees get the attention, but integration problems cost more. A checkout that fails on some phones, or an order that never updates because a webhook was missed, loses you sales and creates support work. Our checklist:

• Use hosted or embedded checkout fields from the provider so card details never touch your server. That keeps your PCI DSS obligations light and handles Strong Customer Authentication correctly.
• Handle webhooks so orders, bookings and memberships update when payments succeed, fail, are refunded or disputed.
• Test the unhappy paths: declined cards, abandoned 3D Secure checks, failed Direct Debits, partial refunds.
• Know the refund rules. Providers generally do not return all of the original fee when you refund, so check each provider’s terms.
• Reconcile with your accounts. Connect payouts to Xero, QuickBooks or FreeAgent so fees are recorded properly for VAT and bookkeeping.
• Show clear wording on the payment page: what is being charged, when, and how to cancel a recurring payment.

What it costs to set up with us

We integrate Stripe, PayPal and GoCardless into WordPress, WooCommerce, Magento, PrestaShop and custom Laravel or PHP sites. Typical jobs:

• Stripe and PayPal on an existing WooCommerce shop, configured and tested: usually under 10 hours. At our E-commerce Development rate of £65/h, 10 hours is £650 − 5 % = £617.50 + VAT (£741).
• Custom subscriptions or Direct Debit with webhooks in a Laravel or PHP application: often around 20 hours. £1,300 − 15 % = £1,105 + VAT (£1,326).
• A new shop with payments built in: our Business / E-commerce package at £2,650 + VAT includes payments, booking and ordering.

You can buy hours online (they never expire), see our packages, or read about our e-commerce development and API integration work. Setting up a shop from scratch? Our guide to WooCommerce for UK shops covers VAT and checkout set-up. We are based in St Albans and work with businesses across the UK, so if you are unsure which provider fits, a short call usually settles it.

Photo: rupixen via Unsplash