I've been paid through all three of these — sometimes by the same client in different months. None of them is perfect. Each has a situation where it wins. Here's how I think about it.
The headline numbers
| Stripe | PayPal | Wise | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Card fee (US) | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.99% + 49¢ | — |
| Bank transfer | 0.8% capped $5 | Free domestic | From 0.43% |
| Intl. transfer | 2.9% + 1% FX | 4.4% + fixed | ~0.5–1% (real rate) |
| Payout speed | 2 business days | Instant–3 days | Same–next day |
| Holding fees | None | None | None |
Stripe — the professional default
Stripe is what I use when the client's default question is "just send me a payment link." You generate one in 10 seconds, paste it into the invoice email, the client clicks and pays with their card. Money lands in your bank in 2 business days.
Where it wins: Card payments, especially for US clients. The checkout is clean, the fees are predictable, and the dashboard is genuinely useful for tracking who's paid. The Payment Links feature is the killer freelance feature — you don't need an integration, just a link.
Where it loses: International transfers above $1000 or so. The 1% FX markup adds up. If a UK client is sending you USD, both you and they get clipped on the rate.
When to use: Default choice for US-based freelancers with US-or-near clients. Default for any client who'd rather pay by card.
PayPal — what your client probably already has
PayPal's great strength is ubiquity. Your client almost certainly has an account. Send them a PayPal invoice or a PayPal.me link, they don't need to set up anything new, and the money arrives.
Where it wins: Domestic transfers between friends or small clients you trust. Speed — instant transfer to your bank costs a small fee but it's instant.
Where it loses: International transfers. The combined currency conversion + transfer fee + the spread on the exchange rate eats 4-5% on a typical cross-border payment. PayPal also has a long-standing tendency to freeze accounts arbitrarily if anything looks unusual — Googling "PayPal froze my account" will return thousands of horror stories. For a freelance business, that's a real risk.
When to use: Small domestic transactions, clients who insist on PayPal, one-off invoices where setup time matters more than fees.
Wise — the international winner
Wise (formerly TransferWise) is built specifically for cross-border money. They give you a multi-currency account where you can hold USD, EUR, GBP, PLN, AUD, and 40+ others in their native currency. You give clients local bank details for their country, they pay you as if you're local, you convert to your home currency only when you choose to.
Where it wins: Anything cross-border. The real, mid-market exchange rate plus a tiny percentage fee — typically half a percent or less. For a $5,000 invoice from a UK client to a US freelancer, the savings vs PayPal can be $150-200.
Where it loses: Card acceptance — Wise doesn't let your clients pay by card the way Stripe does. It's bank-transfer-or-nothing. Some clients hate bank transfers.
When to use: Any client outside your home country. Recurring international clients. Anyone paying you in a different currency than yours.
My actual stack
For US clients paying in USD: Stripe Payment Link in the invoice email, ACH bank transfer for larger amounts to skip the card fee.
For international clients: Wise. I have a USD account, a EUR account, and a GBP account. Clients send to whichever matches their currency. I convert in bulk maybe once a quarter.
PayPal stays in the toolbox for the occasional small client who insists. I don't volunteer it as an option.
What I'd tell a new freelancer
Open all three. Cost: about an hour total. Pre-fill your invoice template with all three options at the bottom and let the client pick. The convenience of giving the client a choice is worth more than picking one provider and forcing it on them.
And for any client who's going to be ongoing, push them to ACH or bank transfer (Stripe ACH or direct Wise). Card fees are fine for one-off payments. They're a steady drag on retainer work.