PayPal International Transfer Fees UK (2026): Is It Worth It?

Yes, you can send money abroad with PayPal. From the UK it costs 5% of the amount, minimum £0.99 and maximum £2.99, for international personal (“Friends and Family”) payments (checked November 2026). If the money is converted into another currency, PayPal also adds a spread to its exchange rate, and that’s where most of the cost sits. PayPal is fine for small amounts to someone who only uses PayPal. For anything larger, a specialist like Wise usually delivers noticeably more.

PayPal’s international fees in plain English

From PayPal’s UK consumer fee schedule (January 2026 version, checked November 2026):

Two details matter:

• The £2.99 cap means the visible fee is small on big transfers. On £1,000 it’s still £2.99. That makes PayPal look cheap, but it isn’t.
• The currency spread isn’t in PayPal’s UK fee table for personal payments. The schedule lists “3% above the base exchange rate” for business-account conversions and cases where the receiver bears the conversion. For everything else it points you to its user agreement and an online currency converter. In practice, compare PayPal’s quoted rate against the mid-market rate on Google before you press send.

How the spread works

When you send £500 to a friend in Spain who holds euros, PayPal converts your pounds at its own rate. That rate is the base exchange rate minus PayPal’s margin. You don’t see a separate line for it. You just see “€X will be received”.

The quick check: divide the euros your friend will receive by the pounds you’re sending. Compare that with the mid-market rate. The gap, as a percentage, is the spread.

Worked example: £500 to euros

Mid-market rate on the day: £1 = €1.1988, so £500 is worth €599.42 (checked November 2026).

The PayPal rows are illustrative. PayPal doesn’t publish the spread for personal payments, so we’ve shown two plausible levels. Your PayPal screen shows the actual amount your recipient gets, so compare that figure. The Wise figure is calculated from its live euro pricing of 0.33% plus 52p.

Even if PayPal’s spread were at the low end, the total cost would be several times what a specialist charges, and the gap widens as the amount grows.

When PayPal makes sense

• Small, occasional payments to someone who only has PayPal, such as chipping in for a gift.
• Sending pounds to someone with a UK-linked or GBP PayPal balance, where no conversion happens.
• Speed and convenience when you only have an email address and the amount is small enough that the cost doesn’t matter much.

When to use something else

• Anything over about £100 that needs converting. The spread adds up fast.
• Regular family support. Twelve payments a year at a few percent each is real money.
• Sending to a bank account. PayPal pays into a PayPal balance. Your recipient then has to withdraw it, and their country’s withdrawal rules and fees apply.
• Countries where PayPal is limited. PayPal doesn’t operate everywhere, and in some countries accounts can’t receive money. Check PayPal’s country list before you rely on it.
• Paying someone you don’t know. Friends and Family payments generally don’t get PayPal Buyer Protection. Never use them to pay a seller or a stranger.

Our pick: For most transfers abroad, Wise delivers more of your money to a bank account at the mid-market rate. If your recipient specifically needs PayPal, PayPal is fine for small amounts, but check the received figure first.

What about Xoom?

Xoom is PayPal’s dedicated international transfer service and is available to UK senders. It can pay out to bank accounts, for cash pickup, and in some countries to the door or a mobile wallet. Like most remittance services, it charges a transfer fee that varies by route and payment method, plus a margin on the exchange rate. Treat it like Remitly or WorldRemit: get a quote and compare the amount received.

How to send money abroad via PayPal: step by step

1. Log in to the PayPal app or website and tap Send.
2. Enter your recipient’s email address or mobile number.
3. Choose Sending to a friend (Friends and Family). Only use this for people you know and trust.
4. Enter the amount. PayPal shows the fee and, if converting, the amount the recipient gets in their currency.
5. Choose how to pay. Using your PayPal balance or a linked bank account avoids card-related charges from your bank.
6. Check the received amount against the mid-market rate, then confirm.

How to cut PayPal’s cost

• Let the recipient receive pounds if they have a GBP balance or plan to spend in pounds, so no conversion happens on your side.
• For card purchases from abroad, PayPal may let you choose whether PayPal or your card issuer converts the currency. A card with no foreign-transaction fee is often cheaper. See our guide to the best travel money cards.
• Use a specialist for anything meaningful. Our cheapest way to send money abroad guide shows real costs from £200 to £25,000.

Is PayPal safe for international payments?

PayPal is a large, regulated firm, but a PayPal balance is e-money, not a bank deposit, so it isn’t covered by the FSCS. PayPal safeguards customer money instead. Withdraw large balances to your bank rather than leaving them in PayPal.

The bigger risk is scams. Friends and Family payments are hard to reverse. If someone asks you to “send it as friends and family to avoid fees” for something you’re buying, treat it as a red flag.

For a full comparison of banks, apps and cash services, read the best way to send money abroad or compare amounts with our transfer cost calculator.