Stripe vs Square vs PayPal fees in Canada, with Shopify Payments

What do Stripe, Square and PayPal charge in Canada?

Online, the four are close. A $50 card sale costs $1.65 to $1.75 in fees at September 2026 rates. The gaps show up elsewhere. Stripe and Shopify charge 15 cents flat on in-person Interac debit, Square charges 0.75% plus 7 cents, and PayPal lists no Interac rate. Payout speed and monthly fees differ too.

I read every rate below on the vendors’ own Canadian pages on September 23, 2026, from Castlegar. All four publish their Canadian rates in Canadian dollars. Stripe, Square and PayPal each mention custom or volume pricing for some sellers. The rates here are the standard published ones a small business starts on.

What are the card rates online and in person?

Online, Square and Shopify Payments take 2.8% plus 30 cents, Stripe takes 2.9% plus CA$0.30, and PayPal ranges from 2.70% to 2.90% plus 30 cents. In person, Square is lowest on credit at 2.5%, then Shopify at 2.6% and Stripe at 2.7% plus 5 cents.

PayPal has two online prices. A customer who clicks the PayPal button pays through PayPal checkout, at 2.90% plus 30 cents. PayPal’s Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments let a customer type a card on your own site, at 2.70% plus 30 cents with no monthly fee. In person, PayPal’s Canadian page lists QR code payments, where the customer scans a code with their phone.

Which one is cheapest for Interac debit, and who charges monthly?

Stripe and Shopify charge a flat 15 cents per in-person Interac sale. Square charges 0.75% plus 7 cents, which only wins on sales under about $10.67. On monthly fees, Stripe charges none on standard pricing, Square has a $0 plan, and Shopify Payments comes with a Shopify plan.

The debit row matters in a town where most people tap a bank card. A $40 debit sale costs 15 cents on Stripe or Shopify and 37 cents on Square. The comparison of Shopify and Square for a small Canadian store runs the same numbers across a full month at a counter.

Shopify’s monthly plan buys more than payments. It is the store itself: the catalogue, the checkout and the admin. Stripe and PayPal only process the payment, so you need a website that connects to them.

How fast does the money reach my bank?

Square is fastest, as soon as the next business day. Shopify Payments takes at least 3 business days to settle in Canada. Stripe’s first payout typically lands 7 to 14 days after your first live payment. PayPal keeps money in your PayPal balance until you move it.

Weekends and holidays slow all of them. Shopify counts business days only, so an order on Friday with a three-day settlement pays out on Wednesday. Your own bank can add a day or more on top.

The rate is what you compare. The payout date is what you feel, the week rent is due.

What does a month of online sales cost on each?

Take a shop with 60 online orders a month at $50 each, all on Canadian cards. That is $3,000 in sales. Fees come to $99 on PayPal’s card payments, $102 on Square or Shopify Payments, and $105 on Stripe or PayPal checkout, at September 2026 rates.

The spread is $6 a month, or $72 a year. On Shopify, add the plan: $37 a month on Basic with yearly billing. That buys the store, and the other three still need a website with a checkout. Square Online has a free plan, and the full-year cost of an online store in Canada weighs the plans against each other.

Change one input and the answer can flip. A farm taking most sales on debit at a market stall pays far more attention to the 15 cents than to the online rate. The guide to selling direct from a farm or orchard website covers that mix of market days and online orders.

What extra fees should I watch for?

The base rate is the floor. International cards, typed-in cards, Amex, currency conversion and a second provider on Shopify each add to it. None of them shows on the headline price, so check which ones your customers will trigger.

• Cards from outside Canada. Stripe adds 0.8%, Square adds 1.5%, and PayPal adds 0.80% for US payments and 1.00% for other countries.
• Cards typed in by hand. Square charges 3.3% plus 15 cents. Stripe adds 0.5% to its online rate.
• American Express. Shopify Basic charges 3.5% plus 30 cents online. PayPal’s card payments charge 3.50%.
• Currency conversion. Stripe adds 2% when a charge has to convert currency.
• A second provider on Shopify. Shopify Basic adds a 2% fee on sales run through any provider other than Shopify Payments.
• Card readers. Every in-person option needs a card reader or a phone set up to take taps. That hardware is a separate cost.

Card fees are one line of tax paperwork too. If you sell taxable goods, setting up PST and GST on Shopify in BC covers the registrations that sit alongside these fees.

Which payment processor fits a small Canadian business?

Pick by how customers pay you. A counter full of debit taps points to Shopify or Stripe for the 15 cent Interac rate, or Square for next-day money. An online store on Shopify points to Shopify Payments. A site that sells a few things points to Stripe or PayPal.

Stripe

It has flat pricing and no monthly fee. It suits a custom website with its own checkout. It also takes in-person Interac at 15 cents. The first payout takes the longest.

Square

It pays out the fastest and has a $0 plan. It suits a counter, a market table or a food truck. Debit costs more than on Stripe or Shopify once a sale passes about $10.67.

PayPal

It gives customers a PayPal button, and its card payments on your own site are the lowest online rate here. It lists no Interac rate, and money waits in your PayPal balance until you move it.

Shopify Payments

The default inside a Shopify store, with no 2% third-party fee. It needs a Shopify plan, and payouts take at least 3 business days in Canada.

Rates change, and all four vendors revise their pages. Check the vendor’s own Canadian pricing page on the day you sign up.

Sources and further reading

• Stripe pricing, Canada

  Read September 23, 2026. Online 2.9% plus CA$0.30 for domestic cards. In person 2.7% plus CA$0.05, and CA$0.15 per Interac debit. Additional 0.5% for manually entered cards, 0.8% for international cards, 2% for currency conversion. Instant Payouts 1%, minimum CA$0.60.

• Stripe docs: receive payouts

  Read September 23, 2026. The first payout is typically scheduled within 7 to 14 days of the first live payment, then follows a daily, weekly, monthly or manual schedule.

• Square pricing, Canada

  Read September 23, 2026. Credit card present 2.5%, card not present 2.8% plus 30 cents, debit present 0.75% plus 7 cents, keyed in 3.3% plus 15 cents, plus 1.5% on cards issued outside Canada. Free plan at $0 a month. Transfers as soon as the next business day, instant transfers at 1.5%.

• PayPal merchant fees, Canada

  Read September 23, 2026 (page updated July 15, 2026). Commercial transactions 2.90% plus 0.30 CAD. Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments 2.70% plus 0.30 CAD with no monthly fee. QR code sales 1.90% plus 0.10 CAD at $10.01 and above. Instant transfer 1.50%, minimum 0.50 CAD.

• PayPal help: getting money out of your account

  Read September 23, 2026. A standard bank transfer typically completes in 1 to 3 business days. Instant transfer typically completes within minutes, for a fee.

• Shopify pricing, Canada

  Read September 23, 2026, labelled CAD. Basic $37 a month billed yearly or $49 monthly. Online 2.8% plus 30 cents, Amex and international 3.5% plus 30 cents, in person 2.6%, in-person Interac 15 cents flat. Third-party transaction fee 2% on Basic.

• Shopify Payments payout timing

  Read September 23, 2026. Canada: a minimum settlement time of 3 business days and no minimum payout. Banks can take an additional 1 to 3 days to show the funds.

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