How Do PayPal and Venmo's New Crypto Fees Stack Up?
Venmo and its parent company PayPal have implemented a new fee structure for investors buying and selling cryptocurrency.
The company said it wanted to make it easier for customers to understand its fees by moving away from percentage-based fees and into flat dollar fees for crypto transactions under $200. Depending on how much crypto you trade, the fees could be higher than they were previously.
Here’s the company’s new structure.
| Purchase or Sale Amount | Fees |
| $1.00 – $4.99 | 49 cents |
| $5.00 – $24.99 | 99 cents |
| $25.00 – $74.99 | $1.99 |
| $75.00 – $200.00 | $2.49 |
| $200.01 – $1,000.00 | 1.80% |
| $1,000.01 | 1.50% |
| Source: PayPal |
The prior fee for transactions up to $25 was 50 cents, 2.3% for transactions between $25 and $100 and 2% for transactions between $100 and $200.
How these crypto fees compare
Cryptocurrency use almost tripled in the past year, with nearly 1 in 4 U.S. households (22%) using crypto in 2021, versus 8% in 2020, according to new research from market research firm Hearts & Wallets. (The survey sampled households with at least $100 in investable assets.) You can trade crypto such as bitcoin, ethereum and dogecoin through various platforms. These include payment apps like PayPal, major exchanges like Coinbase and even investing apps like Robinhood.
However, fees can vary widely across these platforms. For example, Robinhood doesn’t charge commission fees for trading crypto. But it limits you to simply buying and selling crypto like you would a stock. Generally speaking, most Robinhood users can’t currently use their accounts to send bitcoin to a friend or buy a sandwich with it. These are capabilities more accessible via crypto wallets with major crypto exchanges like Coinbase and Binance.
Fee structures at exchanges may be more complicated than they are at payment apps like PayPal and Venmo. For instance, Coinbase's fees may vary by several factors, such as when you placed your order, the size of the order and market conditions. Depending on your circumstances, these may be quite high.
But crypto at PayPal and Venmo works more like it does on Robinhood and other investing apps. You can only buy and sell crypto. For more flexibility, you’d most likely need to work through an exchange.
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