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E-Commerce · head to head

Drip vs PayPal

Drip logo

Drip

E-Commerce

Ecommerce email marketing and automation priced purely on contact count

From
$39/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
PayPal logo

PayPal

Personal Finance

The simpler, safer way to pay and get paid

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Drip drip SMS is closed to new accounts and was US-only when it was open, so the multichannel positioning that competitors offer is not actually available to a new customer.; PayPal currency conversion on international purchases and sends carries a 4.00 percent fee, and 3.00 percent in other conversion scenarios
  • They diverge on capability: Drip covers Ecommerce data sync, PayPal covers Payment processing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Drip and PayPal actually diverge.

Attributes where Drip and PayPal differ
AttributeDripPayPal
Starting price$39/month$29/month
Pricing modelPer month by contact countusage-based
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, Ios, Android, Api
CategoryE-CommercePersonal Finance
FoundedUnknown1998

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Drip

  • Ecommerce data sync
  • Visual workflow builder
  • Behavioural segmentation
  • Onsite forms and popups
  • Unlimited sends
  • No feature gating
  • Product recommendations
  • A/B testing

Only in PayPal

  • Payment processing
  • PayPal Checkout
  • Invoicing
  • Business debit card
  • Working capital loans
  • Shopify
  • WooCommerce
  • BigCommerce

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Drip

  • A Shopify retailer wants abandoned cart, winback and post-purchase automation without the tier-by-tier feature gating that makes Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign quotes unpredictable.not PayPal
  • A store with a mid-sized list finds Klaviyo expensive for the volume it sends and wants a comparable ecommerce data model at a lower monthly cost.not PayPal
  • A marketer needs onsite capture forms and popups included rather than paying separately for a popup tool alongside the email platform.not PayPal
  • A team sends high email volume to a modest list, such as daily deals or frequent restocks, where unlimited sends on a contact-based price is materially cheaper than send-metered plans.not PayPal

PayPal

  • Paying online merchants without sharing card detailsnot Drip
  • Sending money to friends and family domestically and internationallynot Drip
  • Holding balances in multiple currencies for cross border purchasesnot Drip

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Drip

  • Drip SMS is closed to new accounts and was US-only when it was open, so the multichannel positioning that competitors offer is not actually available to a new customer.
  • Pricing scales on total contacts regardless of engagement, so an unpruned list of lapsed subscribers costs the same as an active one and list hygiene becomes a direct budget item.
  • Analytics and revenue attribution are thinner than Klaviyo, with no predictive lifetime value or churn scoring, so a data-led ecommerce team hits the ceiling on measurement before it hits it on sending.
  • The integration catalogue is far smaller than Klaviyo or Mailchimp, and outside the main ecommerce platforms and Zapier you will often be writing against the API yourself.
  • It sits inside Leadpages rather than being an independent company, and as the smaller of the two products its roadmap is subject to a parent whose primary business is landing pages rather than ecommerce email.

PayPal

  • Currency conversion on international purchases and sends carries a 4.00 percent fee, and 3.00 percent in other conversion scenarios
  • Instant transfer to a bank or debit card costs 1.75 percent of the amount, with a minimum of 0.25 USD and a maximum of 25.00 USD
  • International personal transactions carry a 5.00 percent fee regardless of payment method, with a minimum of 0.99 USD and a maximum of 4.99 USD
  • Sending domestic personal payments funded by a credit card costs 2.90 percent plus a fixed fee of 0.49 USD
  • Instant transfers are capped at 25,000.00 USD per transaction

Pricing, plan by plan

Drip

$39/month
  • Up to 2,500 contacts$39/month
    • Unlimited email sends
    • All workflows and segmentation
    • Onsite forms and popups
  • Up to 5,000 contacts$89/month
    • Identical feature set
    • Unlimited email sends
  • Up to 10,000 contacts$154/month
    • Identical feature set
    • Unlimited email sends
    • Price continues to scale with contact count above this

PayPal

$29/month
  • Standard$2.99/transaction
    • Card payments
    • PayPal checkout
    • Invoice payments

Which should you pick?

Choose Drip if

  • You need ecommerce data sync.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want visual workflow builder.
Drip review

Choose PayPal if

  • You need payment processing.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want paypal checkout.
PayPal review

Questions people ask

Is Drip or PayPal better?
Neither clearly leads. Drip starts at $39/month and PayPal at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Drip or PayPal?
Drip starts at $39/month and PayPal at $29/month.
Does Drip or PayPal run on more platforms?
Drip runs on Web, API. PayPal runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
What is Drip best used for?
Drip is most often used for a shopify retailer wants abandoned cart, winback and post-purchase automation without the tier-by-tier feature gating that makes mailchimp and activecampaign quotes unpredictable., a store with a mid-sized list finds klaviyo expensive for the volume it sends and wants a comparable ecommerce data model at a lower monthly cost., a marketer needs onsite capture forms and popups included rather than paying separately for a popup tool alongside the email platform., a team sends high email volume to a modest list, such as daily deals or frequent restocks, where unlimited sends on a contact-based price is materially cheaper than send-metered plans.. Of those, a shopify retailer wants abandoned cart, winback and post-purchase automation without the tier-by-tier feature gating that makes mailchimp and activecampaign quotes unpredictable. and a store with a mid-sized list finds klaviyo expensive for the volume it sends and wants a comparable ecommerce data model at a lower monthly cost. are not what PayPal is typically brought in for.
What can Drip do that PayPal cannot?
Drip covers Ecommerce data sync, Visual workflow builder, Behavioural segmentation, Onsite forms and popups. PayPal covers Payment processing, PayPal Checkout, Invoicing, Business debit card.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Drip: Does Drip do SMS?

Not for new customers. Drip SMS is closed to new accounts and was only ever available in the United States, so treat Drip as an email and onsite platform.

PayPal: Does PayPal charge fees and when do they apply?

PayPal states that fees apply when converting currency and sending money to accounts in another country. Specific fee amounts are not disclosed on the homepage but are referenced in their published fee schedule.

Source
Drip: How is Drip priced?

Entirely by contact count, from 39 US dollars a month for 2,500 contacts. Email sends are unlimited and no features are held back on lower tiers.

PayPal: Is there a subscription cost to use PayPal's basic services?

No subscription fees are mentioned on the homepage. PayPal operates on a transaction-based fee structure for money transfers and payments rather than recurring charges.

Source
Drip: Who owns Drip?

Leadpages, which acquired it in 2016. Drip retains its own name, site and product.

PayPal: Are there restrictions on when I can use buyer protection?

PayPal offers buyer protection for eligible purchases, but coverage limitations exist. A user agreement sets the specific conditions for protection eligibility.

Source
Drip: How does it compare to Klaviyo?

Cheaper at small and mid list sizes with a similar ecommerce data model, but weaker on analytics, predictive segmentation and the breadth of its app ecosystem.

PayPal: What payment methods can I link to PayPal?

PayPal's digital wallet allows storage of multiple payment methods and can be used for secure money transfers, payment requests, and checkout at major retailers.

Source
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