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APIs · head to head

Increase vs PayPal

Increase logo

Increase

APIs

Direct banking API for ACH, wires, real-time payments, accounts and cards

From
On request
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: Increase the published per transaction rates exclude a monthly platform fee that Increase states varies by use case, so the transparent price page cannot produce a total cost and the material part of the deal is still negotiated privately.; 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: Increase covers ACH origination and receipt, PayPal covers Payment processing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Increase and PayPal actually diverge.

Attributes where Increase and PayPal differ
AttributeIncreasePayPal
Starting priceOn request$29/month
Pricing modelquoteusage-based
PlatformsAPI, WebWeb, Ios, Android, Api
CategoryAPIsPersonal 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 Increase

  • ACH origination and receipt
  • Domestic wires
  • Real-time payments
  • Bank accounts
  • Cards
  • Cheques
  • Sandbox and simulations
  • Audit and reconciliation data

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.

Increase

  • A payroll or treasury product that needs to originate same-day ACH and wires under its own control rather than through a payment processornot PayPal
  • A marketplace that must hold seller balances in ledgered accounts with real account and routing numbersnot PayPal
  • A fintech that wants FedNow and RTP payouts so recipients are paid outside banking hoursnot PayPal
  • An engineering team that needs the underlying return codes and settlement timing visible in order to build correct reconciliation and retry logicnot PayPal

PayPal

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

Where each one falls short

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

Increase

  • The published per transaction rates exclude a monthly platform fee that Increase states varies by use case, so the transparent price page cannot produce a total cost and the material part of the deal is still negotiated privately.
  • Free allowances are deliberately small at ten account numbers and five physical cards, so any programme issuing accounts or cards at volume moves to quoted pricing almost immediately.
  • Banking is provided through partner banks, so programme approval, compliance obligations and the ability to launch at all depend on a bank relationship you do not control, and post-Synapse bank risk appetite has tightened considerably.
  • The API deliberately exposes payment rail mechanics rather than smoothing them, which is correct engineering but means a team without payments expertise will build reconciliation and return handling wrongly and only discover it when funds go astray.
  • Coverage is United States only, so a company with international payout needs runs a second provider and reconciles two ledgers, and the single API argument disappears at the first cross border customer.

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

Increase

On request
  • Increase Platform$undefined/month
    • Monthly fee quoted by use case and not published
    • Next-day ACH origination listed at 0.50 US dollars per transaction
    • Same-day ACH origination listed at 2.00 per transaction

PayPal

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Increase if

  • You need ach origination and receipt.
  • You work on API, Web.
  • You also want domestic wires.
Increase 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 Increase or PayPal better?
Neither clearly leads. Increase starts at On request and PayPal at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Increase or PayPal?
Increase starts at On request and PayPal at $29/month.
Does Increase or PayPal run on more platforms?
Increase runs on API, Web. PayPal runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
What is Increase best used for?
Increase is most often used for a payroll or treasury product that needs to originate same-day ach and wires under its own control rather than through a payment processor, a marketplace that must hold seller balances in ledgered accounts with real account and routing numbers, a fintech that wants fednow and rtp payouts so recipients are paid outside banking hours, an engineering team that needs the underlying return codes and settlement timing visible in order to build correct reconciliation and retry logic. Of those, a payroll or treasury product that needs to originate same-day ach and wires under its own control rather than through a payment processor and a marketplace that must hold seller balances in ledgered accounts with real account and routing numbers are not what PayPal is typically brought in for.
What can Increase do that PayPal cannot?
Increase covers ACH origination and receipt, Domestic wires, Real-time payments, Bank accounts. PayPal covers Payment processing, PayPal Checkout, Invoicing, Business debit card.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Increase: Does Increase publish its pricing?

Partly. Per transaction fees for ACH, wires, RTP, FedNow and cards are listed publicly. The monthly platform fee is not, and it is described only as varying by use case.

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
Increase: Who holds the deposits?

Partner banks, not Increase itself. That relationship determines your programme approval, your compliance obligations and your risk if the bank changes appetite.

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
Increase: Is it international?

No. Increase covers United States rails only, so cross border payouts require a second provider.

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
Increase: How is it different from a middleware BaaS platform?

It exposes the rails rather than abstracting them, showing real return codes and settlement timing. That suits teams who understand payments and punishes teams who do not.

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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