Provider at a glance
- Category
- Simple Buy
- Entity
- All 3 PayPal products
- Official website
- paypalobjects.com
Independent rankingchecked How it works
Details
Scored 41 out of 100 under methodology 2026.10.18, from the evidence read in September 2026.
PayPal Crypto
Crypto buying inside PayPal
Simple Buy
#11 Overall
Ranked #11 of 14 simple buy in the published ranking
41
ChainChoice Score
The ChainChoice Score, shown against 100: published scores run from 41 to 99.- High evidence confidence
- $18 cost on your amount
Is PayPal Crypto right for you?
Look elsewhere if these come first
- All-in cost of the purchase3/10 here; Fidelity Crypto scores 7
- Withdrawal to self-custody4/10 here; Cash App Bitcoin scores 9
- Availability & onboarding friction4/10 here; Uphold scores 7
- Custody & regulatory posture6/10 here; the category best is 10
Not yet tested for your country. Markets it lists: United States.
to test where you can use it.
The rank above is the published one, the same for every reader. Find my best simple buy app shows where it lands for you.
What will PayPal Crypto cost you?
$18 cost on your amount
- How do you buy?
- One-time
- Amount
- $1k
- Instant-buy spread
- 1.8%
$6.75 above the median of 10 priced simple buy.
How this is calculatedHow safe is PayPal Crypto?
- Evidence: verified4 of 4 criteria rest on quoted, sourced receipts. Read September 2026.
- LicenceMiCA (EU): no register record on file here.
- On the registersNYDFS BitLicense: authorised, PayPal, Inc. (US-NY, since 2022-06). Read 3 November 2026. Open the register
Alternatives to PayPal Crypto
Compare all 4- 9UpholdLevel on score · stronger on access (7 against 4)41$22
- 10Fidelity CryptoLevel on score · stronger on all in cost (7 against 3)41$10
- 12Cash App BitcoinLevel on score · stronger on withdrawal (9 against 4)41$15
For your setup
Find out if PayPal Crypto fits you
The rank above is the published one — the same for every visitor. Answer the category's questions and this section shows where PayPal Crypto lands for you, which criteria your answers weight up, and which stated needs the record does or does not meet. The published rank stays beside it.
- A few questions
- No account required
- Ranking-blind: no commercial input
- Personalised in under 60 seconds
Find my best simple buy appNothing is inferred from clicks, popularity or commercial value.
Why this rank
Why PayPal Crypto ranks #11
Each strength is read from evidence on a 0–10 ladder and weighted as the published methodology states. The 32 objective points these produce (13.1 here) sit inside the score; availability, friction, trust record and measured data add the rest.
4 published criteria · Σ weight 100
CriterionWeightStrength · 0–10ScoreContrib.MedianBestRankEvidence
323+3.076.09#12/14Loading evidence…
264+3.334.010#7/14Loading evidence…
224+2.826.09#9/14Loading evidence…
206+3.846.010#6/14Loading evidence…
Hairline = best in this ranking · tick = its median · a missing bar is "not scored", never zero
MarginLevelbehind Fidelity Crypto, #10
RobustnessOne point from changingacross a one-point change to each of its 4 criterion scores, the re-run scores 41 and ranks #11–#12
Evidence4 of 4 scored4 quoted, 4 with a source link
What would move the rank
Each line is the ranking run again with one of PayPal Crypto’s criterion scores changed and every other value held: the smallest whole-point change on that criterion that moves its rank, and where the re-run puts it. Up to 4 climbs and 3 falls are listed, smallest change first. Nothing here is a forecast.
All-in cost of the purchase 3 → 5 on its ladder · passes Fidelity Crypto+241#11 → #10
Withdrawal to self-custody 4 → 7 on its ladder · passes Fidelity Crypto+341#11 → #10
Availability & onboarding friction 4 → 7 on its ladder · passes Fidelity Crypto+341#11 → #10
Custody & regulatory posture 6 → 9 on its ladder · passes Fidelity Crypto+341#11 → #10
All-in cost of the purchase 3 → 2 on its ladder · Cash App Bitcoin passes it−141#11 → #12
Withdrawal to self-custody 4 → 2 on its ladder · Cash App Bitcoin passes it−241#11 → #12
Availability & onboarding friction 4 → 2 on its ladder · Cash App Bitcoin passes it−241#11 → #12
Smallest climb: all-in cost of the purchase 3 → 5 passes Fidelity Crypto, #10.
Strengths
0 from the score dataWhere it leads
No scored criterion is at or within one point of the category best, so no strength can be stated from the data.
Tradeoffs
4 from the score dataWhere it trails
Not for readers who put first
- All-in cost of the purchase — 3/10 against a category best of 9/10
- Withdrawal to self-custody — 4/10 against a category best of 10/10
- Availability & onboarding friction — 4/10 against a category best of 9/10
- Custody & regulatory posture — 6/10 against a category best of 10/10
Record watch-outs
- A spread PayPal estimates at 1.00% but does not calculate per transaction makes the published ladder an incomplete price, and the 1% one-step buy-and-send surcharge taxes moving coins…
- US residents (and territories) only. Purchases use an eligible PayPal balance, bank account or debit card; no credit cards. PayPal may require government photo ID.
- No PayPal-crypto enforcement action verified. The verified regulatory event is investigative rather than punitive: PayPal received a subpoena from…
Competitive position
Where PayPal Crypto leads and where it trails
Rank on every objective dimension among the rows scored on it. A criterion in the top third of its pool is listed as a lead, the bottom third as a trail; the middle is neither. Popularity, size and commercial terms are not dimensions.
Availability#4 / 146.0 of 20 · best 20.0
Published criteria#13 / 149.8 of 30 · best 18.0
Friction#4 / 145.3 of 10 · best 7.3
Trust record#7 / 144.8 of 8 · best 6.4
Measured data#1 / 148.3 of 18 · constant here
Where PayPal Crypto leadsNo criterion in the top third of its pool.
Where it trails
- All-in cost of the purchase#12 / 14
Closest alternatives
The 3 nearest rows by score
Nearest by published score in either direction. Each card states the criteria on which the two rows differ and the cost difference under the same scenario inputs; the compare arithmetic below shows why the higher one ranks higher.
Fidelity Crypto#10 of 14 · score 41 · same score
PayPal Crypto leads on
- Withdrawal to self-custody4 vs 3
- Availability & onboarding friction4 vs 3
Fidelity Crypto leads on
- All-in cost of the purchase7 vs 3
Largest single reason Fidelity Crypto is ahead: published criteria (+4.9 display points).Scenario cost: Fidelity Crypto is −$8.00 against PayPal Crypto.
Cash App Bitcoin#12 of 14 · score 41 · same score
PayPal Crypto leads on
- Availability & onboarding friction4 vs 3
- Custody & regulatory posture6 vs 2
Cash App Bitcoin leads on
- All-in cost of the purchase5 vs 3
- Withdrawal to self-custody9 vs 4
Largest single reason PayPal Crypto is ahead: trust record (+4.2 display points).Scenario cost: Cash App Bitcoin is −$3.00 against PayPal Crypto.
Uphold#9 of 14 · score 41 · same score
PayPal Crypto leads on
- Withdrawal to self-custody4 vs 3
- Custody & regulatory posture6 vs 4
Uphold leads on
- All-in cost of the purchase4 vs 3
- Availability & onboarding friction7 vs 4
Largest single reason Uphold is ahead: availability (+13.0 display points).Scenario cost: Uphold is +$4.00 against PayPal Crypto.
Against the leader
86 vs 41 · gap 45.0Why Strike ranks above PayPal Crypto
The compare workspace's arithmetic applied to these two rows. Each dimension's share of the gap is its weight × the difference, on the displayed scale; a floor bound on one of the rows keeps the reproduced gap (63.4) from matching the displayed one exactly, which is stated rather than hidden.
DimensionThisStrikeGap share
Availability · 23% weight6.020.0−36.4, worse
Published criteria · 35% weight9.818.0−21.3, worse
Friction · 12% weight5.36.7−3.6, worse
Trust record · 9% weight4.85.6−2.1, worse
Measured data · 21% weight · constant here8.38.3same
Published criterionThisStrikePoints
All-in cost of the purchase · w3237−4.10, worse
Withdrawal to self-custody · w2648−3.33, worse
Availability & onboarding friction · w2249−3.52, worse
Net4186−45.0≈
Your scenario
What PayPal Crypto costs on your scenario
Instant-buy spread on what you buy: on one purchase, or for a year of purchases or of trading. Fixed purchase fees and deposit fees are not published as fields yet, so they are excluded, as are network gas and any withdrawal fee. Change an input and every figure recomputes from the published rate; the published rank does not move.
cost on your amount · default scenario — set your own
How do you buy?
How do you buy? · your inputOne-time
Amount · your input$1k
Instant-buy spread · published rate1.8%
Rate read from the provider’s published pricing ↗ on 28 October 2026.
cost on your amountCost is stated as cost on your amount in USD; it is never a yield, never annualised, and it does not enter the score.
$18
Under the default inputs · USDCategory median$1110 of 14 rows priced · PayPal Crypto +$6.75 vs median
Cheapest priced$1.50 · FinstPayPal Crypto costs +$17 more · availability not applied — set your country to filterCompare with Finst
4 of 14 rows in this ranking have no verified rate for this scenario and are absent from the median, not counted as free.
Evidence
Evidence read 14 September 2026
One row per published criterion: the page each strength was read from, its source type by domain, the reading date and whether the file and the published table agree. Open a row for the quote and the receipt.
4 of 4 cells scored
Score evidenceVerified4 of 4 criteria reconstruct from receipts
4 of 4 criteria reconstruct from a quoted, sourced receipt equal to the published strength.Public receiptsReading…4 quoted with a source URL
The receipt file has not been read yet.Evidence confidenceHighcoverage and corroboration, never freshness
4/4 criteria scored, with 4 dated sources quoted.RobustnessOne point from changingrank #11 to #12 across one-point re-runs
Whether the position holds when one criterion score is changed by one point and the ranking is run again. It is always a re-run of the ranking, never an estimate.The newest evidence read on the platform is 3 November 2026; this category's reading is older. The scores stand as read on 14 September 2026.
Reading the evidence ledger…
CriterionSourceTypeReadFreshnessStatusReceipt
All-in cost of the purchasestrength 3 · weight 32Report an error—14 September 2026*
Unknown
No reading date is recorded for this cell or its category.No receipt
A strength is published but no quote or source page is on file for it.Withdrawal to self-custodystrength 4 · weight 26Report an error—14 September 2026*
Unknown
No reading date is recorded for this cell or its category.No receipt
A strength is published but no quote or source page is on file for it.Availability & onboarding frictionstrength 4 · weight 22Report an error—14 September 2026*
Unknown
No reading date is recorded for this cell or its category.No receipt
A strength is published but no quote or source page is on file for it.Custody & regulatory posturestrength 6 · weight 20Report an error—14 September 2026*
Unknown
No reading date is recorded for this cell or its category.No receipt
A strength is published but no quote or source page is on file for it.How you can lose money here, and what the ranking scores
- Custody failure (PayPal Crypto 6/10): whoever holds the assets loses or withholds them.Scored by Custody & regulatory posture · 20%
- Exit failure (PayPal Crypto 4/10): you cannot get out at par, on time, or with what is yours.Scored by Withdrawal to self-custody · 26%
Not assessed by this ranking: Control failure, Liveness failure, Insolvency failure, Regulatory failure, Execution failure, Information failure. A high place says nothing about these; the Methodology tab says what each means. Also scored, as cost, quality or a summary of several families: All-in cost of the purchase (32%), Availability & onboarding friction (22%).
Facts
facts, not scoresWhat the record publishes
- Pricing
- US consumer fee schedule effective 19 May 2026 — PDF downloaded and text-extracted directly on 3 August 2026, 14 September 2026 and again on 28 October 2026, confirming every figure verbatim. Buy/sell/convert fee by amount: 2.20% (1.00 - 74.99 USD), 2.00% (75.00 - 200.00 USD), 1.80% (200.01 - 1000.00 USD), 1.50% (1000.01 USD +). 'The fees above do not apply to buying and selling PYUSD.' On top, the same schedule states: 'The exchange rate you'll see before buying or selling crypto will also include a cryptocurrency conversion spread' — not quantified in the schedule. PayPal's US Crypto Terms (last updated 19 May 2026) state 'The exchange rate will include an estimated spread of one percent (1.00%), provided, however, that the actual spread may be higher or lower based on market conditions.' Receiving crypto and PayPal/Venmo-internal transfers are free.PayPal Crypto — verified source ↗ · 28 October 2026
- Prices published in
- USDPayPal Crypto — verified source ↗ · 28 October 2026
- Licences held
- Not published
- Compliance level
- partial
- Regulatory note
- Not published
- Supported chains
- Bitcoin, Ethereum
- Markets served
- us
- Primary markets
- Global
- Restricted markets
- Not published
- Operating limits
- US residents (and territories) only. Purchases use an eligible PayPal balance, bank account or debit card; no credit cards. PayPal may require government photo ID. The UK product cannot transfer to external wallets.
- Availability note
- US residents (and territories) only. Purchases use an eligible PayPal balance, bank account or debit card; no credit cards. PayPal may require government photo ID. The UK product cannot transfer to external wallets.
Legal entity on file: PayPal, placed in 3 products. Only confirmed entities are shown; nothing is inferred from the brand name.
If something goes wrong with PayPal Crypto: where to complain, and where to report a scam
Loading the routes for your country.
How this page is reviewed
Reviewed means this product in this category was read against its sources on or after that date; every ranked category is re-read at least every 45 days. Models research, extract and parse. A deterministic engine ranks. Every quote passes an adversarial refute pass.
Accountable for this review: Mathias Siemonsmeier, Founder.
How we review · Review calendar · Corrections log · How we make money
History
What the record carries
Changes to published ranks are recorded in a ledger; every step and its cause is listed on the rank-history page. The entries below begin with the current verified snapshot, then the methodology versions whose changes applied to this category, newest first.
11 methodology entries
- 14 September 2026Current verified snapshot · methodology 2026.10.18Score 41, #11 of 14. 4 of 4 criteria scored. History starts here; earlier values are not interpolated.
- 10 October 2026
2026.10.8When nothing serves your country, the list shown for reference is the published ranking · platform-wide- fixed The reference list shown when nothing serves your country is the published order with the published scores, and a build check now fails any such list out of that order or with a score the ranking does not publish.
- fixed The explorer prints an overall rank only for a row the published ranking holds; a country entrant such as Coinbase Commerce for US merchants shows no overall rank.
- changed Published orders do not move. Country results change only where nothing serves the country: in India bill pay keeps Bitcoin Well first and now shows Strike second, as published; 35 such runs across all categories and countries now match the published list exactly.
- 10 October 2026
2026.10.6A criterion you require re-scores the rows that meet it · platform-wide- changed The explorer sends each criterion you require, at any band, as fit_required with your other answers; region, licence, chain and fact filters stay filters. On /best, a required criterion joins For you as a marked preference does, which needs your country; Overall stays the published ranking, filtered.
- added Every published criterion has a golden case as the explorer sends it (require:<criterion>), so the order a requirement gives is replayed and gated as the published order is, and a change to it needs an entry here.
- 16 September 2026
2026.09.15Dimension scores carry tenths, and eleven more categories are re-read from primary sources · platform-wide- changed Dimension scores resolve to tenths of a point (O-04b), and weightedTotal is rounded to six decimal places before the order is read. 518 published scores move across 107 categories that were not re-read; none of them moves by more than 4 points, and most move by 1.
- fixed 66 published scores change in the eleven re-read categories, against a verbatim source each. The largest moves are Reflexer RAI (−16), Beefy and Unrekt (−11), Aztec (−10) and Golem (+9) — all of them rows whose sources had moved since their last read.
- changed Published order moves in 38 of 119 categories and three #1s change: smart_contract_audits (Zellic → Certora) and travel_rule_compliance (Sumsub Travel Rule → CodeVASP) on the finer resolution, kyc_compliance (Veriff → Sumsub) on the re-read.
- added availabilitySource (O-04g): for a reader who states a country, a row whose availability in that country rests on a region tag its record gives no source for sorts below every sourced row. It is inert in every order published here, which states no country.
Methodology 2026.10.18, the same published run every visitor sees · receipt simple_buy:paypal-crypto:2026.10.18:a7c3fbcddd25
Are you PayPal Crypto? Reply to this verdict, or send evidence, ask for a correction or claim the listing. Every message gets a public ticket number; none of it changes a rank unless a public page or a signed statement supports it.