How and Where to buy Bitcoin (BTC) with PayPal

Find out how to buy Bitcoin with PayPal in step-by-step guides on Paypal Bitcoin trading platforms.
buy Bitcoin with PayPal illustration

With more investors choosing to purchase Bitcoin, the question of how and where you can buy Bitcoin with PayPal arises frequently.

Even though PayPal offers to buy Bitcoin directly in its app in some regions, the fees are just too high for sustainable investing in Bitcoin, making this method rather unrecommended.

How to buy Bitcoin with PayPal

A better and more cost-efficient way to buy Bitcoin with PayPal is through third-party cryptocurrency exchanges and brokers, which are platforms that allow you to deposit money using PayPal and buy Bitcoin with it.

Below you can find step-by-step guides on how to buy Bitcoin with PayPal on popular cryptocurrency trading platforms:

Buying Bitcoin with PayPal Guide

On the presented crypto exchanges, you can buy Bitcoin with PayPal balance or a card connected to your PayPal account. By following the above-displayed guide, you should be able to purchase Bitcoin with PayPal usually within minutes.

About PayPal

PayPal is a popular digital payment service that allows users to send and receive money online. Founded in 1998, PayPal has since grown to become one of the most widely used payment services in the world, with over 360 million active users across 200 markets.

Paypal app

PayPal's easy-to-use platform and robust security measures have made it a preferred payment method for online transactions, including selling and buying Bitcoin with PayPal.

In order to use PayPal for buying Bitcoin, simply register on PayPal and link your bank account or credit card. After a quick verification procedure, you will be able to make purchases, including buying Bitcoin with PayPal.

Bitcoin and PayPal

Over recent years, PayPal has become a widely used payment method for buying Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Today, there is a growing amount of Bitcoin exchanges and peer-to-peer marketplaces that support PayPal as a payment option, making it easier for users to buy Bitcoin with PayPal than ever before.

However, it's worth noting that PayPal's policies towards Bitcoin haven't always been that positive: In the past, PayPal has been hesitant to support Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, citing concerns over their high volatility and lack of regulation.

Where to buy Bitcoin with PayPal

While PayPal is a rather rarely seen deposit method on Bitcoin trading platforms, there are still a handful of popular platforms that offer to buy Bitcoin with PayPal.

Bitcoin exchanges and brokers allow you to deposit money via PayPal in an instant time, and use it to easily purchase Bitcoin.

Buying Bitcoin for PayPal on trading platforms is a secure, easy, and most importantly cost-efficient method to buy BTC with PayPal.

Platforms for buying Bitcoin with PayPal

Compared to trading Bitcoin directly on PayPal, buying Bitcoin with PayPal on a trading platform allows you to save lots of trading fees. This maximizes the BTC you get for your PayPal balance and is hence the recommended method to buy BTC with PayPal.

To see how exactly it works to buy Bitcoin for PayPal, take a look at our step-by-step guide where we demonstrate the exact process of investing in Bitcoin with PayPal.

Invest in Bitcoin with PayPal

With the help of third-party Bitcoin trading platforms that accept PayPal, investing in Bitcoin with PayPal is an easy process. Assuming there are some Bitcoin PayPal trading platforms available in your region, you can buy Bitcoin with PayPal in a few major steps:

  1. Register on a Bitcoin trading platform that supports PayPal

  2. If required, activate your account by verifying your identity

  3. Deposit funds via PayPal in instant time which you later on can use on the trading platform

  4. Buy Bitcoin with PayPal by using the previously deposited funds

The only difference between investing in Bitcoin with PayPal and other payment methods is step 3., in which you have to fund your Bitcoin trading platform account.

When choosing to buy Bitcoin with PayPal, you will simply specify the amount of money you'd like to deposit and follow the displayed PayPal payment process.

Because PayPal deposits are instant, this process of buying Bitcoin with PayPal from beginning to end shouldn't take more than 15-60 minutes, depending on the Bitcoin trading platform you choose.

Buying Bitcoin directly on PayPal

In late 2020, PayPal announced allowing its users to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies directly within the PayPal app, giving all users with a PayPal account in supported regions simple and fast access to Bitcoin.

Buy Bitcoin on PayPal
PayPal app for buying Bitcoin - Source: www.paypal.com

As of now, the functionality to buy Bitcoin directly on PayPal is only available in limited regions, such as the USA, Canada, UK, Sweden, Switzerland and a few more.

If PayPal supports direct Bitcoin trading in your region, the process of buying Bitcoin on PayPal is very easy:

  1. Open the PayPal App

  2. Navigate to "Crypto"

  3. Select "Bitcoin (BTC)"

  4. Enter the amount you'd like to buy Bitcoin for

  5. Pay with your PayPal balance or card to buy Bitcoin

While it's quite easy to buy Bitcoin with PayPal on their app, the convenience comes at a cost: Buying Bitcoin directly on PayPal involves fees that are significantly higher than buying Bitcoin with PayPal on third-party exchanges.

Is PayPal good for buying Bitcoin?

Even though buying Bitcoin for PayPal is a popular option to quickly gain exposure to the Bitcoin market in an easy manner, buying BTC with PayPal comes with advantages as well as disadvantages

The major advantage of buying Bitcoin via PayPal lies in the speed of payment, as depositing PayPal onto a Bitcoin exchange takes only a few minutes. The fact that most people have a PayPal account, buying Bitcoin with PayPal allows users to keep the convenience they know from day-to-day online shopping while getting started with Bitcoin trading.

Additionally, by choosing to pay with PayPal for a Bitcoin purchase, users do not have to trust the Bitcoin exchange or Broker with their card or bank account details. Therefore, buying BTC with PayPal takes away lots of complexity which is especially useful for beginners.

Fees for Buying Bitcoin with PayPal

As with any other payment provider, buying Bitcoin with PayPal comes with slightly higher deposit fees. This means that while buying Bitcoin with PayPal is instant and convenient, you end up getting slightly fewer bitcoins for your money as opposed to choosing simple bank transfers - which fairly enough usually take a few days to be processed.

The transaction fees for buying BTC with PayPal consist of

  • the trading platform's own trading fees (~0-1%)

  • the PayPal deposit fee (~2%)

An example: Assuming you wish to buy $100 worth of Bitcoin with PayPal on a broker with a 1% Bitcoin trading fee, such as eToro logoeToro : After depositing $100 onto the trading platform, you would initially pay a PayPal fee of ~2%, meaning you would be credited $98 on the Bitcoin exchange from your PayPal deposit.

After buying Bitcoin with PayPal with the previously deposited $98, the trading fee of the Bitcoin trading platform would be applied, which at 1% would result in you getting bitcoins worth ~$97.02 from your initially deposited $100 with PayPal.

Buying Bitcoin with PayPal Fees
StepFeeBalance
Start0%$100
Deposit with PayPal on Bitcoin exchange~2%$98
Buy Bitcoin with PayPal~0-1%$97-98

The slightly higher deposit fees mark the biggest disadvantage of buying Bitcoin with PayPal, but considering the convenience and speed associated with buying BTC for PayPal, the fees are acceptable and still lower than buying Bitcoin directly in the PayPal app.

As a conclusion, PayPal is a good method for buying Bitcoin, while buying BTC via PayPal on third-party trading platforms is more recommended than on the PayPal app.

Frequently asked Questions
Can you buy Bitcoin with PayPal?
PayPal can be used to buy Bitcoin on selected Bitcoin trading platforms, such as Coinbase, Bitvavo, and eToro.
Does PayPal support Bitcoin?
Even though PayPal wasn't always open to allowing Bitcoin trading, PayPal now allows users to buy and sell Bitcoin both on the PayPal app, as well as on third-party platforms.
Can you buy Bitcoin in PayPal App?
Since 2020, PayPal allows users in certain regions to sell and buy Bitcoin with PayPal directly in the app. Although this process is easy, it's less cost-efficient than buying Bitcoin with PayPal on third-party exchanges.
What are the fees for buying Bitcoin with PayPal?
The fee for buying Bitcoin directly with PayPal is ~2.3% + a fixed fee for currency. Buying BTC with PayPal on Bitcoin exchanges usually results in a lower fee of 2-2.5% considering all fees.