Considering Ethereum is the second-biggest cryptocurrency and is included in most crypto portfolios, many investors wonder where and how to buy Ethereum with PayPal.
While users in certain regions can directly buy Ether on PayPal, this involves high transaction fees, making the PayPal app not the best option to buy Ether with PayPal.
How to buy Ether with PayPal
The recommended method to buy Ethereum with PayPal is via third-party cryptocurrency brokers and exchanges. These platforms are run by other legitimate companies and allow you to easily buy Ethereum with PayPal at significantly lower fees.
Take a look at the guide below to see how you can buy Ethereum with PayPal on selected crypto trading platforms:
To clarify how buying Ethereum via PayPal works, we have demonstrated the process in numerous guides that show how to purchase Ether with PayPal step by step.
With the help of our guides displayed above, you'll be able to easily and securely buy Ethereum with PayPal, simply by topping up your balance on an Ethereum trading platform using PayPal and buying ETH with it.
PayPal Overview
PayPal is a popular payment provider that allows users to send and receive money securely and conveniently online. PayPal was founded in 1998 and has become one of the most widely used payment platforms in the world, with millions of users in more than 200 different markets.
PayPal allows users to transact in various currencies and is often used for online purchases of services or goods, including buying Ethereum (ETH) with PayPal.
To use PayPal, users simply link their bank accounts or credit cards allowing them to easily manage their funds online through their PayPal account. PayPal's ease of use, speed, and security have made it a go-to payment method for both individuals and businesses, also in the Ethereum and crypto ecosystem, where PayPal is used to buy Ether.
PayPal for buying Ethereum
In recent years, buying Ethereum with PayPal has become a popular method for Ethereum fans to get their hands on some Ether with a payment provider they are familiar with.
A growing number of Ethereum exchanges and brokers support PayPal as a payment option, making it easy to purchase ETH with PayPal.
With its fast and convenient payment processing, PayPal allows for quicker and simpler buying of Ethereum than most other payment methods, which has contributed to its increasing popularity among Ether investors.
Where to buy Ethereum with PayPal
Despite PayPal being open to crypto trading, finding a good Ethereum trading platform that supports PayPal is not quite an easy task these days.
Luckily, there are a few popular crypto brokers and exchanges that allow you to buy Ethereum with PayPal available on the market. Trading Ether on exchanges and brokers is the easiest and most cost-efficient way to safely buy ETH with PayPal.
In practice, these crypto trading platforms allow you to deposit funds instantly via PayPal and easily buy Ethereum with it, among many other cryptocurrencies.
Below you can find some good trading platforms tested by us that support trading ETH for PayPal and are available in your region.
If you choose to buy Ethereum with PayPal on an exchange or a broker, you gain the advantage of saving a decent amount of transaction fees compared to purchasing Ether directly on PayPal. This makes using crypto trading platforms the recommended way of buying Ethereum with PayPal.
If you're wondering how exactly it works to buy ETH with PayPal on exchanges, take a look at our practical examples at the top of this page.
Investing in Ethereum with PayPal
On cryptocurrency brokers and exchanges that support PayPal, you can invest in Ethereum with PayPal within a short time. For that, only need to follow a few easy steps:
Create an account on an Ethereum trading platform that supports PayPal
Verify your identity by answering some questions or uploading your ID document
Fund your trading account balance with PayPal: You simply enter the amount you'd like to deposit, and proceed with PayPal checkout just as any other PayPal payment
Buy Ethereum with the funds you deposited via PayPal
Generally speaking, buying ETH with PayPal is not too different from using any other payment method, besides the third step of the buying process that requires you to add funds to your Ethereum trading platform account.
Hence, if you are familiar with PayPal's checkout system, following our Ethereum Paypal guide shouldn't be too hard for you.
How to buy Ethereum on PayPal
Since 2020, users in certain regions including the USA, UK, Canada, and more can even trade Ethereum directly on the PayPal app, meaning: You do not have to leave PayPal to buy Ethereum if PayPal's ETH trading feature is supported in your region.
If buying Ethereum on PayPal is available in your country, you can invest in Ethereum via PayPal in 5 steps:
Open the PayPal App or Website
Navigate to "Crypto"
Select "Ethereum (ETH)" from the list of cryptocurrencies
Select "Buy"
Enter the amount in your local currency that you'd like to buy ETH with PayPal for and proceed
The process of buying Ethereum with PayPal directly on the app is straightforward and a valid option if you're just getting started with trading Ethereum.
Still, this method of buying ETH with PayPal is not the most cost-efficient one, because PayPal Ethereum trading involves higher fees compared to Ethereum exchanges.
Why PayPal for buying Ethereum?
Buying Ethereum with PayPal is a popular method among ETH investors for a reason, and especially for those who want to buy Ethereum for the first time: Because PayPal has an easy checkout system that most online shoppers are familiar with, deciding to buy ETH with PayPal already eliminates one unknown from the potentially challenging process of purchasing Ethereum.
Hence, PayPal is a beginner-friendly method for buying Ether.
Also, because PayPal processes payments instantly, it can be used to buy ETH in almost instant time, as opposed to waiting a few days until your traditional bank transfers would get processed on the Ethereum trading platforms.
This makes buying Ethereum through PayPal not only convenient but also very fast.
Furthermore, because PayPal already verifies the bank accounts of their users, Ethereum trading platforms will not have to do so anymore, allowing you to buy Ethereum with PayPal faster than with other payment methods.
PayPal Ethereum buying Fees
For offering convenience and speed when buying Ethereum, PayPal charges a trading fee that is rather on the higher end.
As mentioned earlier, when buying Ethereum (ETH) directly in the PayPal app, users pay a fee of ~2.3% + a fixed fee for their currency, which often results in fees ranging from 2.5-3%.
When choosing third-party Ethereum trading platforms, however, the PayPal fee turns out to be slightly more affordable.
PayPal ETH fees on exchanges
When buying Ether with PayPal on an exchange, two types of fees apply:
PayPal's deposit fee of ~2% when depositing funds onto an exchange
The Ethereum exchange's own trading fee of ~0-1% when buying Ether
As an example:
if you decided on buying $200 worth of Ethereum with PayPal on a trading platform such as
eToro , you would deposit $200 and pay a transaction fee of $4, resulting in getting a $196 balance to buy Ethereum with.
When buying Ethereum with these $196, you would pay eToro's trading fee of 1%, meaning you'd pay another fee of ~$2.
As a final result, you would buy ~$194 worth of Ethereum from your $200 deposit via PayPal.
The PayPal fees for buying Ethereum can be broken down in the following table:
| Stage | Fee Applied | Balance |
|---|---|---|
| Start | 0% | $200 |
| Deposit with PayPal on Ethereum platform | ~2% | $196 |
| Buy Ethereum with PayPal | ~0-1% | $194 |
While the deposit fee of 2% is slightly higher compared to simple wire transfers, depending on the Ethereum trading platform you choose this fee is often lower than buying Ethereum directly on PayPal.
Hence, despite the fees, buying Ethereum with PayPal is a decent option for buying ETH overall, especially for beginners and users who rely on PayPal as a payment option.