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About Venmo and Paypal
PayPal, however, functions quite differently. Founded a decade prior to Venmo, PayPal has been at the forefront of digital payments since it launched as an e-wallet service. Over the last 20 years, PayPal has become one of the most well-known brands in the world, as it continues to develop its offerings as a multifunctional payments platform. As of 2021, the company boasts a vast customer base of 400 million retailers, business owners, freelancers and individuals, all of whom use the PayPal website and mobile app for sending, spending, managing and requesting funds online.
In 2013, Venmo was acquired by PayPal, and since then it has reported increased growth of 40 million users (between 2017 and 2020). Venmo payments are accepted at more than 2 million retailers in the US and company revenue is worth an estimated $450 million.
Generally speaking, Venmo is more often used for personal transactions, whereas PayPal is preferred by customers making purchase-oriented payments; but there is also some overlap between the two. Both brands are so well known in the money transfer world that customers who use them to pay and get paid have adopted Venmo and PayPal as interchangeable remittance verbs: “Have you Venmo’d me for dinner?” or “Did you get my PayPal?” In this comparison we want to identify which of the two comes out on top for offering the most fairly priced, efficient and secure global coverage of international transfer services.
Which brand has lower fees?
Finding out which of these two brands offers the lowest fees for digital remittances is important information. If it is cheaper to use the services of a money transfer company, we will always recommend this option.
Arranging a next day transfer service is free when using your debit card or the bank account linked to your Venmo account.
There is a 1% fee applied to all instant transfers.
A fee of 3% is also applied to payments made via credit card.
Fee-free payments for American Express customers when arranging a Venmo payment via the American Express app
No fees apply to payments made via the bank account linked to your PayPal account.
PayPal applies a 2.9% fee + £0.30 to all debit and credit card payments.
Other fees include PayPal’s “cross-border personal transaction fee” which changes depending on the destination country and transfer amount. Transfers to the US, Canada, and Europe, will incur the following fees:
£0.99 for transactions under £49.99
£1.99 for transactions between £50 or over
For the rest of the world, the following fees apply:
£0.99 for anything £49.99 and under
£1.99 for transactions between £50 – £99.99
£3.99 for transactions of £100 or more
Fee-free payments for American Express customers when arranging a PayPal payment via the American Express app
✅ Verdict: Venmo fees are more flexible
PayPal’s fee structure is famously complicated and somewhat rigid: whereas Venmo is more flexible. If customers send money with Venmo using their debit card or linked bank account they will be able to avoid fees of any kind. PayPal, however, adds fees to all transactions made using debit or credit card.
Which brand offers better exchange rates?
In this section we ordinarily compare the exchange rate spread applied to foreign currency transfers through each brand. Venmo, however, does not offer international payments of any kind, keeping this section short and sweet.
Exchange rates are not applicable to Venmo transfers.
The exchange rate spread applies to most PayPal transfers ranging between 3 - 5% but the total cost is not displayed until the final stage of the process. Customers can use the PayPal Currency calculator, found in their online Wallet, to view current exchange rates. There is also a Currency Converter Tool on the website.
✅ Verdict: PayPal is the only contender
As Venmo does not provide an international transfer service, PayPal has to be the winner. Although PayPal is relatively upfront about currency conversion rates, when compared to leading international money transfer providers like Wise and XE who offer to match the mid-market rate, PayPal exchange rates are 3 - 5% higher, making them a far less competitive option.
Which brand covers more locations?
In this section we typically look at the remittance locations covered by both brands. As Venmo is US-only, it won’t take long for us to summarise their coverage, but when it comes to PayPal it is quite a different story.
Venmo is only available to users physically located in the United States. You can go for the Venmo alternatives to send funds somewhere other than the US.
PayPal can facilitate transfers to over 200 countries using 25 different currencies.
✅ Verdict: PayPal wins again
PayPal has established a wide-reaching global network that customers can take advantage of by sending and receiving money from all over the world.
Which is faster?
Many customers query the transfer speed of online payments, with some users needing an instant service. In this section we will take a look at how fast Venmo and PayPal process remittances.
Venmo offers instant transfer but this comes with an additional 1% transaction fee as standard.
Free Venmo transfers take 1 – 3 business days to arrive with the recipient, on average.
PayPal offers a range of transfer speeds; all of which come with varying fees.
The quickest transfer service available is sending funds from one PayPal account to another.
The slowest transfer speed is applied to PayPal payments which require funds to be withdrawn from a linked bank account, then converted; this process can take between 3 – 5 business days.
✅ Verdict: PayPal takes the win
PayPal offers a wider range of transaction services complete with varying speeds. Customers can secure faster payments if they are happy to pay more for fees; alternatively, PayPal to PayPal transfers are the quickest and cheapest way to move money.
Which brand offers more transfer & payment options?
As convenient mobile payment platforms, Venmo and PayPal both offer instant transfers; but what other options are available to customers?
Payments are easy to set up with Venmo: recipients can be found using their full name, email address, phone number or Venmo username.
Venmo payment options include:
Debit card
Credit card
Bank transfer
Venmo balance
Recipients can receive funds either by bank transfer or via their PayPal account: the latter is a much faster option.
PayPal remittances can be paid for by:
Bank transfer
Credit card
Debit card
PayPal balance
Transfer types include:
Sending to friends and family
Paying for goods and services: covered by PayPal Purchase Protection
✅ Verdict: PayPal wins this one
Venmo is an efficient way of sending money between account holders, but PayPal is better equipped to handle global transfers and more accommodating of different payment types.
What do users have to say about each brand?
Assessing user feedback is an integral part of understanding the success of any brand: in this section we will look at the different areas Venmo and PayPal have received praise and criticism.
The Venmo mobile app has been given 4.9 out of 5 in the App Store and 4.3 on the Google Play Store, indicating that iPhone users have better experiences overall. Having said this, over 12.1 million reviews have been posted on the App Store, compared to 503,000 reviews on the Google Play Store; therefore, an average score of 4.6 is very good on the whole.
Looking at the 4 and 5 star reviews posted online, it seems most users are pleased with the multifunctionality of the app, instant money transfer service, quick sign up process and digital wallet features including its compatibility with PayPal’s PayPoint.
Negative feedback (1 and 2 star reviews) posted by users flag a lack of communication from customer support, privacy concerns regarding the social feed feature, issues with in-store purchases and ATM withdrawals, as well as unstable connectivity and other glitches when using the mobile app.
The PayPal app has been rated over 3 million times by iOS and Android users. It has been awarded 4.2 out of 5 on the Google Play Store and 4.8 on the App Store: this levels out to an average rating of 4.5 out of 5.
Positive feedback praises the app’s fast and easy mobile transfers, high quality data encryption and convenient two-factor authentication, as well as praise for PayPal’s Buyer and Seller Protection programme.
Negative comments relate to technical issues, dissatisfaction with the user interface and high profit margins applied to foreign currency transfers. Further to this, some users report delays to the release of funds sent from other PayPal accounts and some find it easier to use the website than the mobile application.
✅ Verdict: It’s a tie
This one is too close to call: both companies have received good and bad feedback from users. The difference in the average online comes down to 0.1, and when reading through reviews, it’s clear there are pros and cons for each application.
What brand offers better ease of use, accessibility, transparency & security
In this section we will size up the overall performance of Venmo and PayPal, to see how accessible, transparent, secure and easy to use they are.
Accessibility: when receiving money via Venmo the funds are not automatically deposited into your bank account. Instead, the money remains in the Venmo account unless you make a bank transfer.
Ease of use: The Venmo app employs fun, user-friendly navigation and has been rated highly by users. It is easy to find contacts by searching their username or contact details, scanning their unique QR code or syncing your contacts. Venmo’s social media style feed allows users to see who others are sending and receiving payments to and from.
Security: Advanced data encryption is employed by Venmo, and personal data is stored in separate, secure servers to ensure the protection of all financial information. There is also the option to enhance security of the app by adding a PIN code and enabling two-factor authentication.
Transparency: This is one particularly grey area for both brands. Globally the number of users who have submitted complaints, citing lack of transparency in relation to account restrictions and closures imposed by Venmo and it’s parent company PayPal, has increased in recent years. In June 2021 a group of digital rights advocates penned an open letter to both companies demanding “more transparency and accountability” particularly in relation to the timely and meaningful appeals process and notice period for account holders.
Accessibility: PayPal states their commitment to “ making our website's content accessible and user-friendly for everyone” and this is backed up by the wide range of countries (over 200), currencies (25) and languages (17) available.
Ease of use: PayPal’s app has been awarded excellent ratings online and due to the familiarity of the brand, their online platforms have been designed to be quick and straightforward for all demographics.
Security: To keep accounts secure, PayPal uses advanced encryption technology to protect every transaction. Touch ID, PIN codes and security questions are used to protect the mobile app, and although safe, there have been many complaints of account restrictions during login attempts
Transparency: This is one particularly grey area for both brands. Globally the number of users who have submitted complaints, citing lack of transparency in relation to account restrictions and closures imposed by Venmo and it’s parent company PayPal, has increased in recent years. In June 2021 a group of digital rights advocates penned an open letter to both companies demanding “more transparency and accountability” particularly in relation to the timely and meaningful appeals process and notice period for account holders.
✅ Verdict: PayPal is an all-rounder
As the parent company of Venmo, PayPal has over a decade’s more experience in the online payments world, and is a well-established staple of the industry. Although easy to use and equally as secure as PayPal, Venmo is only available in the US and therefore does not accommodate international users.
Final verdict: who is better?
It comes as no huge surprise that PayPal reigns victorious in the battle between these two mobile money transfer companies. Venmo is an excellent US-based option for customers who wish to arrange swift payments between friends and family. As the younger subsidiary of PayPal, however, Venmo does not offer the same international coverage, payment options and transfer methods as this titan of industry. Conversely, PayPal is a one-stop-shop for all kinds of global payments and has forged a name for itself as a pioneer of easy online payments.
Despite being the winner of this comparison, PayPal definitely has several issues which require consideration. These include unfavourable exchange rate spreads, high fees and commissions, as well as problems with customer transparency. For these reasons, PayPal does not come out on top when compared to specialist money transfer companies such as TorFX, Instarem, Key Currency, Currencies Direct, WorldRemit, Wise, XEand Currencyfair. The aforementioned companies all beat PayPal when it comes to low-cost transfer fees for cross-border transactions. You can find out which service providers are better in our guide: Alternatives to PayPal for International Transfers.
