“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so +1 · source ↗
PayPal
Online payments platform, including checkout, invoicing and the Payouts API for paying out multiple recipients.
Works with AI agents:llms.txtMCPPayPal is a payment processor that lets buyers pay with their PayPal balance or linked accounts, Pay Later, Venmo, cards and some local methods. For a maker it usually means a PayPal button next to (or instead of) a card form, plus Payouts for paying many people at once.
A web integration has two halves. In the browser, the JavaScript SDK (v6, with a React wrapper) renders the buttons. On your server, you create and capture an "order" through the REST API, authenticated with a client ID and secret over OAuth 2.0; the server SDK handles the token for you. PayPal publishes guides for Next.js App Router, Express and Hono, and mobile SDKs for iOS and Android.
Recurring billing comes from Subscriptions, built either in the dashboard with no code or through the Subscriptions API, with trials, setup fees, tiered or quantity pricing, pauses and automatic retries of failed payments. The Payouts API sends batches to PayPal or Venmo recipients in 96 countries using just an email, phone number or PayPal ID, and the sandbox mirrors the live API with test buyer and seller accounts. It is a hosted service.
Several features are limited by region or need PayPal to switch them on. Venmo works only for US merchants and US buyers paying in USD, Payouts must be activated on your account by PayPal before you can send, and a single payout item is capped at 20,000 USD by default.
Where it fits
How PayPal itself is built
3 tools, from its own code, website and Product Hunt page.
Who uses it
94 makers' products, each linked to the source that shows it, and 5 open-source projects that declare it in their code.
“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“For paying developers worldwide, no other worldwide personal payment options”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗Open source: a project that declares PayPal as a dependency in its public code — verifiable, but not necessarily a live product.
What makers say
10 makers on why they use PayPal, in their own words on Product Hunt.
Invoicing: Paypal What’s nice about PayPal is not its high fees, but the ability to write an invoice and mark it as paid by Bank wire, that way I have an invoicing app without giving PayPal any fee.
Common integrations include: ● Payment: Stripe , Paypal ● Newsletter Sending: Mailgun ● CRM: Salesforce ● Analytics: Google Analytics and Tag Manager ● Videos: YouTube, Vimeo ● Lang
I launched with domain and hosting from Firebase by Google used paypal smart buttons I am using Mailerlite to send emails to customers Now I am using Gumroad checkout to auto…
For paying developers worldwide, no other worldwide personal payment options
Built for DevsSep 2026 ↗PayPal gives you flexibility — pay with cards, balance, or linked accounts.
EasyStaff PayrollSep 2026 ↗Loved and watch-outs
Themes that recur in makers' words and Hacker News comments, each linked to what it summarises, with how Product Hunt tags its reviews.
- Simple to add as a payment option on a basic website, and a common backup checkout next to a card processor. Starter StoryStarter Story 2HN
Who switches
Public pull requests on GitHub since Oct 2024 whose title says "X to Y" — real code changes moving a project from one tool to another, by developers in general. Open a row to see the pull requests.
Stripe → PayPal9 PRs
- support: drop terminated Stripe rails, move fiat support to PayPalQortiumDev/qortium-site · 2026-07-30
- Add Stripe Payment Element to checkout alongside PayPalbjscha03/Final-Banner-Site · 2026-05-04
- Migrate payment system from Stripe to PayPalnashmaher/aeterion-next · 2026-03-20
- Migrate from Stripe to PayPal, add trial note page and 14-day free trialdanyaffa/StickAINote · 2026-03-06
- Claude/stripe to paypal migration u9m jxLeffler-International-Investments/MyFamousFinds · 2026-02-12
- Claude/stripe to paypal migration u9m jxLeffler-International-Investments/MyFamousFinds · 2026-02-12
- Claude/stripe to paypal migration u9m jxLeffler-International-Investments/MyFamousFinds · 2026-02-11
- Forfeit the balance in existing Stripe account when switching to PayPal payoutsantiwork/gumroad · 2025-09-19
- changing payments from stripe to paypalaliiexe/FullFlow · 2025-06-29
PayPal → Stripe6 PRs
- Migrate tutoring checkout from PayPal to Stripeupandupmath/upandup-tutoring · 2026-08-31
- Add Square, PayPal, and QuickBooks next to Stripeisaacgonzalez0927-commits/Scraper-V2 · 2026-08-19
- Added Paypal payment integration to the existing Stripe integrationchigozieokoroafor/port-port-backend · 2026-08-12
- fix(checkout/success): Accept PayPal token in addition to Stripe session_idA-Guy-educ/A-Guy · 2026-06-07
- The Paypal setup is now modified to Stripefirstfruits/twist-n-grip-cms · 2026-05-12
- [PM-19387] Fix PayPal to Stripe credit truncation bugbitwarden/server · 2025-03-26
Alternatives to PayPal
All alternatives by situation →On Product Hunt, people weigh it against: Stripe, Dodo Payments.
Questions makers ask about PayPal
Does it work with the Next.js App Router?
Yes. PayPal's guide renders the button with @paypal/react-paypal-js and creates and captures orders in Server Actions with @paypal/paypal-server-sdk, so no API routes are needed. source ↗
Can I test without real money?
Yes. The sandbox has the same API feature set as production; you create fake buyer and business accounts, call the sandbox endpoints, and switch credentials and endpoints to go live. source ↗
Can I accept Venmo?
Only if you are a US merchant with a PayPal business account selling to US customers in USD. source ↗
Do I need code for subscriptions?
No. You can create plans and a subscribe button in the PayPal dashboard; the Subscriptions API is for automating plans and billing from your own backend and checkout. source ↗
Can I start sending payouts right away?
No. For dashboard file uploads you first ask PayPal or your account manager to activate Payouts, and the SFTP batch option also needs onboarding, which can take up to 48 hours. source ↗
How much can I send in one payout?
There is no limit on the batch total, but each payment is capped at 20,000 USD or equivalent by default; contact PayPal for higher values. Sending several currencies takes a separate payment file per currency. source ↗
What happens if a payout recipient never claims it?
Unclaimed payouts expire after 30 days and the money returns to your account; you can also cancel an unclaimed item yourself in the dashboard or through the API. source ↗
Is PayPal free?
No permanent free tier; paid use starts at 3.49% + $0.49 per transaction (US). source ↗
Is PayPal open source or self-hostable?
Not open source, and hosted only.
Can AI coding agents work with PayPal?
It serves an llms.txt docs index; it has an official MCP server (com.paypal.mcp/mcp).
Who uses PayPal?
94 makers' products we track, each with a source, and 5 open-source projects declare it in their code. source ↗