Comparison

PayPal vs Apple Wallet

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

PayPal

Securely shop online and in-store, send and receive money globally, and manage your finances. Earn rewards with a debit card and track packages. Offers purchase protection and buy now, pay later options.

Highlights
  • Secure online and in-store shopping
  • Purchase protection
  • Earn rewards with debit card
  • Send and receive money globally
  • Buy Now, Pay Later options
  • Package tracking
  • Subscription management
Features
Read full description

PayPal is a smart way to securely shop in-store and online, earn rewards points on brands you love, send money and much more.​ SHOP WITH PURCHASE PROTECTION Get built-in protection before and after you buy, with support when something doesn't go as planned. *PayPal Purchase Protection is available on eligible transactions. See terms and limitations: https://www.paypal.com/us/legalhub/paypal/buyer-protection​ EARN POINTS ON EVERYDAY PURCHASES WITH THE PAYPAL DEBIT CARD   Choose a monthly category and earn 5% back in rewards points on up to $1000 spend/month. Terms apply: http://paypal.com/rewardspal  No monthly fees. The PayPal Debit Mastercard® is issued by The Bancorp Bank N.A. ("The Bancorp"), pursuant to a license by Mastercard International Incorporated and may be used everywhere Mastercard is accepted. Mastercard and the circles design are registered trademarks of Mastercard International Incorporated. The Bancorp is issuer of the Card only and not responsible for the associated accounts or other products, services, or offers from PayPal. PayPal is a financial technology company, not a bank. The Card is linked to your PayPal Balance account. See PayPal Balance Terms and Conditions: https://www.paypal.com/us/legalhub/pp-balance-tnc#holding​ SEND AND REQUEST MONEY, SECURELY & IN SECONDS Send money fast within the US and internationally to 110+ countries. Encrypted payments help keep financial details private and secure.​ BUY NOW PAY LATER In store single-use card is valid for one purchase and must be used within 24 hours of loan approval. *Pay in 4 is available upon approval for purchases of $10 - $2000 and is currently not available to residents of MO. 18 years old or older to apply. The lender for Pay in 4 is PayPal, Inc. (NMLS #910457).  Loans to CA residents are made or arranged pursuant to a CA Financing Law License. RI Small Loan Lender Licensee. NM residents: Go to paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/campaigns/newmexicodisclosure. Learn more at paypal.com/payin4. TRACK YOUR PACKAGES View orders and delivery status until they arrive safely at your door. Not all sellers are participants.​   MANAGE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION ALL IN ONE APP The easy way to link and track all your subscriptions. ALL YOUR MONEY AND TRANSACTIONS IN ONE PLACE The new Me Tab lets you navigate your money, accounts, and settings right where you’d expect them. PayPal 2211 N 1st St San Jose, CA 95131

About

Apple Wallet

Securely store and manage digital versions of your credit/debit cards, IDs, transit passes, tickets, and keys. Use it to make payments, send money, and access venues and transportation with your iPhone or Apple Watch.

Highlights
  • Store credit/debit cards
  • Digital driver's license/state ID
  • Transit and event tickets
  • Digital keys for car, home, hotel
  • Secure contactless payments
  • Send and receive money
Features
Read full description

The Wallet app lives right on your iPhone. It’s where you securely keep your credit and debit cards, eligible driver’s license or state ID, transit cards, keys, event tickets, and more — all in one place. And it all works with iPhone or Apple Watch, so you can take less with you but always bring more. Apple Pay Apple Pay is an easy, secure way to pay in stores or online.1 Pay for a ride, a pizza, or even a new sofa — with Touch ID or Face ID. Apple Card Apple Card is the credit card created by Apple. You earn up to 3% unlimited Daily Cash back on every purchase every day, and it’s designed with all the privacy and security you’d expect from Apple. You can apply in as little as minute with no impact to your credit score.2 Apple Cash Apple Cash is an easy and secure way to send and receive money in Messages or Wallet.3 And because it’s a digital card that lives in Wallet, you can use it to make purchases in stores, online, or in apps with Apple Pay. With Tap to Cash, you can send and receive Apple Cash simply by holding your iPhone near someone else’s iPhone — without having to share phone numbers. Driver’s License and State ID Add your eligible driver’s license or state ID to Wallet, and with just a tap of your iPhone or Apple Watch you can present your ID without handing over your device.4 The security of Face ID and Touch ID means only you can present your ID. Boarding Passes After you add your airline passes to Wallet, just show up at your gate and easily present your pass directly from your lock screen. And receive timely flight information and notifications along the way.5 Transit Set your card to Express Mode, then just tap and hop on to ride the next train or bus.5 Breeze through the turnstiles by holding your iPhone or Apple Watch to the reader. Sports & Live Events With Wallet, your tickets are always at the ready. Enter a concert venue, sports stadium or festival with just your iPhone or Apple Watch.5 Tickets in Apple Wallet now bring fans a richer experience including venue maps, recommended Apple Music playlists, and more. Keys Store keys to your car, home, workplace, and hotel room in Wallet.5 Unlock doors with just a tap of your iPhone or Apple Watch, and securely share keys in Wallet through messaging apps, including Messages, Mail, and more. Loyalty and Rewards Add your favorite coffee shop, drugstore, or retail rewards cards to Wallet, and next time you’re at checkout, just tap and pay to receive and redeem rewards.5 1 Apple Pay is a service provided by Apple Payments Services LLC, a subsidiary of Apple Inc. Neither Apple Inc. nor Apple Payments Services LLC is a bank. Any card used in Apple Pay is offered by the card issuer. 2 Accepting an Apple Card after your application is approved will result in a hard inquiry, which may impact your credit score. To access and use all Apple Card features and products available only to Apple Card users, you must add Apple Card to Wallet on an iPhone or iPad that supports and has the latest version of iOS or iPadOS. Apple Card is subject to credit approval, available only for qualifying applicants in the United States, and issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City Branch. 3 Apple Cash services are provided by Green Dot Bank. Member FDIC. Apple Payments Services LLC, a subsidiary of Apple Inc., is a service provider of Green Dot Bank for Apple Cash accounts. Neither Apple Inc. nor Apple Payments Services LLC is a bank. To learn more about the  Terms and Conditions visit https://applecash.greendot.com/termsconditions. Only available in the U.S. on eligible devices. 4 ID cards in Wallet are currently available for use in select states at select TSA checkpoints. ID verifier is available at select merchants. Requires eligible device and OS version. See apple.com/wallet for details. 5 Only available with select partners and locations, and requires eligible device and OS version. See apple.com/wallet for details.

Screenshots

PayPal4 screens
Apple Wallet4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Apple Wallet at none against PayPal's shown. Apple Wallet also leads on review sentiment (54% vs 21%) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). PayPal's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months) and chart position (#3 vs unranked). On price, rating, ratings volume and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for PayPal against 4.8 for Apple Wallet. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6.3M and 7.5M respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 21% of PayPal's written reviews are positive against 54% of Apple Wallet's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PayPal ships an update weekly, Apple Wallet every 3 months. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
PayPal versus Apple Wallet: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPayPalApple Wallet
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (6.3M ratings) — better4.8 (7.5M ratings)
Positive reviews20.7% of reviews54.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings6.3M7.5M — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supportedFree — better
Best chart rank#3 — better—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.410.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size799 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPayPal, Inc.Apple

Customer experience

PayPal

All ratings6,299,085 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral1.8%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews6,050 reviews
Positive20.7%
Neutral5.1%
Negative74.1%

Apple Wallet

All ratings7,410,534 ratings
Positive94.3%
Neutral1.5%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews9,696 reviews
Positive54.0%
Neutral5.5%
Negative40.5%

User reviews

PayPal

From 6.3M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Extremely effective and reliable crypto recovery service
  • 🔒 Secure payment processing
  • 💰 Convenient way to send and receive money
  • 👍 Easy to use app with simple interface

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Inconsistent customer support responses
  • 🕰️ Slow money transfer times
  • 💳 Holds on funds for new accounts
  • 🤖 Overly automated with lack of human interaction

Apple Wallet

From 7.5M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Convenient and easy to use
  • 🔒 Secure with Face ID/Touch ID
  • 💳 Integrates credit/debit cards well
  • 🎟️ Stores tickets and passes
  • 🏠 Stores digital keys and IDs

Room to improve

  • 🚫 Limited ability to add loyalty/membership cards
  • 🤔 Inconsistent card detection and adding
  • 💰 Unauthorized charges and payment issues
  • 🔍 Lack of customization options (nicknames, images)
  • 🇨🇦 Limited support for Canadian features

Bugs and requests

PayPal

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Account limitations and freezes with unclear reasons
  • Issues linking bank accounts and cards
  • Problems with refunds and chargebacks

Requested features

4 requests
  • Faster money transfers
  • More transparent policies and fees
  • Improved dispute resolution process
  • Better customer service accessibility

Apple Wallet

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Card adding/removal issues
  • Transactions not properly recorded
  • Face ID/Touch ID failures
  • Wallet app freezing or not responding

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to add loyalty/membership cards
  • Improve card detection and adding process
  • Provide better transaction history and categorization
  • Allow customization of card names and images
  • Expand support for international features (e.g. Presto card)

In-app purchases

None

PayPal

No in-app purchases

None

Apple Wallet

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PayPal free?
PayPal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Apple Wallet free?
Apple Wallet is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PayPal or Apple Wallet?
PayPal is rated higher. PayPal averages 4.8 out of 5 from 6.3M ratings, while Apple Wallet averages 4.8 from 7.5M ratings.
Do PayPal or Apple Wallet have ads?
PayPal shows ads; Apple Wallet does not.
Which is updated more often, PayPal or Apple Wallet?
PayPal ships an update weekly, and Apple Wallet every 3 months. Most recently, PayPal was updated on November 5, 2026 and Apple Wallet on November 5, 2026.

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