Comparison

PayPal vs PhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge

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

Head to head
About

PayPal

Manage your finances with a secure app for online and in-store shopping, sending money globally, and earning cash back. It also offers savings accounts, cryptocurrency trading, and package tracking.

Highlights
  • Send and receive money globally
  • Earn cash back offers
  • Request a debit card
  • Buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrency
  • High-yield savings accounts
  • Track packages
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

PhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge

This app facilitates secure digital payments, including UPI transfers, mobile and utility bill recharges, and online/offline purchases. It also offers investment options in mutual funds and insurance policies.

Highlights
  • BHIM UPI money transfers
  • Mobile and DTH recharges
  • Utility bill payments
  • Online and offline QR code payments
  • Mutual fund investments
  • Insurance policy purchases
  • Gift card purchases
Read full description

PhonePe is a payments app that allows you to use BHIM UPI, your credit card and debit card or wallet to recharge your mobile phone, pay all your utility bills and to make instant payments at your favourite offline and online stores. You can also invest in mutual funds and buy insurance plans on PhonePe. Get Car & Bike Insurance on our app. Link your bank account on PhonePe and transfer money with BHIM UPI instantly! The PhonePe app is safe and secure, meets all your payment, investment, mutual funds, insurance and banking needs, and is much better than Internet banking. Things you can do on PhonePe (Phonepay) App: Money Transfer, UPI Payment, Bank Transfer - Money Transfer with BHIM UPI - Manage Multiple Bank Accounts – Check Account Balance, Save Beneficiaries across multiple bank accounts like SBI, HDFC, ICICI & 140+ banks. Make Online Payments - Make online payment on various shopping sites like Flipkart, Amazon, Myntra etc. - Pay for online food orders from Zomato, Swiggy etc. - Pay for online grocery orders from Bigbasket, Grofers etc. - Pay online for travel booking from Makemytrip, Goibibo etc. Make Offline Payments - Scan and Pay via QR Code at local stores like kirana, food, medicines etc. Buy or Renew Insurance Policies with PhonePe Insurance App Health & Term Life Insurance - Compare and buy Health & Term life Insurance with monthly premiums - Coverage for individuals, senior citizens and families Car & Two Wheeler Insurance - Browse and get India’s most popular bike and car insurance - Buy/renew your car and bike Insurance in less than 10 minutes Other Insurance - Personal Accident Insurance: Insure yourself against accidents & disablement - Travel Insurance: Get international travel insurance for business and leisure trips - Shop Insurance: Insure your shop against fire, theft, natural calamities, and burglaries. Mutual Funds App and Investments App - Liquid Funds: Get higher returns than savings bank - Tax-Saving Funds: save up to Rs. 46,800 in tax & grow your investment - Super Funds: Achieve financial goals with expert help on our app - Equity Funds: High growth products curated as per risk appetite - Debt Funds: Get stable returns for investments without any lock-in period - Hybrid Funds: Get a balance of growth and stability - Buy or Sell 24K Pure Gold: Assured 24K purity, build gold savings on our app Recharge Mobile, DTH - Prepaid Mobile Recharge, DTH - Recharge for Airtel, Jio, Vi, BSNL and MTNL prepaid mobile numbers - Recharge DTH set-top boxes for TataPlay, Airtel Digital TV, Sun Direct, Dish TV and D2H providers. Bill Payment - Pay Credit Card Bills - Pay Landline Bills - Pay Electricity Bills - Pay Water Bills - Pay Gas Bills - Pay Broadband Bills Buy PhonePe Gift Cards - Buy a PhonePe Gift Card for easy payments across 1 lakh+ leading offline and online outlets and across the PhonePe app. Manage your refunds - Manage and track refunds from your favorite shopping websites on PhonePe. For more details, Visit our website at https://www.phonepe.com/ Permissions for App and reasons SMS: to verify Phone number for registration Location: a requirement by NPCI for UPI transactions Contacts: for phone numbers to send money to and numbers to recharge Camera: to scan QR code Storage: to store scanned QR code Accounts: to pre-populate email ID while signing up Call: to detect single vs dual sim and let user choose Microphone: to carry out KYC video verification

Screenshots

PayPal4 screens
PhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge4 screens

Verdict

The call

PayPal and PhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 68% of PhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge's written reviews are positive against 21% of PayPal's. PhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge also leads on ads (none vs shown). PayPal's advantage is ratings volume (6.3M vs 170K) and chart position (#4 vs unranked). On price, rating, update cadence 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 4.7 for PhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PayPal has 6.3M ratings behind it against 170K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 21% of PayPal's written reviews are positive against 68% of PhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PayPal ships an update weekly, PhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge every 5 days. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
PayPal versus PhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPayPalPhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (6.3M ratings) — better4.7 (170K ratings)
Positive reviews21.4% of reviews67.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings6.3M — better170K
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 5 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#4 — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.416.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size767 MB331 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPayPal, Inc.PHONEPE PRIVATE LIMITED

Customer experience

PayPal

All ratings6,298,685 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral1.8%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews5,622 reviews
Positive21.4%
Neutral5.1%
Negative73.4%

PhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge

All ratings169,934 ratings
Positive93.8%
Neutral2.6%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews1,039 reviews
Positive67.9%
Neutral3.5%
Negative28.6%

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

PhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge

From 170K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Instant payments
  • 👍 User-friendly interface
  • 🔒 Secure transactions
  • 💡 Diverse payment options
  • 🚀 Fast and convenient

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Transactions failing or pending
  • 🔍 Lack of customer support
  • 🔍 Difficult to resolve issues
  • 🔍 Unreliable service
  • 🔍 Inconsistent performance

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

PhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Unable to link bank accounts or cards
  • Verification issues with non-Indian phone numbers
  • Transactions getting stuck or not completing
  • Wallet balance not updating correctly
  • App crashes or freezes during use

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for international phone numbers
  • Improve transaction history and record-keeping
  • Provide more transparency on payment status
  • Enhance security measures for NRI accounts
  • Streamline the account verification process

In-app purchases

None

PayPal

No in-app purchases

None

PhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PayPal free?
PayPal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge free?
PhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PayPal or PhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge?
PayPal is rated higher. PayPal averages 4.8 out of 5 from 6.3M ratings, while PhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge averages 4.7 from 170K ratings.
Do PayPal or PhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge have ads?
PayPal shows ads; PhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge does not.
Which is updated more often, PayPal or PhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge?
PayPal ships an update weekly, and PhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge every 5 days. Most recently, PayPal was updated on September 24, 2026 and PhonePe UPI, Payment, Recharge on September 24, 2026.

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