Comparison

PayPal vs Venmo

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

Venmo

A fast, safe, and social way to send and receive money with friends and family. Easily split bills, buy crypto, and manage your finances with integrated debit and credit cards.

Highlights
  • Send and receive money
  • Split payments among friends
  • Buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency
  • Venmo credit and debit cards
  • Teen accounts
  • Business profiles
  • Instant transfers and direct deposit
Features
Read full description

Venmo is the fast, safe, social way to pay and get paid. Join over 90+ million people who use the Venmo app today   SEND AND RECEIVE MONEY Pay and get paid for anything from your share of rent to a gift. Add a note to each payment to share and connect with friends SPLIT A REQUEST AMONG MULTIPLE VENMO FRIENDS You can now send a payment request to multiple Venmo friends at once and customize the amount each person owes   GET REWARDED WITH THE VENMO CREDIT CARD Earn up to 3% cash back on your eligible top spend category¹ —we’ll do the math. Split card purchases with Venmo friends, and shop everywhere Visa® credit cards are accepted—online, in-store, worldwide² BUY CRYPTO WITH AS LITTLE AS $1 Buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency right on the Venmo app. New to crypto? Learn more with in-app resources. Crypto is volatile, so it can rise and fall in value quickly. Be sure to take it at a pace you're comfortable with³ SHOP WITH THE VENMO DEBIT CARD Spend your money in Venmo everywhere Mastercard® is accepted around the globe — and earn cashback from some of your favorite spots. Terms apply: venmo.me/rewards⁴ VENMO TEEN ACCOUNTS A debit card of their very own and a Venmo account to send money to trusted friends and family⁵. All with no minimum balance or monthly fee   DO BUSINESS ON VENMO Create a business profile for your side gig, small business, or anything in between—all under your same Venmo account MANAGE YOUR MONEY Get your Venmo money in the bank within minutes using Instant Transfer⁶. Want your paycheck up to two days earlier* than your normal payday? Try Direct Deposit   ¹Use of cash back is subject to the terms of the Venmo account. See Rewards Program Terms: https://www.synchronycredit.com/gecrbterms/html/RewardsTerms.htm ²Application subject to credit approval. You must be at least 18 years old and reside in the US or its territories to apply. You must have a Venmo account in good standing, that has been open for at least 30 days prior to application The Venmo Credit Card is issued by Synchrony Bank pursuant to a license from Visa USA Inc. VISA is a registered trademark of Visa International Service Association and used under license ³Terms apply. Only available in the US and limited in certain states. Buying and selling cryptocurrency is subject to a number of risk and may result in significant losses. Venmo does not make any recommendation regarding buying or selling cryptocurrency. Consider seeking advice from your financial or tax adviser ⁴The Venmo Mastercard® is issued by The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to license by Mastercard International Incorporated. Mastercard and the circles design are registered trademarks of Mastercard International Incorporated. The Bancorp Bank, N.A. is issuer of the Card only and not responsible for the associated accounts or other products, services, or offers from Venmo ⁵ The Venmo Teen Debit Card is available for eligible users 13-17 years old with parent or legal guardian sign up. Terms apply ⁶ Transfer speed depends on your bank and could take up to 30 minutes. Transfers are reviewed which may result in delays or funds being frozen or removed from your Venmo account. * The availability of Direct Deposit is subject to your employer sending paycheck information 1-2 days in advance of payday. Early access compared to standard banking practice of posting funds at settlement and subject to your employer providing pay information to the bank prior to payday. It may take up to two pay cycles for Direct Deposit to take effect. Transactions are reviewed, which may result in delays or funds being frozen or removed from your account. Emoji artwork is provided by emojitwo.github.io/, originally released as emojione.com/ by Ranks.com with contributions from the Emojitwo community and is licensed under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode Venmo 2211 N. First St., San Jose, CA 95131

Screenshots

PayPal4 screens
Venmo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Venmo at none against PayPal's shown. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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 Venmo. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6.3M and 15M respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 21% of PayPal's written reviews are positive against 15% of Venmo's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PayPal ships an update weekly, Venmo every 11 days. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference · 10 level
PayPal versus Venmo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPayPalVenmo
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (6.3M ratings)4.8 (15M ratings)
Positive reviews21.4% of reviews — better14.6% of reviews
Number of ratings6.3M15M — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 11 days
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#4 — better#5
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS17.417.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size767 MB701 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperPayPal, Inc.Venmo

Customer experience

PayPal

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

Venmo

All ratings15,470,759 ratings
Positive97.0%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews7,168 reviews
Positive14.6%
Neutral3.9%
Negative81.5%

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

Venmo

From 15M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Reliable, user-friendly, and convenient
  • 🔒 Robust security features
  • 👍 Untrustworthy vendor protection
  • 💡 Investing feature built-in

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and glitchy app
  • 🔒 Weak account security
  • 🔒 Unreliable customer support
  • 💰 Holds funds without explanation
  • 💰 Freezes accounts without notice

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

Venmo

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Payments getting declined without reason
  • Accounts being frozen or deleted unexpectedly
  • Delays in fund transfers and withdrawals
  • Inability to access own money in account

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to cancel transactions
  • Faster money transfers
  • Better account management tools
  • Improved customer service

In-app purchases

None

PayPal

No in-app purchases

None

Venmo

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PayPal free?
PayPal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Venmo free?
Venmo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PayPal or Venmo?
PayPal and Venmo are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 6.3M and 15M ratings respectively.
Do PayPal or Venmo have ads?
PayPal shows ads; Venmo does not.
Which is updated more often, PayPal or Venmo?
PayPal ships an update weekly, and Venmo every 11 days. Most recently, PayPal was updated on September 24, 2026 and Venmo on September 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, PayPal or Venmo?
PayPal currently peaks at #4 in the App Store charts, and Venmo at #5. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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