The content of this article is provided for informational purposes only. Learn more about accepting payments without a website by visiting the PayPal Business Resource Center. PayPal is not providing legal, investment, or financial advice.
Starting a business often means you need to get paid before you have the time or resources to build a full ecommerce store. You might not have a website, but you still need a reliable way to process transactions. Fortunately, there are several established ways to accept payment online without a whole website setup. The same underlying methods exist across most payment providers. This guide walks through each one using PayPal as the working example, since PayPal supports five of these six methods from a single account.
A payment link is a URL or QR code that opens a hosted checkout page. This allows a customer to pay without ever visiting a website, regardless of which processor generates the link. When you use PayPal Payment Links, you can generate a hosted checkout page in minutes. You don't need any coding knowledge. The customer sees a clear, professional checkout screen where they can choose their preferred payment method.
This approach works well for freelancers, consultants, and anyone selling a specific product, service, deposit, or booking. For example, a graphic designer can finish a client consultation and immediately email a link to collect their deposit. It’s a straightforward solution when you need payment links without a website.
You can share these links directly with your audience. Many sellers place them in their Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok bios. You can also send them through direct messages or email. This flexibility helps you accept online payments without website infrastructure, meeting your customers exactly where they spend their time.
A QR code payment involves a scannable code that opens a payment page or app. You don't need a separate card reader. With PayPal QR Codes, you get one reusable code for your business. Customers simply scan the code and pay through the PayPal app.
This method suits markets, events, pop-ups, tradespeople, and in-person service providers. A vendor at a local farmer's market can print their code, place it on their table, and let customers check out in a single click. It provides a touch-free transaction experience. You can learn more about this trend in our article on the rise of QR codes as a payments tool. Using QR code payments can help streamline your checkout process.
Online invoicing involves sending an itemized bill electronically. The payer then settles the balance with a card or digital wallet. When you use PayPal Invoicing, your customer doesn't need a PayPal account of their own to pay the bill.
This method works well for service businesses, B2B sellers, custom or wholesale orders, and recurring billing. It helps keep your records organized, which can help at tax time. It's a professional way to invoice without a website. You can read our guide on how to create an online invoice with PayPal to get started. You can also create an online invoice tracker to monitor your incoming payments.
Many businesses rely on this tool for their daily operations. Over 755 million PayPal invoices have been sent globally, and over $144 billion has been paid through them.1 This volume demonstrates how effective digital invoicing can be for managing cash flow.
A virtual terminal is a browser-based tool for manually keying in a card number. It allows you to process phone, mail, or custom orders without a physical card reader. The PayPal Virtual Terminal provides a browser-based dashboard for these transactions.
This setup suits tradespeople who bill after a job is complete, phone-order businesses, and nonprofits taking phone or mail donations. A caterer, for instance, can easily take a deposit over the phone while finalizing a menu with a client. It acts as a payment gateway without website integration, giving you the flexibility to handle virtual terminal payment processing from any computer.
You can also sell directly through a platform's own built-in checkout. Platforms like Etsy, Instagram Shops, Facebook Shops, WhatsApp Business catalogs, and TikTok Shop allow you to list products directly. The platform handles discovery and, in most cases, the checkout itself. This is a helpful approach for sellers who want built-in audience discovery, creators already active on a platform, and anyone testing a product before investing in their own checkout.
However, there's a tradeoff to consider. Marketplaces and social shops typically charge their own listing or platform fees on top of payment processing. The seller also has less control over branding and the checkout experience than they would with a dedicated payment link.
Many of these platforms let a seller add PayPal as a payment method within their native checkout. Sellers who want more control can still pair a PayPal payment link for sales made outside the platform, such as through direct messages or a bio link.
Choosing the right method depends on where you sell, whether you need a formal bill or a fast checkout, and whether you want to avoid buying hardware. These decision factors apply no matter which payment provider you use. The table below shows how PayPal's tools map onto these needs.
Method | Best for | Online or in-person | Setup effort | Starting fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
specific products, services, deposits | online | low | 2.99 to 3.49 percent plus $0.10 | |
markets, events, pop-ups | in-person | low | 2.29 percent plus $0.09 | |
service businesses, B2B, custom orders | online | low | 2.99 to 3.49 percent plus $0.49, no fee to send | |
phone, mail, custom orders | online or phone | medium | 3.39 percent plus $0.29, plus $30 monthly |
Note: Fees are subject to change, and Virtual Terminal requires a separate monthly subscription in addition to the per-transaction rate shown. Please verify current rates on the PayPal business fees page. Social and marketplace platforms are not included in this table as their fees are set by each platform rather than by PayPal directly.
Want to start accepting payments? Sign up for a PayPal Business account today and explore our payment solutions for accepting payments online and in person to find the right fit for your business.