Buyer's Choice: PayPal or Google Checkout?

Now that you know a little about both services, which is better—PayPal or Google Checkout?

When you're a buyer, having a preference as to which online payment service you use may be irrelevant. The choice isn't yours to make; you'll be using whichever checkout system is available from a given merchant. If the merchant takes PayPal payments, you'll be paying via PayPal; if the merchant supports Google Checkout, that's the service you'll have to use.

That said, there are differences between the two services. Table 1 does the compare-and-contrast of the factual differences.

Table 1. PayPal Versus Google Checkout: From a Buyer's Perspective

PayPal seems to win this purely objective comparison. You not only have more payment options (beyond credit cards), but you don't have to have an account to use the PayPal service.

You'll also find many more merchants offering PayPal, including merchants outside the United States. And, of course, there's the issue of eBay auctions, which currently support PayPal to the exclusion of Google Checkout.

That said, there is one admittedly subjective reason to prefer Google Checkout: it's easier to use. (Once you've created an account, that is—and creating a Google Checkout Account is both easier and faster than creating a comparable PayPal account.) Google Checkout integrates seamlessly with the merchant's website, and using the checkout process is literally a matter of entering your email address and password and then clicking a button. The PayPal checkout process, while not complicated, does require a bit more work and takes a bit more time. Like I said, this is a subjective comparison, but in terms of ease of use, I personally prefer Google Checkout.

On most other measures, it's a wash. Both services have similar fraud protection processes, and while Google is a tad better on the privacy front (you don't have to share your email with merchants), that's probably a minor thing for most users.

Bottom line, you'll do fine buying from merchants who offer either service. Neither service has major drawbacks, and both do a good job at what they do—from a buyer's perspective.