Klarna Payments vs PayPal: Shopify Performance Comparison
Klarna Payments wins with Grade B vs Grade C — a one-grade performance difference that compounds on mobile devices.
Both apps provide checkout payments and buy-now-pay-later functionality for Shopify stores. This page presents StackConflict’s independent lab results for both — measured in a clean-room environment with no other apps installed.
Head-to-Head Metrics
| Metric | Klarna Payments | PayPal | Faster |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | B | C | Klarna Payments |
| JS Payload | 73.45 KB | 158.79 KB | Klarna Payments |
| CPU Desktop | 18 ms | 24 ms | Klarna Payments |
| CPU Mobile | 45 ms | 118 ms | Klarna Payments |
| Layout Shift | 0.0 | 0.0 | Klarna Payments |
Mobile CPU measured with 4× CDP throttle (mid-range Android). Tested 2026-05-31.
Klarna Payments — The Faster Option (Grade B)
Klarna Payments scores Grade B with a JS payload of 73.45 KB and 18 ms desktop CPU execution. Mobile CPU: 45 ms. It passes every StackConflict threshold for payload, CPU, and layout stability — making it safe to install on any storefront including mobile-first stores where Time-to-Interactive directly impacts conversion.
View full Klarna Payments speed report →
PayPal — The Heavier Option (Grade C)
PayPal scores Grade C with a JS payload of 158.79 KB and 24 ms desktop CPU execution. Mobile CPU: 118 ms. This places it in the heavier half of StackConflict’s benchmark dataset — merchants running mobile-first stores should evaluate whether the feature value justifies the performance tradeoff.
View full PayPal speed report →
When to Choose Klarna Payments
- You need its specific features and can monitor its mobile impact
- Your other apps are lightweight (Grade A) so there is headroom
- You are on desktop-skewed traffic where CPU cost matters less
When to Choose PayPal
- Its unique feature set has no lighter equivalent in StackConflict’s database
- Your store traffic is predominantly desktop
- You have already removed or lightened other heavy scripts to compensate
Performance Verdict
Winner: Klarna Payments — Klarna Payments wins with Grade B vs Grade C — a one-grade performance difference that compounds on mobile devices.
About This Test
StackConflict measures each Shopify app in an isolated clean-room environment — a single development store, no other scripts, Playwright-controlled browser. V8 CPU cost is the ScriptDuration delta before and after injection. CLS is captured from the same browser session. Results represent the median of three independent runs with outliers removed.
Data from the StackConflict Lab. Last updated 2026-05-31.