Start with the transfer cost, not the account fee
The sharpest difference between these two providers sits in how each charges for a transfer, because both hold the account for nothing. PayPal Colombia runs an easy access account on a no monthly fee pricing model with a monthly fee listed as $0, and Skrill uses the same no monthly fee model with a monthly fee of €0. Neither earns its keep while your balance sits idle, so the price of the transfer decides most of the comparison.
What a transfer costs depends first on how the money is funded. At PayPal Colombia the standard transfer fee is listed as $0, and the funding route sets the rest: no charge when the money leaves a PayPal balance or a linked bank account, a rate-based fee plus a fixed amount when a card pays for it, and a separate international charge that carries a floor and a ceiling.
Skrill's structure is similar in spirit but not identical. Its standard transfer fee is listed as €0, with a rate-based fee and a minimum when you send to another Skrill account, no charge at all on Skrill Money Transfer by bank transfer, and an international rate capped at a stated level that already includes the exchange rate mark-up. Read both fee lists in full before you assume a transfer is free.
Then read the exchange rate mark-up
A visible fee is only part of the cost of moving money across a border. PayPal Colombia charges a currency conversion fee of 3% to 4% on top of an exchange rate mark-up of 3% to 4%, while Skrill's conversion fee is 3.99% with a mark-up of 4.99%. Add both figures on each side and the difference usually matters far more than the transfer line above.
The headline rate is worth noting too, and worth distrusting. PayPal Colombia publishes a headline rate of 3.3% and rates it as variable, so the number you see is a starting point rather than a promise. Coverage is part of the same comparison: PayPal Colombia handles 24 currencies, and Skrill handles 47.
Put those mark-ups in context before deciding. Across the money transfer services we rank, the mark-up runs 0% to 6.7%, which means a figure inside that span is ordinary rather than poor, and a figure above it needs a reason. Since the spread is wide, a provider that publishes its range openly gives you more to work with than one that advertises a single rate.
Work out what stands behind the money
Safety of the money deserves its own section, because the two providers sit under different schemes. PayPal Colombia lists deposit protection of FDIC up to USD 250,000, and Skrill lists EU DGS up to EUR 100,000. Each promise is stated in a different currency under a different scheme name, so the number alone will not settle it.
The legal structure matters as much as the ceiling. Skrill holds an e money permission under Paysafe Payment Solutions Limited, based in IE, and publishes a US money transmitter licence number of 935195. PayPal Colombia's operator is PayPal, Inc. in US. Work out which scheme covers the jurisdiction your balance actually sits in, and how much you would keep there between transfers.
A common trap is treating any guarantee as a bank deposit guarantee. Read the scheme name attached to the figure, and if you are holding a large balance for a while, treat the difference between the two schemes as a deciding factor rather than a footnote.
Match speed, payouts and the rail you need
Speed splits the two cleanly. PayPal Colombia lists delivery in Seconds, which suits a small payment you need to move right now. Skrill lists 24 - 72 hours, a wider window that suits a planned payment where arrival time matters less than the all-in cost.
Where the money lands matters just as much. PayPal Colombia lists payout methods of bank and card and Skrill lists bank, card and wallet, so a recipient without a bank account on the list may need a card or wallet payout instead. PayPal Colombia names us ach as its local rail, which points to a United States route rather than a local one in every market, so check that it covers the country you send from as well as the one you pay into.
If both sides of the transfer stay inside a single country, a domestic rail is usually cheaper than an international one, and that difference can outweigh a small mark-up. If the payment crosses borders, the currency pair and the receiving route decide the real cost.
Run the account against how you will use it
Day-to-day mechanics narrow the field further. PayPal Colombia works on its site or in the app with round-the-clock access: deposits pull through PayPal Balance from a linked debit card or a confirmed bank account, and withdrawals return to PayPal Balance first before reaching a linked card. There is no minimum deposit on that balance, listed as $0, so a small first transfer costs nothing to set up.
Card-linked extras are another separator. PayPal Colombia's feature list includes free atm and no credit check, which is useful if you expect to take money out at a cash machine or want to open an account without a credit check. Support is a smaller gap: PayPal Colombia offers email and phone and Skrill offers help centre, email and phone, so Skrill adds a self-service help centre to the same channels.
On who each suits, the two are level. PayPal Colombia lists expats, travelers and business and Skrill lists expats, travelers and business, so an expat, a traveller or a small business will find both in scope. Choose on the fee structure, the rail and the protection instead of on the audience label.
Read the reviews and the wider ranking
Once the fees are clear, read the detail on each account: the PayPal Colombia review and the Skrill review cover the practical side of using each one, and both are worth reading before you commit to a rail.
Then place them in context on the Money transfer services ranking, which shows how the fees here sit against the rest of the field. If the mark-up is the deciding factor and neither of these feels like a fit, accounts such as Wise, Paysera and Payoneer rails appear in the same ranking and are built around multi-currency holding.
Open questions and a stat to retire
A founding year of 1998 for PayPal Colombia and 2001 for Skrill says little about what a transfer costs now, so give it little weight. Age is a reassuring fact and a poor one for choosing.
Questions worth asking before you send. What is the minimum deposit on the account? What exchange rate and mark-up will be applied to your currency pair on the day? And which scheme covers the balance if you are holding more than the protection ceiling? A provider that answers all of them with figures is easier to plan around than one that answers with a headline rate.