There are three ways to accept crypto payments. A processor such as BitPay, PayPal, CoinGate or OpenNode takes the payment and pays you out, usually for 1–2% of each sale. Stripe and Coinbase Business take stablecoins, not bitcoin. Or you run BTCPay Server, yourself or through a host like Myntli, and customers pay your own wallet with no percentage at all.
Below: the options side by side, the question that matters most, the steps to take bitcoin on your own website, and what to know before you start. Prices from each company’s own pages, checked on 30 September 2026.
The options, side by side
| Service | Fee | Who holds the money | Takes bitcoin? |
|---|---|---|---|
| BitPay | 2% + 25¢ under $500,000 a month | BitPay, until it pays you out | Yes, and other coins |
| PayPal Pay with Crypto | 1.5% (the 0.99% launch rate ended on 31 July 2026) | PayPal; you receive dollars | Yes, among 100+ coins (US) |
| Stripe | 1.5% | Stripe; paid out in fiat | No: stablecoins only |
| Coinbase Business | 1% for merchants moved from Commerce | Coinbase | No: USDC and USDT only |
| CoinGate | 1% | CoinGate | Yes, and 10+ others |
| OpenNode | 1% | OpenNode, until you withdraw | Bitcoin only |
| Blockonomics | 1% after your first 10 payments | Your own wallet | Yes, plus BCH and USDT |
| BTCPay Server, run yourself | Nothing; a server costs about $16–20 a month | Your own wallet | Yes |
| BTCPay Server, run by Myntli | $29 a month, flat | Your own wallet | Yes |
Custodial or not: the question that matters most
A processor receives the coins first, holds them and pays you later, so it can also freeze them, and it verifies your business before it pays you. With a non-custodial setup, such as BTCPay Server or Blockonomics, each invoice is built from your wallet’s public key and the coins go straight to you. More on how non-custodial payments work.
How to accept bitcoin on your website, step by step
- Choose a wallet you control, and back up its seed phrase offline.
- Get a BTCPay Server: run it yourself, rent one, or have one run for you. What BTCPay Server is and what it takes.
- Create a store and connect the wallet by its public key, never the seed.
- Connect your shop: the plugin for WooCommerce, the app for Shopify, or the API for your own code.
- Make a small test payment, and check it lands in your own wallet.
- Decide what you’ll do with the coins: keep them, or sell some on an exchange you choose.
Before you start
- It’s still revenue. Taking crypto changes who takes a cut, not what you owe in tax. Keep a record of each sale’s value.
- The price moves. An invoice locks the rate while the customer pays; after that, what you hold is worth whatever the market says.
- Payments are final. There are no chargebacks, and a refund is a new payment you send.
- Stablecoins are a different thing. If you want dollar-pegged payments, Stripe, PayPal and Coinbase Business are built for that. BTCPay’s core is bitcoin.
The simplest route to no percentage
Let Myntli run BTCPay Server for you. Your store sits on our full bitcoin node, set up from your public key, wired into your shop and tested with a real payment. $29 a month, whatever you sell, or $449 once to install it on your own server. We never hold a key that can spend.
Questions people ask about accepting crypto
How do I accept crypto payments on my website?
Either sign up with a payment processor and add its plugin, or run BTCPay Server and connect it to your shop. A processor holds the money and charges a percentage; BTCPay pays your own wallet directly.
What is the cheapest way to accept crypto payments?
Once your crypto sales pass about $2,000 a month, your own BTCPay Server usually costs less than a 1% processor, because the software is free and takes no percentage. Below that, a processor’s fee can be smaller than a server.
Do I need KYC to accept crypto payments?
With a processor, yes: it verifies your business before it pays you out. With BTCPay Server there is no processor to verify you, because payments go straight to your own wallet.
Can I get paid in dollars?
Processors such as BitPay, PayPal and Stripe pay out in fiat. With your own node you receive bitcoin, and selling it is up to you.
Are crypto payments reversible?
No. There are no chargebacks. If a customer needs a refund, you send them a new payment.
Prices from bitpay.com, paypal.com, stripe.com, coinbase.com, coingate.com, opennode.com and blockonomics.co, checked on 30 September 2026. Vendors change their prices, so check theirs before you sign up. See also: BitPay alternative and Coinbase Commerce alternative.