BitPay alternative
A BitPay alternative that never holds your bitcoin.
BitPay takes every payment into its own address, holds it until it settles, and keeps 2% + 25¢ of each sale while your month is under $500,000. On your own BTCPay Server node, the customer pays your wallet directly and nobody takes a cut. Myntli runs that node for you: $29 a month, whatever you sell.
BitPay still does things a node doesn’t: it pays out in dollars or euros, and it takes a dozen coins. The comparison below says where each one wins.
Side by side
BitPay, or your own node
| BitPay | Your own node, run by Myntli | |
|---|---|---|
| Fee per sale | 2% + 25¢ below $500,000 a month; 1.5% + 25¢ to $999,999; 1% + 25¢ above | Nothing. $29 a month, flat |
| Where the payment goes | A BitPay address, then a daily payout to you | Straight into your wallet |
| Who holds it in between | BitPay | Nobody |
| Business checks | Required, with more documents as your volume grows | None on your own store |
| Payout to your bank | Yes, including dollars and euros | No. Keep the bitcoin, or sell it yourself |
| Coins | Bitcoin (on-chain and Lightning), Ether, Solana, stablecoins and more | Bitcoin |
| Refunds | From your BitPay balance, at the original fiat value | A new payment you choose to send |
| Other charges | A non-refundable application fee, and a network cost fee that shoppers pay on bitcoin payments | None from us. Shoppers pay the normal bitcoin network fee |
What it costs
A month costs a month, whatever you sell
| Bitcoin sales a month | BitPay takes | Myntli costs |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | $25 | $29 |
| $2,500 | $62.50 | $29 |
| $10,000 | $250 | $29 |
| $50,000 | $1,250 | $29 |
Before you switch
When BitPay is still the better choice
You need dollars in the bank
BitPay converts and settles every day. A node pays you in bitcoin, and selling it is up to you.
You want other coins
BitPay takes Ether, Solana and stablecoins as well as bitcoin. We run bitcoin.
You sell very little in crypto
Below about $1,200 a month, BitPay’s percentage comes to less than $29.
You don’t want to look after a wallet
With your own node the keys are yours, and so is the backup of them. Lose the seed phrase and nobody can recover the coins.
Switching
Moving off BitPay, step by step
- Make a wallet you control, or bring one you already have, and back up its seed phrase.
- Send us its public key, your shop and your domain. A public key can receive, never spend.
- We build your BTCPay store on our full bitcoin node, wire it into your shop and make a real test payment, which you watch arrive in your wallet.
- Switch BitPay off at checkout, or keep both for a while as separate payment options.
Questions people ask
What is the best alternative to BitPay?
It depends on what you want to stop paying for. If it’s the percentage and BitPay holding your money, your own BTCPay Server node: payments go straight to your wallet and nobody takes a cut. If you need payouts in dollars, custodial processors such as CoinGate and OpenNode charge about 1%.
How much does BitPay charge merchants?
2% + 25¢ per transaction while your paid invoices that month are under $500,000; 1.5% + 25¢ from $500,000 to $999,999; and 1% + 25¢ from $1 million. Rates reset each month, and high-risk industries pay more.
Does BitPay hold my money?
Yes, until it settles. Each payment goes to a BitPay address, and BitPay pays out daily, in fiat or crypto. With your own node, the payment goes straight to your wallet.
Does BitPay require KYC?
Yes. BitPay verifies businesses, and asks for more, such as incorporation papers, photo ID and proof of address, as your volume grows. Your own BTCPay node needs no verification.
When is BitPay cheaper than running a node?
At small volumes. Below roughly $1,200 a month in bitcoin sales, BitPay’s 2% + 25¢ comes to less than Myntli’s $29 a month.
Keep the whole sale.
$29 a month and we run the node, or $449 once and we install it on your own server. Either way, nobody takes a percentage of what you sell.
Also compared: Coinbase Commerce · non-custodial payments · all guides