Crypto Payment Gateways for Merchants

The real crypto payment tools merchants can use in 2026 — BTCPay Server (self-hosted, 0% fees), CoinPayments, NOWPayments, OpenNode, and Coinbase Commerce. Fees, custody, and invoicing compared.

Updated August 2026 · Reviewed by the PipeFlare team

A crypto payment gateway lets a merchant accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins, or other crypto for goods and services — either self-hosted (BTCPay Server) or as a hosted processor (CoinPayments, NOWPayments, OpenNode, Coinbase Commerce)

The choice between self-hosted and hosted determines the biggest trade-offs: who controls the funds, whether there are fees, whether KYC applies, and whether you get automatic fiat conversion

About crypto payment gateway

A crypto payment gateway lets a merchant accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins, or other crypto for goods, services, donations, or invoices. There are two fundamentally different models. In the self-hosted model — BTCPay Server is the dominant example — the merchant runs the software themselves, holds their own keys, pays no processor fee, and gets no automatic fiat conversion. In the hosted model — CoinPayments, NOWPayments, OpenNode, and Coinbase Commerce are the widely used options — a company handles the technical stack, offers optional fiat auto-conversion, and charges a percentage fee. The right choice depends on volume, technical capacity, whether fiat conversion is needed, and how much a merchant cares about self-custody. This page also folds in the adjacent use cases — invoice generators, donation platforms, VPN sign-ups, and self-hosted store templates — since the same gateway products are what power them.

How it actually works

A crypto payment gateway generally does four things: generates a unique payment request (an address, a Lightning invoice, or a checkout page with a QR code), watches the blockchain for the incoming payment, confirms once the transaction reaches the required number of blocks, and notifies the merchant's application via a webhook so the order can be marked paid. In the self-hosted model, BTCPay Server (btcpayserver.org) is the established open-source option — first released in 2017, it supports Bitcoin on-chain, Lightning Network, and altcoins via plugins, and charges no processor fee because there is no processor. BTCPay is a mature open-source project with an active contributor community and multiple managed-hosting providers built around it, and the merchant retains custody of received funds. It requires running a server (self-hosted on a VPS or at home, or via a hosting service like Voltage or LunaNode) and typically running a full Bitcoin node. In the hosted model, CoinPayments (coinpayments.net) is one of the older options, supporting hundreds of coins with a documented merchant fee (check their current schedule for the exact rate — historically around 0.5%). NOWPayments (nowpayments.io) supports 200+ coins with no KYC for merchants and a documented fee schedule. OpenNode (opennode.com) focuses specifically on Bitcoin and Lightning, offering merchant tools including an invoice generator and optional automatic fiat conversion. Coinbase Commerce (commerce.coinbase.com) is the hosted option from Coinbase, supporting a smaller set of assets with tight integration into the Coinbase ecosystem — as of the shift to Coinbase's newer merchant products, some features have changed, so verifying current pricing and asset support on their site is worth doing before commitment. Most of these products also cover the adjacent use cases fully: BTCPay, CoinPayments, and NOWPayments all include hosted invoice generators, donation pages/widgets, and template embeds for HTML stores; VPN providers and many privacy-focused services use these same processors on the back end to accept crypto payments. Compliance-wise, most hosted processors run KYC on merchants above certain volumes and comply with local AML rules — the self-hosted BTCPay path is the only one that avoids third-party KYC on the merchant side, at the cost of the merchant handling all conversion and custody themselves.

Start here

1Decide whether you need automatic fiat conversion — if yes, a hosted processor (OpenNode, Coinbase Commerce, CoinPayments) is the practical choice; if no, self-hosted BTCPay Server is a strong option.
2For hosted processors, compare the current published fee schedule and supported asset list directly on each provider's site — fees and asset support change, so relying on a single point-in-time comparison is a mistake.
3For self-hosted BTCPay Server, decide between running it yourself on a VPS (fully sovereign but requires operational effort) or using a managed BTCPay host like Voltage or LunaNode (still self-custodial but with less server maintenance).
4For the adjacent use cases — invoice generator, donation page, VPN sign-up, HTML template — the same processors typically include these features natively; no separate product is usually required.
5Confirm the tax and compliance treatment in your jurisdiction — most jurisdictions treat received crypto as taxable income at fair market value on receipt, whether or not it is auto-converted to fiat.

Strengths

BTCPay Server charges no processor fee (0%) and leaves the merchant in self-custody — the ceiling on cost-savings for high-volume merchants who can operate their own infrastructure.
Hosted processors like OpenNode, CoinPayments, and NOWPayments handle the technical stack, fiat auto-conversion, and merchant support, making crypto acceptance accessible without running a server.
The same processors typically cover invoices, donation pages, VPN sign-up integrations, and HTML store templates in one product — merchants rarely need to combine multiple tools for the common adjacent use cases.

Common misunderstandings

Hosted processors take custody of the received crypto until settlement, meaning a processor's insolvency or account freeze can strand merchant funds — the same custodial risk as any centralized crypto service.
Self-hosted BTCPay Server requires real operational capability — running a server, keeping a Bitcoin node in sync, and managing backups — that many small merchants realistically will not maintain.
Coinbase Commerce has iterated meaningfully over the years, with some features (like non-Coinbase-hosted checkout for arbitrary coins) changing scope — verifying current asset support and pricing before commitment is important.

Common questions

What is the cheapest crypto payment gateway?

BTCPay Server is the cheapest by a wide margin because it is self-hosted, open-source, and charges 0% in processor fees — you only pay for the server it runs on and the on-chain network fees for any withdrawals you initiate. Every hosted processor (CoinPayments, NOWPayments, OpenNode, Coinbase Commerce) charges some percentage fee on payments; check each provider's current published schedule for the exact rate.

How does BTCPay Server compare to hosted processors?

The two models are fundamentally different. BTCPay Server is self-hosted and self-custodial — you run the software, you hold the keys, and there is no third party who can freeze your funds or run KYC on you as a merchant. Hosted processors like CoinPayments, NOWPayments, OpenNode, and Coinbase Commerce run the infrastructure for you, take custody until settlement, and offer optional automatic conversion of received crypto to fiat. Self-hosted is cheaper and more sovereign; hosted is easier and includes fiat conversion.

Do I need to convert crypto to fiat automatically?

It depends on the business. If revenue and expenses are in fiat and volatility is a real risk to margins, auto-conversion (offered by OpenNode, CoinPayments, and Coinbase Commerce among others) removes that exposure at the cost of a conversion fee. If the business is comfortable holding some or all of its crypto revenue, or actively wants to, BTCPay Server plus a manual conversion strategy on the merchant's own schedule is usually cheaper overall.

Is there a free crypto invoice generator?

Yes — BTCPay Server includes a full-featured invoice generator with no per-invoice fee once you have it running, and most hosted processors (CoinPayments, NOWPayments, OpenNode) also include an invoice generator as part of their merchant tools, though those charge the standard processor fee on any payment received. For a genuinely no-fee invoice flow, self-hosted BTCPay is the clear choice.

Can I accept donations in crypto with these gateways?

Yes — BTCPay Server includes a native crowdfunding/donations app, and NOWPayments, CoinPayments, and OpenNode all offer donation widgets or button-generator tools that can be embedded on any HTML page. For a fully non-custodial setup, BTCPay's donation app running on your own server is the option that keeps all funds under your keys.

How do VPN providers accept crypto payments?

Most VPN providers that accept crypto route payments through one of the hosted processors covered on this page (historically CoinPayments and NOWPayments have been popular for this use case), or run BTCPay Server themselves for a fully self-custodial and privacy-preserving flow. There is nothing VPN-specific about the payment stack — the same processors that power an e-commerce checkout power a VPN sign-up.

Do crypto payment gateways require KYC?

Most hosted processors run merchant KYC above certain volume thresholds to comply with local AML and money-transmission rules — this varies by jurisdiction and processor, so checking each provider's specific terms is worth doing. Self-hosted BTCPay Server does not run KYC on the merchant because there is no third party to run it, though the merchant remains subject to whatever tax and reporting obligations apply in their own jurisdiction.

Is there an HTML template I can drop into my site to accept crypto?

Yes — every processor covered on this page offers either a hosted checkout page you redirect to, an embeddable button, or a full plugin for common platforms (WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento). BTCPay Server ships plugins for major e-commerce platforms and a lightweight embeddable checkout; the hosted processors offer both button embeds and full plugin integrations. There is no need to hand-roll HTML for a standard checkout.

Sources

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