NOWPayments Alternatives: Fees, Recurring Billing and Custody
NOWPayments is a hosted crypto payment gateway that accepts "Bitcoin, stablecoins and 300+ cryptocurrencies." It is a common first choice because it supports so many coins.
Teams look for a NOWPayments alternative when they want a lower or simpler fee, automatic subscription renewals, or payments that land straight in their own wallets. This post explains NOWPayments' published fees and compares 6 alternatives.
Disclosure: OrcaRail publishes this blog and is one of the options below. Competitor facts come from each provider's own pages, linked, with the date we checked. Pricing changes, so confirm with the provider before you decide.
What is NOWPayments
NOWPayments offers crypto payment tools for businesses: an API, ready-made integrations, auto-conversion between coins, fiat conversion and mass payouts. Its homepage lists "300+ cryptocurrencies" in one place and "350+ crypto coins" in another.
NOWPayments fees
From the NOWPayments pricing page, checked 1 November 2026:
- Transaction fee: "your transaction fees start from 1%," charged "from the final payment amount before it is sent out to the merchant."
- Conversion: when the coin you receive differs from the coin the customer pays in, the page lists "an additional fee of 1% required by our exchange service provider."
- Fixed rate: an option that "freezes the exchange rate for 20 minutes."
- Mass payouts: "not subject to service fees"; only the network fee applies.
- Fiat conversion: priced on a separate page.
So a payment you receive in the same coin starts at 1%. A payment that needs conversion can cost more.
Why teams look for a NOWPayments alternative
- Fee at your volume. A 1% starting rate, plus conversion, adds up at scale.
- Subscriptions. NOWPayments' recurring payments API sends an invoice or payment request each billing period (checked 31 October 2026). The customer still pays each one by hand.
- Custody. NOWPayments offers a custody account for registered users. Some teams prefer payments that go straight to wallets they control.
- WooCommerce. The most-installed NOWPayments plugin on WordPress.org is developed by CoderPress, not by NOWPayments, and lists crypto subscriptions only in its Pro version (checked 1 November 2026).
Quick comparison
| Option | Published fee | Recurring billing | Custody / settlement | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOWPayments | From 1%; conversion adds 1% | Recurring invoices | Hosted; optional custody account | 1 Nov 2026 |
| OrcaRail | 0.5% per completed transaction, first 100 free | Yes: payment link per cycle, or on-chain auto-charge | Non-custodial by default; funds go to your wallets | 1 Nov 2026 |
| CoinGate | 1% (Standard plan) | Scheduled invoices | Funds in your CoinGate account | 31 Oct 2026 |
| Stripe stablecoin payments | 1.5% | Yes, Stripe Billing | Settles to your Stripe balance in fiat | 13 Oct 2026 |
| BitPay | 2% + $0.25 under $500K/month | Invoice-based | Settles to bank or crypto | 13 Oct 2026 |
| MoonPay Commerce (Helio) | 1% or 2%; swaps +0.25% | Yes | Hosted; optional fiat off-ramp (+0.5%) | 31 Oct 2026 |
| BTCPay Server | None (you run the server) | Not built in | Self-hosted, Bitcoin-focused | 1 Nov 2026 |
Network (gas) fees are extra everywhere. Who pays them depends on the provider and your settings.
OrcaRail
OrcaRail is a developer-first API for stablecoin checkout and subscriptions.
- Fee: 0.5% per completed transaction; the first 100 transactions are free. A 100 USD payment costs 0.50 USD. See pricing.
- Networks: more than 70 mainnets (EVM chains, Solana and Bitcoin), including Base, Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum and Optimism. Tron is not supported yet. See Networks and tokens.
- Paying in another coin: customers can pay in another token or network. The quote adds a bridge fee that the payer pays, and you still receive the full amount. See Fees.
- Recurring billing: a payment link per cycle, or auto-charge that pulls each renewal from an ERC-20 allowance (EVM) or SPL delegation (Solana), with no invoice to pay by hand. See subscriptions.
- Custody: non-custodial by default. Payments settle to withdrawal addresses you control.
- Tooling: REST API, signed webhooks, Node and PHP SDKs, a Laravel Cashier package, an official WooCommerce plugin and an MCP server.
- Testing: free sandbox organizations on testnets with
ak_test_keys.
The trade-off: NOWPayments lists more coins. OrcaRail focuses on stablecoins such as USDC and USDT, plus Bitcoin.
CoinGate
CoinGate is a hosted processor based in the EU.
- Fee: 1% per transaction on the Standard plan; Enterprise pricing is custom.
- Recurring billing: its Billing product sends one-time or scheduled invoices.
- WooCommerce: an official plugin with Checkout Blocks support since v2.3.0.
Stripe stablecoin payments
Stripe accepts stablecoins and pays out in your local currency.
- Fee: 1.5% of the transaction amount.
- Tokens: USDC on Tempo, Ethereum, Solana, Polygon and Base; USDP and USDG on some chains, US only.
- Recurring billing: yes, through Stripe Billing. Limits: $10,000 per customer transaction, and no dispute support.
BitPay
BitPay is one of the oldest crypto processors and can settle to a bank account.
- Fee: 2% + $0.25 per paid invoice under $500K a month, falling to 1% + $0.25 above $1M (BitPay support).
- Recurring billing: invoice-based; the customer pays each bill.
MoonPay Commerce (formerly Helio)
MoonPay Commerce grew out of the Solana ecosystem.
- Fee: 1% or 2% per transaction; high-risk platforms pay at least 2%. Swaps add 0.25% and fiat settlement 0.5%.
- Recurring billing: subscriptions are supported.
BTCPay Server
BTCPay Server is free, open-source software you run yourself. Its GitHub page calls it a "self-hosted Bitcoin payment processor."
- Fee: "0% Fees & No Third-party." You pay for the server and run it.
- Good fit if you mainly take Bitcoin and are happy to operate your own server.
How to move from NOWPayments to OrcaRail
- Open a sandbox. Sign up at app.orcarail.com and create a sandbox organization with an
ak_test_key. - Choose what you receive, for example USDC on Base. List options with
GET /payments/networksandGET /payments/networks/:id/tokens. - Set withdrawal addresses for each chain family (EVM, Solana, Bitcoin), so funds go straight to your wallets.
- Replace the payment call. Where you created a NOWPayments payment or invoice, create and confirm a payment intent and redirect to the hosted pay page.
- Replace the callback handler. Verify the webhook signature and fulfill orders on
payment_intent.completed. - Move recurring customers to OrcaRail subscriptions, with auto-charge if you want renewals without invoices.
- Go live with a live organization and an
ak_live_key.
For a wider field-by-field view, see our list of crypto payment gateways.
FAQ
How much does NOWPayments charge?
Its pricing page says transaction fees "start from 1%," with an extra 1% fee from its exchange provider when a conversion is needed. Mass payouts carry only the network fee.
What is the cheapest NOWPayments alternative?
Among hosted gateways with a published rate, OrcaRail charges 0.5% per completed transaction, and the first 100 transactions are free. BTCPay Server has no fee, but you run and pay for the server.
Which NOWPayments alternative charges subscriptions automatically?
OrcaRail auto-charge pulls each renewal on-chain from an allowance the customer signs once. Stripe Billing and MoonPay Commerce also support subscriptions. See recurring crypto payments.
Is there a non-custodial alternative to NOWPayments?
Yes. OrcaRail is non-custodial by default and sends payments to your withdrawal addresses. BTCPay Server also pays to your own wallet, but you host it yourself.
Does OrcaRail support as many coins as NOWPayments?
No. NOWPayments lists 300+ cryptocurrencies. OrcaRail focuses on stablecoins and major tokens on more than 70 EVM, Solana and Bitcoin networks, and lets customers pay in other tokens through a bridged quote.