NOWPayments Alternatives 2026: 8 Gateways Compared

The best NOWPayments alternative depends on why you are leaving. If it is the 19 October 2026 terms update excluding the EU, UK, US, UAE and Russia, geography decides first: CoinGate covers the UK and most of the EU but accepts no USDT, BitPay onboards only in the US and Canada, and self-hosted BTCPay Server has no country list. If the reason is fees, BTCPay Server (0%), Plisio (0.5%), CoinPayments V2 (0.5% on coins) and Aurpay (0.8%) all list less than NOWPayments’ 1% or 1.5%; if it is custody, BTCPay Server, Blockonomics and Aurpay settle without a pooled provider account. We checked every provider’s official pricing page, documentation and terms on 24 October 2026; every table cell below comes from a primary source.

At a glance

Eight alternatives against NOWPayments on who each will take, how it onboards you and whether you can test first. “Not documented” means the provider’s own pages did not state it.

Provider	Processing fee	Who the terms exclude	Merchant onboarding	USDT networks	Sandbox / testnet
NOWPayments (baseline)	1%; 1.5% for multi-currency, fixed-rate and fee-paid-by-user payments	Residents and citizens of the EU, UK, US, UAE, Russia	Crypto-only: KYC/KYB only if a transaction is flagged; fiat: KYB	TRC-20, BEP-20, ERC-20 + 2 more	Yes
Aurpay	0.8% per transaction	Excludes FATF-blacklisted jurisdictions (North Korea, Iran); no supported-country list	No contracts or banking details required at signup (per site); KYB verification required before withdrawal (API docs)	ERC-20, TRC-20, BEP-20	Yes (testnet)
CoinGate	1%	59 supported countries; US not listed	KYB before going live	None (USDC and EURC only)	Yes
BTCPay Server	0% (hosting about $10–70/month)	None (self-hosted software)	None from the software	Plugin: Tron, Ethereum + 1 more	Yes (testnet, regtest)
Blockonomics	First 10 payments free, then 1%	Sanctioned countries only	No KYC at signup; risk-based checks possible	ERC-20 only	Yes (test mode)
Cryptomus	2% for new users; “up to 0.4%” negotiated	US citizens and residents	KYC mandatory	8 networks incl. TRC-20, ERC-20, BEP-20, TON	No
Plisio	0.5% (gateway API)	Sanctioned countries only	Not required for crypto-only	ERC-20, TRC-20, BEP-20, TON + 1 more	Not documented
OxaPay	1.5% (links, invoices, donations)	Businesses registered in the US, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Bolivia + sanctions	“No documents” at signup (homepage)	ERC-20, TRC-20, BSC, TON + 2 more	Yes
BitPay	2% + $0.25 under $500,000/month	New onboarding open in US and Canada only; EEA, UK, Australia paused	KYB required	Ethereum and other networks; no Tron, no BSC	Yes

CoinPayments is the ninth name merchants raise: legacy accounts pay “3%”, the V2 platform “0.5%” on coins and “1%” on tokens. Funds sit in a pooled multi-client wallet, KYB is required, and neither coin list includes Lightning.

Why merchants are leaving NOWPayments in 2026

There are four common triggers. First, regional exclusion: section 15.1 of the NOWPayments terms of service, last updated 19 October 2026, says the services “are not rendered to residents or citizens of the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, the United Arab Emirates, the Russian Federation”. The terms are issued by FD Transfers LLC and do not say whether another entity serves those markets.

Second, price. The NOWPayments fee page states “1% for payments without exchange” and 1.5% for multi-currency payments, fixed-rate payments and payments where the customer covers the fee. Third, custody: NOWPayments’ auto-payout to your wallet is forwarding through a custodial provider, not self-custody, and its optional Custody product holds a balance for you. Fourth, coverage: NOWPayments does not list Bitcoin Lightning.

The table maps each trigger to the providers that address it.

Switch reason	NOWPayments today	What to look for	Alternatives that meet it
Regional exclusion	EU, UK, US, UAE, Russia excluded	Your country on the provider’s list	EU/UK: CoinGate, Cryptomus, Plisio, OxaPay. US: BitPay, Plisio. Any: BTCPay Server
Fee	1% / 1.5%	Lower headline rate	BTCPay Server 0%, Plisio 0.5%, CoinPayments V2 0.5% (coins), Aurpay 0.8%
Custody	Forwarding or custody balance	No pooled provider account	BTCPay Server, Blockonomics, Aurpay
Merchant KYC	Only if a transaction is flagged (crypto-only)	Similar or lighter onboarding	BTCPay Server (no company in the flow), Plisio (no verification for crypto-only), OxaPay (“no documents” at signup, per homepage)
Lightning	Not listed	Lightning at checkout	CoinGate, BTCPay Server, BitPay (full list in the FAQ)
Fiat payout	SEPA off-ramp after KYB	Bank settlement	CoinGate (EUR, GBP, USD), BitPay (USD, EUR and others)

Two caveats for EU and UK readers. Not listing the EU as excluded is not the same as being authorised there; of the providers compared, only CoinGate states a MiCA authorisation. And Plisio and Blockonomics publish only sanctions-based exclusions while Aurpay’s terms exclude only FATF-blacklisted North Korea and Iran and it publishes no supported-country list, so confirm your jurisdiction before you migrate. Lighter onboarding does not remove your own compliance duties; the legal boundary between regulated and no-KYC gateways explains where they sit.

The eight alternatives, one by one

Aurpay

Aurpay charges 0.8% per transaction and uses non-custodial settlement, with no pooled provider account. It accepts BTC, Lightning, ETH, BNB, USDT (ERC-20, TRC-20, BEP-20), USDC (ERC-20, TRC-20) and DAI (ERC-20): fewer than NOWPayments, with no fiat payout. Native plugins cover WooCommerce, PrestaShop, OpenCart, Ecwid, BigCommerce, Paid Memberships Pro and Easy Digital Downloads, with no Magento, WHMCS or Blesta plugin. The documented API has no mass-payout endpoint. Aurpay lists no payout minimums and publishes no withdrawal fee of its own (network fees apply); its API docs require KYB verification before you withdraw. For a head-to-head on custody and coins, see Aurpay vs NOWPayments.

CoinGate

CoinGate’s pricing page lists 1% per transaction with no monthly fee, and it is authorised by the Bank of Lithuania as a crypto-asset service provider under MiCA. The catch: it accepts USDC on seven networks and EURC, but no USDT and no DAI, so customers paying USDT on Tron must switch coins. KYB comes before go-live, usually one to two business days, and it settles in EUR, GBP, USD or crypto.

BTCPay Server

BTCPay Server is free, open-source software that you host yourself, at roughly $10–70 per month depending on the provider. It takes no fee, never holds funds and has no merchant KYC, because no company sits in the payment flow. Lightning runs through your own or an external node, and recent versions include native subscriptions. The cost is operational: USDT comes from a plugin whose Tron side needs a private node or authenticated RPC in production.

Blockonomics

Blockonomics is non-custodial and needs no server: it watches addresses derived from your wallet’s xPub, so payments go straight to your wallet. The first 10 payments are free, then 1%, billed at the end of the month rather than deducted from each payment. Coverage is narrow: BTC, BCH and USDT on ERC-20 only, with no USDC, DAI, Lightning, recurring billing or payouts. It has WooCommerce, WHMCS and Blesta plugins.

Cryptomus

Cryptomus has the widest network list here, USDT on eight networks, plus auto-charging recurring payments. New users pay 2% per transaction, with rates “up to 0.4%” on request. KYC is “mandatory for all users”, custody is a custodial business wallet, and its terms state it “does not serve U.S. citizens or residents”. The auto-charge only works if your payer holds a Cryptomus account.

Plisio

Plisio has the lowest custodial headline fee here: 0.5% on the gateway API. It requires no verification for merchants who keep funds in crypto and excludes only sanctioned countries, so US merchants can sign up. It covers all six plugin platforms and offers mass payouts with an unpublished per-payout fee. Funds are custodial, and we found no fiat payout, Lightning, recurring billing or documented sandbox.

OxaPay

OxaPay is the closest like-for-like replacement for NOWPayments: similar stablecoin networks, all six plugin platforms, donations, a sandbox and a payout API. The list rate is higher, 1.5% for payment links, invoices and donations, though the pricing page says fees “can be reduced to 0.4%”. Funds stay in an OxaPay balance unless automatic withdrawal is on.

BitPay

BitPay settles daily to the bank in USD by ACH, EUR by SEPA and other currencies. It is also the most expensive here: 2% + $0.25 per transaction below $500,000 a month, 1.5% + $0.25 from $500,000 to $999,999, and 1% + $0.25 at or above $1 million. Its supported-countries page shows new onboarding open only in the US and Canada, with the EEA, UK and Australia paused. Stablecoins run on Ethereum and other networks, with no Tron and no BSC.

What each provider costs at your volume

Processing fee only, at three monthly volumes; BitPay assumes a $100 average order.

Provider (rate used)	$1,000 / month	$10,000 / month	$100,000 / month
NOWPayments (1%)	$10	$100	$1,000
NOWPayments (1.5% fixed-rate or multi-currency)	$15	$150	$1,500
Aurpay (0.8%)	$8	$80	$800
CoinGate (1%)	$10	$100	$1,000
BTCPay Server (0% + $10–70 hosting)	$10–70	$10–70	$10–70
Blockonomics (1% after first 10 payments)	$10	$100	$1,000
Cryptomus (2% new-user rate)	$20	$200	$2,000
Plisio (0.5%)	$5	$50	$500
OxaPay (1.5% standard)	$15	$150	$1,500
BitPay (2% + $0.25, $100 orders)	$22.50	$225	$2,250

Payout costs: NOWPayments charges “0% service fees for payouts” plus network fees; CoinGate charges €0.50 + 0.5% on crypto payouts, while crypto and SEPA withdrawals of your own balance are free above a €50 minimum; OxaPay charges a fixed fee per network on withdrawal (1 USDT on Tron or Ethereum); BitPay’s payout API carries a 1% fee; Aurpay publishes no withdrawal fee of its own. Cryptomus and OxaPay rows are list prices. The crypto payment gateway fees comparison covers more providers.

Network fees come from the customer’s wallet but still hurt small orders. In our measured ERC-20 vs TRC-20 fees (measured 31 August 2026), a USDT transfer on ERC-20 cost $0.02 typical ($0.01–$0.05 across the window). On TRC-20 it cost $2.11–$2.15 to an address that already holds USDT and $4.24–$4.36 to a first-time address, which is the usual case when a gateway generates a fresh address per invoice. On a $25 order, that first-time TRC-20 fee is 17.2% of the basket.

Direct wallet settlement: which alternatives actually offer it

“Direct wallet settlement” gets used loosely. NOWPayments’ default flow ends in your wallet, but NOWPayments receives the payment first, then pays it out: forwarding through a custodial provider. OxaPay’s auto-withdrawal works the same way.

BTCPay Server and Blockonomics both watch addresses derived from your own wallet: BTCPay on your server, Blockonomics as a hosted service. Aurpay uses non-custodial settlement with no pooled provider account, but it is not a pass-through: its API documents a “Self Custody mode” contract balance and a Withdraw Balance call, so plan for a withdrawal step. Lightning payments received through Aurpay show up as a Lightning balance in your Aurpay account, which you withdraw by submitting a Lightning invoice. Aurpay does not publish who operates the Lightning node, a withdrawal minimum or a withdrawal fee; its plugin listing notes that Lightning Network fees may also apply. CoinGate, Cryptomus, Plisio, BitPay and CoinPayments hold funds in an account they control. Custodians can convert to fiat for you, but you then depend on them in an account review. Our custodial vs non-custodial gateway guide walks through those trade-offs.

Who should pick what

A starting point by merchant profile:

If you are…	Best fit	Why	Watch out for
An EU or UK merchant needing fiat payout	CoinGate	MiCA-authorised, EUR/GBP settlement	No USDT accepted
A US merchant needing USD in the bank	BitPay	Onboarding open in US, daily USD settlement	2% + $0.25; no Tron or BSC USDT
A merchant who wants no pooled provider account and no server	Blockonomics or Aurpay	Blockonomics: 1%, BTC and ERC-20 USDT. Aurpay: 0.8%, USDT on three networks, also accepts Lightning	Blockonomics: no TRC-20, no Lightning. Aurpay: no fiat payout, no mass payouts
A technical team that wants zero fees	BTCPay Server	0%, full control, all six plugin platforms	Hosting and node maintenance
Price-sensitive and fine with custody	Plisio	0.5%, no verification for crypto-only, sanctions-only exclusions	No Lightning, no fiat, no sandbox documented
Needing auto-charge subscriptions	Cryptomus or BTCPay Server	Auto-charge (Cryptomus) or prepaid credit (BTCPay)	Cryptomus payers need an account; KYC mandatory
Wanting the closest feature match	OxaPay	Similar networks, plugins, donations, sandbox	1.5% list rate; excludes US-registered businesses

The broader crypto payment gateway comparison covers more providers.

Migration checklist: moving off NOWPayments

Several steps fail silently if skipped. Keep NOWPayments active for any invoice still open.

Step	What to do	What breaks if you skip it
1. Empty the custody balance	Withdraw any NOWPayments custody balance to your own wallet before closing the account	Funds stuck behind an account you no longer use
2. Set up wallets and addresses	Create receiving wallets per network (ERC-20, TRC-20, BEP-20, Bitcoin); record which networks you will accept	Customers paying on a network you no longer watch
3. Rebuild webhooks	Point the new provider’s callbacks at your server, map its payment statuses to your order states, verify signatures	Paid orders left “pending”; duplicate fulfilment
4. Swap the plugin	Install the new plugin, test on testnet or sandbox, then disable the NOWPayments plugin	Two checkouts at once, or none
5. Check price-lock behaviour	Confirm how long the quoted crypto amount holds and how under- and overpayments are handled	Underpaid orders and manual refunds
6. Move recurring customers	Re-invite subscribers; NOWPayments’ auto-charge draws on the customer’s NOWPayments sub-account, which a new provider cannot charge	Renewals that silently stop

Step 3 is where most migrations go wrong, because providers name statuses differently. Our webhook reconciliation guide covers status mapping and idempotency. For step 5, remember NOWPayments charges 1.5% on fixed-rate payments, so compare how the new provider prices locked quotes.

Test before you switch the live checkout. Every provider here except Cryptomus and Plisio documents a sandbox, testnet or regtest; with those two, plan a small live payment instead.

Frequently asked questions

Does NOWPayments require KYC?

Not routinely for crypto-only merchants: merchants are asked for KYC or KYB only “in a rare case when a certain transaction is marked as suspicious”. Fiat features, such as the SEPA off-ramp, do require KYB. KYC status does not override the terms’ exclusion of the EU, UK, US, UAE and Russia.

What is the best alternative to NOWPayments with direct wallet settlement?

BTCPay Server and Blockonomics come closest, because both watch addresses derived from your own wallet. BTCPay is free but self-hosted; Blockonomics is hosted, charges 1% and takes only BTC, BCH and ERC-20 USDT. Aurpay, at 0.8% per transaction, also uses non-custodial settlement with no pooled provider account and covers TRC-20 and BEP-20 USDT, but its API documents a contract balance that you withdraw, and it offers no fiat payout.

Which NOWPayments alternative works for EU and UK merchants?

CoinGate is the most direct fit, because it is MiCA-authorised and lists the UK and most EU countries, but it does not accept USDT. Cryptomus (which excludes the US), Plisio (sanctions only) and OxaPay (which excludes US, Hong Kong, Bangladesh and Bolivia businesses) do not exclude the EU or UK; Cryptomus requires KYC for all users. Not listing the EU as excluded is not the same as being authorised there; of the providers compared, only CoinGate states a MiCA authorisation. BitPay has paused EEA and UK onboarding.

Is there a cheaper alternative to NOWPayments?

Yes. BTCPay Server costs 0% plus hosting, Plisio 0.5%, and CoinPayments’ V2 platform 0.5% on coins and 1% on tokens (legacy accounts pay 3%). Aurpay charges 0.8% per transaction with non-custodial settlement. At $10,000 a month that is $10–70 for BTCPay, $50 for Plisio and $80 for Aurpay, versus $100–150 on NOWPayments.

Which alternatives support Bitcoin Lightning?

Aurpay, CoinGate, BTCPay Server and BitPay accept Lightning payments. NOWPayments, Cryptomus, Plisio, OxaPay and Blockonomics do not list it, and CoinPayments does not include it in either current coin list.

If non-custodial settlement at 0.8% per transaction fits your shortlist, you can compare Aurpay’s checkout options on the crypto payment provider overview and test them on testnet first.