GriffNode 
What are the best BitPay alternatives in 2026?
The best BitPay alternatives in 2026 are GriffNode (no KYC, 0% per-transaction fee on a flat monthly plan, non-custodial), Coinbase Commerce, NOWPayments and CoinPayments. Which one is right for you comes down to three things: the fee model, whether you are willing to complete identity verification, and whether you want funds to settle into your own wallet or into a provider-held balance. If your priority is no KYC and keeping custody of your own money, GriffNode is the closest fit (see the full BitPay comparison); if you want a familiar ecosystem or the widest coin list, the others have their place.
BitPay is a long-established, reputable processor, and for many businesses it is a perfectly good choice. This guide is not a takedown. It exists because merchants search for "BitPay competitors" and "alternative to BitPay" for specific, legitimate reasons, and the honest answer is that the right gateway depends on what you actually need. Below we explain why merchants look elsewhere, compare the leading options on the figures that matter, and help you choose.
Why do merchants look for a BitPay alternative?
Merchants leave or shop around BitPay for a handful of recurring reasons. None of them mean BitPay is bad; they mean its model does not fit everyone.
- Per-transaction fee. BitPay charges roughly 1% per transaction. That is competitive with card networks, but it is still a percentage that scales with your revenue. A merchant doing high volume pays more in absolute terms every month, and some owners would rather pay a predictable flat cost.
- Mandatory KYC and business verification. BitPay requires business onboarding and identity verification before you can settle. That is standard for a regulated processor, but it adds friction, time, and paperwork. Sole traders, international sellers, and privacy-conscious businesses often want to start accepting payments today without submitting documents.
- Settlement and custody model. BitPay sits in the middle of the payment flow and can settle to your bank in fiat or to crypto. For merchants who specifically want crypto to land directly in a wallet they control, a provider that custodies and converts funds is more intermediary than they want.
- Coin availability and conversion. BitPay's accepted coins and settlement options change over time and are curated. Some merchants want a specific coin BitPay does not prioritise, or want to hold the exact asset their customer paid with rather than an auto-converted one.
If none of those points bother you, BitPay is a solid, trusted option and you may not need to switch at all. If one or more of them is a dealbreaker, read on.
BitPay alternatives compared
Here is an honest side-by-side of the main BitPay competitors on the criteria that decide most of these choices. Figures are approximate published rates and can change, so always confirm current terms with each provider before you commit.
| Provider | Per-transaction fee | KYC required | Custody | Chargebacks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BitPay | ~1% | Yes (business verification) | Custodial / processor-settled | None (on-chain) |
| GriffNode | 0% (flat monthly plan) | No | Non-custodial — direct to your wallet | None (on-chain) |
| Coinbase Commerce | ~1% | Yes (Coinbase account / verification) | Custodial (modern flow) | None (on-chain) |
| NOWPayments | ~0.5%-1% | Varies / may apply at thresholds | Non-custodial options | None (on-chain) |
| CoinPayments | ~0.5% | Varies / may apply | Custodial wallet-based | None (on-chain) |
One thing every option on this list shares: no chargebacks. Crypto payments settle on-chain and are final, which is one of the biggest reasons merchants move away from cards in the first place. The differences are all in fee structure, KYC, and custody.
GriffNode — the no-KYC, 0%-per-transaction, non-custodial option
GriffNode is built for merchants whose specific dealbreakers are KYC and percentage fees. There is no identity verification — signup is an email and a password. There is no percentage cut per transaction; you pay a flat monthly plan instead, so a high-volume month does not raise your fees. And it is non-custodial: you connect an extended public key (xPub), GriffNode derives a fresh receiving address per payment, and funds go directly from your customer to your wallet. The gateway never holds your money and cannot spend it, because an xPub can only generate public addresses, never authorise a withdrawal. It supports BTC, ETH, LTC, DOGE, DASH plus USDT and USDC, with a hosted payment page, payment links, QR codes, webhooks, a REST API and SDKs. The trade-off is honest: you self-custody, so you are responsible for your own wallet and keys, and there is no fiat auto-settlement to a bank. If that is the model you want, it is the cleanest fit. Create a free GriffNode account to try it.
Coinbase Commerce
Coinbase Commerce is a natural alternative if you already live in the Coinbase ecosystem. Its modern flow is custodial and tied to a Coinbase account with identity verification, charging about 1% per transaction. The upside is brand familiarity, a polished hosted checkout, and easy access to Coinbase's tooling. The downside, for the merchants in this guide, is exactly the model they are trying to leave: a percentage fee, KYC, and a provider holding funds. We go deeper in our Coinbase Commerce vs GriffNode comparison.
NOWPayments
NOWPayments is a popular, flexible processor with one of the widest coin lists in the market — hundreds of assets. Fees typically land around 0.5% to 1% per transaction depending on configuration, and it offers non-custodial settlement options. KYC requirements vary and may apply at certain volumes or for certain features, so confirm before you onboard. If your main need is broad coin coverage and plugins for many platforms, it is a strong contender; if you want a strictly flat, no-percentage cost, the per-transaction model still applies.
CoinPayments
CoinPayments is one of the oldest crypto processors and supports an enormous range of coins, with per-transaction fees around 0.5%. It uses a wallet-based, largely custodial model, and KYC requirements can apply depending on usage. It is a capable, established option, especially if you value coin breadth and a long track record, but its custodial wallet flow means funds pass through CoinPayments rather than landing directly in a wallet you alone control.
How to choose the right BitPay alternative
Match the gateway to your actual dealbreaker rather than chasing a single "best" label:
- If your issue is the per-transaction fee: a flat-monthly model like GriffNode removes the percentage entirely; NOWPayments and CoinPayments lower it but keep it percentage-based.
- If your issue is KYC: GriffNode has none; the others range from required (Coinbase Commerce) to "it depends."
- If your issue is custody: choose a non-custodial gateway so funds settle to your own wallet — GriffNode is non-custodial by design.
- If you want the widest coin list or are happy with the trusted, regulated model: NOWPayments and CoinPayments offer huge coin coverage, and BitPay itself remains a reputable choice.
For a wider view of low-and-no-KYC providers, see our roundup of the best no-KYC crypto payment gateway in 2026, and if cost is your driver, read crypto payment gateway fees explained to compare flat versus percentage pricing properly. Smaller sellers may also want our guide to the best crypto payment gateway for small business.
What a crypto payment actually costs on the network
Comparing gateways on their percentage alone misses half the bill. The other half is the network fee to move the coins, and almost every comparison still quotes figures from the last congestion peak. We run our own full Bitcoin and Ethereum nodes, so rather than estimate we measured every Bitcoin block since 2009 and every Ethereum block since the London fork.
| Year | Median Bitcoin fee | Fee rate | Median Ethereum base fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 (costliest year for block space) | 41,174 sat | 134 sat/vB | before EIP-1559 |
| 2021 | 2,712 sat | 10 sat/vB | 81.04 gwei |
| 2024 | 1,733 sat | 10 sat/vB | 10.30 gwei |
| 2025 | 356 sat | 2 sat/vB | 0.55 gwei |
| 2026 | 163 sat | 1 sat/vB | 0.114 gwei |
163 satoshis is 0.00000163 BTC. At a Bitcoin price of 100,000 dollars that is roughly 16 cents, and the Ethereum base fee puts the floor for a plain transfer at 0.00000239 ETH. Set that against 2.9 percent plus 30 cents, which on a 100 dollar order is 3.20 dollars taken out of every single sale, before you count the chargeback risk.
Speed is the other number merchants ask about, and the rules of thumb are wrong in both directions. Measuring 30 days of blocks, Bitcoin's median time to one confirmation was 427 seconds, so about 7 minutes rather than the usual 10. But the 90th percentile was 1,370 seconds, nearly 23 minutes in the slow tail, which is the number that actually matters at a checkout.
Both datasets are published in full, with the methodology and the raw CSV, under CC BY 4.0: measured transaction fees by year and measured confirmation times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a no-KYC alternative to BitPay?
Yes. GriffNode is a no-KYC alternative to BitPay: you sign up with just an email and password, with no identity or business verification. This is possible because GriffNode is non-custodial and never holds your funds, so it is not acting as a money custodian. Some other providers vary their KYC requirements by volume or feature, but GriffNode has none.
What is cheaper than BitPay?
BitPay charges roughly 1% per transaction. CoinPayments (around 0.5%) and NOWPayments (around 0.5% to 1%) can be cheaper per transaction. GriffNode removes the percentage entirely by charging a flat monthly plan with 0% per-transaction fees, which becomes especially cost-effective as your volume grows, since your fees do not rise with your sales.
Why do merchants leave BitPay?
The common reasons are the per-transaction percentage fee, mandatory KYC and business verification, and a settlement model where the processor sits between the customer and the merchant. Merchants who want predictable flat costs, no identity paperwork, or funds settling directly into a wallet they control tend to look for an alternative. Those who are happy with a regulated, fiat-settling processor often stay.
Which BitPay alternative is non-custodial?
GriffNode is non-custodial — funds go straight from your customer to your own wallet via a connected xPub, and the gateway can never hold or move your money. NOWPayments offers non-custodial settlement options as well. Coinbase Commerce's modern flow and CoinPayments are custodial, meaning funds pass through the provider before reaching you.
Do crypto payment gateways have chargebacks?
No. Every gateway in this comparison settles payments on-chain, and on-chain crypto transactions are final once confirmed. There is no card-network reversal mechanism, so there are no chargebacks. Eliminating chargebacks and fraud-related fund holds is one of the main reasons merchants accept crypto in the first place.
Is BitPay still a good choice in 2026?
Yes, for the right business. BitPay is an established, regulated processor with fiat settlement and a strong reputation. It remains a solid option if you want a trusted intermediary, fiat payouts to your bank, and do not mind verification or a roughly 1% fee. The alternatives in this guide are for merchants whose specific needs — no KYC, flat fees, or self-custody — BitPay does not meet.
What GriffNode costs
GriffNode charges a flat monthly fee and takes no percentage of your sales. Starter is free, Business is $49 a month and Professional is $129 a month. Process $1,000 or $1,000,000 and the price does not change. See the pricing page for what each plan includes, or work out what your current processor is really costing you with the crypto fee calculator and the chargeback cost calculator.