NowPayments Alternative — Why Merchants Are Switching to Self-Hosted
NowPayments is a popular API-based crypto payment gateway, but merchants increasingly face issues with custodial risk, recurring fees around 0.5%, withdrawal thresholds, and limited customization. XPay Labs is the self-hosted, non-custodial alternative that gives you full control — zero transaction fees, direct settlement, and multi-chain by design.
NowPayments is a popular hosted payment gateway — but it charges ~0.5% per transaction, holds your funds custodially until withdrawal, enforces minimum payout thresholds, and limits checkout branding. XPay Labs is a self-hosted payment gateway that gives you zero transaction fees, support for TRON, EVM chains, and SUI, full non-custodial control, and instant settlement without withdrawal limits. If you process meaningful volume, need TRON USDT support, or want to own your payment stack end-to-end, XPay Labs is the NowPayments alternative you are looking for.
NowPayments vs XPay Labs
A side-by-side comparison of the features that matter most to merchants.
| Feature | NowPayments | XPay Labs |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ~0.5% per transaction | Free (self-hosted, zero fees) |
| Supported Chains | BTC, LTC, ETH, TRON, BSC, MATIC, XRP, XLM, SOL, ADA, DOGE, more | TRON, EVM (ETH, BSC, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base), SUI |
| Stablecoin Focus | USDT, USDC, DAI (limited native chain support) | Native USDT/USDC on every supported chain |
| Non-Custodial | No — NowPayments holds funds until withdrawal | Yes — self-hosted, direct wallet settlement |
| Minimum Withdrawal | Yes (e.g., 0.01 BTC equivalent) | None — funds arrive instantly |
| White-Label | Limited (partner plan, additional cost) | Yes — full customization |
| Webhooks | IPN callbacks available | HMAC-signed webhooks, real-time |
| Settlement Control | Manual withdrawal with fees | Instant settlement to your wallets |
| Self-Hosted | No — SaaS only | Yes — Docker deployment |
| Source Access | No | Source-available |
| API-First Design | REST API + IPN | REST API + webhook simulation |
Detailed Feature Breakdown
A closer look at how XPay Labs and NowPayments compare across the dimensions that matter.
Pricing
NowPayments charges a ~0.5% transaction fee on every payment. On top of that, withdrawing your funds to an external wallet incurs an additional network fee plus a 0.5% withdrawal fee. For a business processing $100,000/month, that is $500 in transaction fees plus withdrawal costs — over $6,000+/year.
XPay Labs is completely free. Since you self-host the software, there are zero per-transaction fees, zero platform fees, and zero withdrawal fees. Your only cost is the VPS hosting (as low as $10/month) and network gas fees for on-chain verification (typically fractions of a cent on TRON or L2s). At $100,000/month volume, your annual savings exceed $6,000.
Cost comparison at $100k/month volume
Supported Blockchains
This is where the trade-offs become visible. NowPayments supports an impressive breadth of chains — BTC, LTC, ETH, TRON, BSC, XRP, SOL, ADA, DOGE, XLM, and others. For merchants accepting a wide variety of UTXO-based coins and altcoins, NowPayments has broad coverage.
However, breadth does not equal depth. NowPayments lacks support for L2 networks(Arbitrum, Optimism, Base) where transaction costs are lowest, and does not support SUI, an emerging chain with growing stablecoin volume.
XPay Labs focuses on deep stablecoin-native supportacross TRON, all major EVM chains, and SUI. If your customers pay with TRC-20 USDT (the dominant stablecoin in emerging markets), USDC on Arbitrum, or USDT on BSC, XPay Labs provides a smoother, lower-cost experience with direct settlement — no withdrawal requests, no minimums, no delays.
Security & Custody Model
NowPayments operates a custodial model. When a customer pays you, the funds go to NowPayments' wallets. To access your money, you must submit a withdrawal request, which incurs a 0.5% fee and a network gas cost. NowPayments also enforces minimum withdrawal thresholds — typically 0.01 BTC equivalent (roughly $500–$1,000 depending on market conditions). Small merchants may find themselves unable to withdraw frequently.
XPay Labs is non-custodial. You run the software on your own infrastructure. Private keys never leave your server. Each invoice generates a unique deposit address derived from your own node seed. Funds settle directly to your configured wallet addresses in real-time. No withdrawal requests, no minimums, no fees, no delays. Your keys, your coins, your schedule.
Custody comparison
Funds held by NowPayments. Manual withdrawal required. Minimum threshold + 0.5% withdrawal fee applied.
You control private keys. Funds settle instantly to your wallets. No third party ever holds your funds.
Risk scenario: If NowPayments experiences a regulatory issue, security incident, or downtime, your funds and payment flow are impacted. With XPay Labs, your operation is fully independent.
White-Label & Customization
NowPayments offers white-label options, but they are locked behind their higher-tier Partner Plan with custom pricing. The standard checkout page displays NowPayments branding and a hosted URL. You have limited control over the look and feel of the payment experience presented to your customers.
XPay Labs is fully white-label by default. Since you own the deployment, you control every aspect of the checkout — brand colors, logo, custom domain, email templates, and confirmation pages. There is no "Powered by XPay Labs" badge. Your customers see a seamless checkout that reinforces your brand, not a third-party gateway.
Customization comparison
White-label only on Partner plan (custom pricing). Standard checkout shows third-party branding.
Full white-label out of the box. Custom domain, colors, logo, and email templates — no extra cost.
Settlement & Webhook Integration
NowPayments provides IPN (Instant Payment Notification) callbacks and a REST API for payment management. However, settlement is not instant — you must manually withdraw funds from your NowPayments balance, paying the 0.5% withdrawal fee plus network costs each time. This adds operational overhead and eats into margins.
XPay Labs provides HMAC-signed webhooks for secure server-to-server notifications, a webhook simulator for end-to-end testing, and a comprehensive REST API. Settlement happens in real-time — funds arrive directly in your wallet as soon as the on-chain confirmation threshold is met. No withdrawal step, no fee, no delay.
Developer features
Transparent Pricing — No Hidden Fees
What you actually pay with each solution.
NowPayments
0.5%
- 0.5% fee on every transaction
- 0.5% fee on withdrawals
- Minimum withdrawal threshold
- White-label at extra cost
- Broad altcoin support
XPay Labs
Free
- Zero transaction fees
- No platform or monthly fees
- Only network gas costs
- Free webhook infrastructure
- Unlimited API calls
Annual Savings
$7k+
- At $100k/month volume
- Scales with your growth
- No withdrawal fees
- No surprise fee increases
Who Should Switch — And Who Should Stay
An honest assessment to help you decide.
Switch to XPay Labs if...
- You process over $10k/month and want to eliminate the 0.5% fee overhead
- Your customers primarily pay with TRON (TRC-20 USDT) or stablecoins on L2s
- You want instant, direct settlement — no withdrawal requests or minimums
- You need non-custodial control: your keys, your funds, your infrastructure
- You want a fully white-label checkout experience under your own brand
- You run a development team that can manage a Docker-based deployment
- You want auditable, self-hosted infrastructure you can customize
Stay with NowPayments if...
- You need to accept a wide variety of UTXO-based coins (BTC, LTC, DOGE) and altcoins
- You prefer a fully managed, hosted API solution with no server maintenance
- Your volume is low enough that the 0.5% fee is negligible compared to setup effort
- You do not have the DevOps resources to deploy and maintain a self-hosted system
- Your customers primarily pay with non-EVM coins that XPay Labs does not support
- You rely on NowPayments' fiat conversion and auto-withdrawal features
How to Migrate from NowPayments to XPay Labs
The transition is straightforward. Here is the playbook.
Deploy XPay Labs
Clone the repository and deploy via Docker Compose on your VPS or cloud server. The setup script handles database initialization, Redis configuration, and webhook endpoint registration. Full documentation is available in the repository.
Configure Your Wallet Addresses
Add your TRON, EVM, and SUI wallet addresses to the XPay Labs dashboard. These are the settlement addresses where payments will arrive. You retain full control of the private keys — XPay Labs never holds your funds.
Generate API Credentials
Create API keys for your application from the XPay Labs admin panel. Each integration gets its own key with configurable permissions (read, write, webhook). This replaces your NowPayments API key.
Update Your Checkout Integration
Replace NowPayments API calls with XPay Labs REST API endpoints. The invoice lifecycle is similar — create a charge, receive a payment address, and listen for on-chain confirmation via webhooks. Our HMAC-signed webhooks provide the same reliability as NowPayments IPN.
Configure Webhooks & Go Live
Set up webhook endpoints in XPay Labs to receive payment.pending, payment.confirmed, and payment.failed events. Run test payments on each chain you support. Once confirmed, redirect your production traffic and deactivate your NowPayments API key.
Ready to Own Your Payment Infrastructure?
Stop paying 0.5% per transaction. Stop waiting for withdrawals. Deploy XPay Labs in minutes — zero fees, non-custodial, multi-chain. Join merchants who have already switched from NowPayments.