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General BTCPay FAQ

This page contains general questions about BTCPay. What it is, how it works, how to install it.

General FAQ

What is BTCPay Server?

BTCPay Server is a free and open-source cryptocurrency payment processor which allows you to receive payments in Bitcoin (on-chain and via the Lightning Network) and altcoins directly, with no fees, transaction cost or a middleman.

BTCPay is a non-custodial invoicing system which eliminates the involvement of a third-party. Payments with BTCPay go directly to your wallet, which increases the privacy and security. Your private keys are never uploaded to the server. There is no address re-use since each invoice generates a new address deriving from your xpubkey.

Why should I choose BTCPay over other processors?

The most significant advantage of BTCPay over other processors is that it is entirely free and open-source, non-custodial software, created by the community. While most of the other processors hold your Bitcoins, BTCPay allows you to receive payments P2P, directly to your software or hardware wallet.

BTCPay is a self-hosted software. This means that you are your own payment processor. There are no subscriptions, no transaction fees. There's no third-party involvement which significantly increases the censorship-resistance, privacy, and security for you and your customers. Furthermore, BTCPay enables you to become a processor yourself, so that you can offer different packages and help spread the adoption locally or globally.

With BTCPay, you are your own bank.

Why is everyone so excited about BTCPay?

The community is excited about BTCPay and often recommends it to merchants or content creators because it offers a direct way for store-owners and charities to receive Bitcoin payments, which significantly improves the privacy of the customers/donors.

BTCPay doesn't compromise on censorship-resistance, which is one of the main features of Bitcoin. Besides that, being free and open-source it gives an excellent opportunity for developers to build things and integrations on top of BTCPay.

Who can use BTCPay?

BTCPay server is a feature-rich software with plenty of use-cases that can solve problems for different types of users. Merchants, content creators, lightning network users, exchanges, hosting providers and many others can find it useful. See the Use Case page for detailed breakdown of BTCPay use-cases.

How much does it cost to run BTCPay Server?

BTCPay is free software. You can run it as a self-hosted solution on your own local server, or use a hosting provider, which is what a majority of users do. Additionally, you can use a third-party BTCPay host and attach your store to it.

If you choose to host it externally, the price depends obviously on the hosting provider. Be sure to choose a VPS which meets the minimal requirements in RAM and storage.

The low-priced VPS servers tested by the community start at around 9$/month.

The Microsoft Azure servers are slightly easier to deploy, but that comfort comes with a higher price-tag of roughly 65$/month. However, the price for the Azure servers can be reduced to approximately 25$/month after the initial sync with penny-pinching.

Why do I need a VPS? Can't I just run BTCPay on my home computer?

Just like you can host a website locally, you can do it with BTCPay. Please be aware that your PC would have to meet the minimal requirements and also run 24/7 if you don't want interruptions of service.

You might also not want to expose your home IP address for an activity related to payment and money.

For all these reasons, while local hosting is suitable for testing, it's not a viable solution for production.

Can the cost of running BTCPay on Microsoft Azure be reduced?

Yes. Currently, the one-click deployment requires Azure Virtual Machine, but if you’re a programmer or understand VM’s you can deploy one on a different VM. Furthermore, the changes in the Bitcoin Core 0.16.0 (BIP159) make it possible to run the full node in the pruned mode to save more disk space.

Also, once the full node is synchronized to the network, you can downgrade the machine on Azure to take a less expensive one.

Please check out How to penny-pinch your Azure deployment.

What are the minimal requirements to run BTCPay?

If you would like to run Bitcoin and Lightning Network nodes, the minimal requirements are :

  • 2GB Ram
  • 80 GB of storage (with pruning enabled)
  • Docker

How to install BTCPay Server?

If you don't have the technical knowledge, we recommend that you use our new web-wizard to deploy BTCPay Server.

There are several other deployment methods you can check out:

How to use WooCommerce store with BTCPay?

How to use BTCPay with Drupal?

How to use BTCPay with Prestashop?

What e-commerce integrations are available?

Currently, BTCPay has integrations with the following e-commerce platforms:

  • WordPress / WooCommerce
  • Magneto
  • Drupal
  • Prestashop
  • Custom integration

If you're a developer, you can develop your own integration, by following the custom integration instructions.

Do I need to have an online store to accept cryptocurrencies?

You can use BTCPay even if you don't have an e-commerce store. You can launch your BTCpay and be the payment processor for your friends or local market. Another use-case is to accept donations through the POS (Point of Sale) app or payment buttons which can be copy-pasted as HTML snippets into any website.

If you do not have a store, but want to create one, read How to Create an Online Store & Accept Bitcoin – Step By Step Guide which teaches you how to build a store from scratch and install BTCPay.

Which cryptocurrencies are supported in BTCPay?

BTCPay natively supports:

  • Bitcoin (BTC)
  • Bitcoin Gold (BTG)
  • Bitcore (BTX)
  • Dash (DASH)
  • Dogecoin (DOGE)
  • Feathercoin (FTC)
  • Groestlcoin (GRS)
  • Litecoin (LTC)
  • Monacoin (MONA)
  • Polis (POLIS)
  • Viacoin (VIA)

Why can't I just give my Bitcoin address to a buyer?

Re-using the address for receiving payments is a privacy issue. Providing a different address manually to each customer is not an optimal solution. Imagine having to send an e-mail to everyone that wants to pay you with cryptocurrency.

BTCPay solves the address re-use and automates the checkout process. The software is a complete, automated invoicing system. It integrates into your checkout process, and customers can pay you in Bitcoin or altcoins in a few clicks.

After the payment, the software notifies your store that the order has been paid/completed. Depending on the e-commerce software you're using, it can also change the order status. All you have to worry about is getting items shipped, leave the invoicing and payment processing to BTCPay.

Does BTCPay need my private key?

Absolutely not. The fact that BTCPay Server never needs access to your master private key for on-chain transactions is a huge security advantage. Even if your server gets hacked, your funds from the on-chain transactions are always safe. Securing your on-chain funds comes down to securing your wallet.

If you have a lightning node, BTCPay technically has access to the keys (macarons) of your LN.

Address re-use - How BTCPay creates a different address?

BTCPay generates a different address for each invoice. The address is derived from your xpubkey. Your private keys are never uploaded or required by BTCPay. The software only needs your extended public key. You can create your private key in your software or hardware wallet and import the public key (xpub) into BTCPay so that it can derive addresses from it. Meanwhile, you should stick to the best practices for protecting your private key.

Does BTCPay Server support crypto to fiat conversion?

At this time, it is not possible to instantly convert your payments into fiat through BTCPay. This feature is planned for the future, but there is no ETA.

Where can I get help and support?

BTCPay is an open-source project. It is not a company; there is no e-mail, live-chat or phone support. The software relies on a network of contributors and users to provide support.

If you encountered an issue or have a feature request, please open an issue on GitHub. For more general questions, join our community on Mattermost. Certain community members offer premium (paid) support.

How can I contribute to BTCPay?

There are many ways in which you can contribute to an open-source project like BTCPay.

The easiest way is to use the software, provide feedback and report any bugs or issues you or your customers encounter. If you're a developer, you can help us develop and improve the software by contributing on the GitHub. Translating BTCPay into your native language, helping us with documentation writing are ways in which you can help us out, even if you're not a developer or tech-savvy. We appreciate every contributor to the project.