CoinPayments alternative: GriffNode compared

CoinPayments has been around a long time and is a reasonable default for merchants who want one account that handles a wide catalogue of assets. It is custodial, which means your payments arrive in a CoinPayments wallet balance before they arrive with you.

The two things worth checking before you commit are the token rate and the custody model. If you mostly take stablecoins, you are on the 1% tier, not the 0.5% one. And if your revenue sitting in a provider's wallet is a risk you would rather not carry, that is the more important difference.

GriffNode vs CoinPayments

CoinPayments figures are quoted from their published fee page.

Wallet deposits are free up to $15,000 a month on CoinPayments and charged 0.5% above that, per their fee page. Network fees are separate on both platforms. Be careful with older review articles quoting very large coin counts for CoinPayments, as the supported asset list has been reduced since those were written.

CoinPayments alternatives worth a look

One clause each, so you can narrow it down fast.

• GriffNode: a flat monthly fee with no cut of the payment, non-custodial settlement, and no merchant KYC.
• CoinPayments: a broad asset catalogue on a custodial wallet model, charging less on coins than on tokens.
• NOWPayments: a very large currency list with percentage pricing and both custodial and non-custodial flows.
• BitPay: custodial with tiered percentage pricing and daily fiat settlement to a bank account.
• CoinGate: a European, compliance-first processor with merchant verification and euro settlement.
• BTCPay Server: free and open-source and fully self-custodial, if you are willing to run the infrastructure.

The stablecoin tier is the one that catches people

CoinPayments charges 0.5% for coins on their own blockchain and 1% for tokens, and stablecoins are tokens. If most of your customers pay in USDT or USDC, which is increasingly what merchants report, your effective rate is the higher one, not the headline one.

On GriffNode, a stablecoin payment costs exactly what a Bitcoin payment costs, which is nothing on top of your monthly plan. At $50,000 a month in stablecoin volume, 1% is $500 and GriffNode's Professional plan is $129.

Custodial balances are a decision, not a detail

With a custodial processor, payments land in the provider's wallet and you withdraw from it. That adds a step, a counterparty, and a policy layer between you and your revenue.

GriffNode has no balance to withdraw from, because there is never a balance. Each payment is sent to an address derived from your own extended public key, so it is yours from the moment it confirms. There is more on this in non-custodial vs custodial payment processors.

How to switch from CoinPayments to GriffNode

Clear your custodial balance before you stop logging in.

1. Withdraw your CoinPayments balance. Move anything sitting in your CoinPayments wallet out to a wallet you control before you migrate, so nothing is left behind in an account you stop checking.
2. Export your wallet xPub. Take the extended public key from the wallet you want paid into. GriffNode derives a unique address per payment from it and can never spend from it. See the wallet setup guide.
3. Create a free GriffNode account. Sign up with an email, paste your xPub, and enable the coins and stablecoins your customers actually use.
4. Replace your API calls. Swap CoinPayments transaction creation for a GriffNode payment call and repoint your IPN handler at the GriffNode webhook. Start with the quick start.
5. Verify signatures, test, then cut over. Verify every webhook signature as shown in the webhook security docs, run a full payment in test mode, then switch to live keys.

Frequently asked questions

What does CoinPayments charge?

CoinPayments publishes 0.5% for coins on their own blockchain and 1% for tokens, which includes stablecoins, plus network fees. There is no setup fee and no monthly fee. Wallet deposits are free up to $15,000 a month and charged 0.5% above that.

Is CoinPayments custodial?

Yes. CoinPayments operates a custodial wallet model, so payments arrive in your CoinPayments balance and you withdraw from there. GriffNode is non-custodial: each payment goes to an address derived from your own wallet key, so there is no balance to withdraw.

Is GriffNode cheaper than CoinPayments for stablecoins?

For most merchants, yes. Stablecoins are tokens, so they fall on the 1% tier at CoinPayments. GriffNode charges a flat monthly fee regardless of which asset was used, so a stablecoin payment costs the same as a Bitcoin payment, which is nothing beyond your plan.

Does CoinPayments require KYC?

Their published fee page does not state verification requirements, so check current terms with the provider directly rather than relying on older articles. GriffNode requires no merchant KYC: you sign up with an email address and connect your own wallet.

How many coins does GriffNode support?

GriffNode supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin and Dash, plus ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum including USDT, USDC, DAI, WBTC, LINK and UNI. It is a deliberately focused list covering what the large majority of paying customers actually hold.