ColdtillColdtill vs BTCPay Server
BTCPay Server is the best-known self-hosted crypto payment gateway: free, MIT licensed and focused on Bitcoin and Lightning. Coldtill is a self-hosted gateway built for stablecoins and many chains, with deposit addresses that can only pay your cold wallet. Both run on your own server, need no sign-up and take no KYC.
The short answer: pick BTCPay Server if you sell for Bitcoin and want Lightning. Pick Coldtill if your customers pay in USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL or TRX, or you want to take 200+ coins and keep stablecoins.
Side by side
| Coldtill | BTCPay Server | |
|---|---|---|
| Coins | 200+ coins on 35+ chains; BTC, ETH, SOL, TRX, BNB, POL, USDT and USDC directly on 7 chains | Bitcoin and Lightning; other coins through community plugins |
| Stablecoins | USDT and USDC built in on Ethereum, Base, Polygon, BNB Chain, Tron and Solana | Through plugins, such as a third-party USDT plugin for Tron, Ethereum and Polygon, or Liquid USDT |
| Take any coin, receive stablecoins | Built in (auto-convert through NEAR Intents), credited only when the stablecoin reaches your cold wallet | No. Third-party exchange plugins swap altcoins into BTC, with provider fees and minimums |
| Where incoming funds wait | Deposit contracts that can only pay your cold wallet; Bitcoin goes to your wallet's own addresses | Your own Bitcoin wallet, watched by its public key; Lightning needs hot keys on the server |
| Install | One command on a Linux server with 2 GB of RAM; connects to RPC nodes you choose | Docker script on a Linux server; about 4 GB of RAM and a pruned Bitcoin node, first sync takes 1–5 days |
| Store integrations | WooCommerce, REST API, TypeScript SDK, signed webhooks | WooCommerce, Shopify, BigCommerce, Ghost, Ecwid, Greenfield API |
| Extras | Payouts with two-factor approval, many shops per server, Tron energy rental | Point of sale, crowdfunding, payment requests, pay buttons |
| Licence and cost | Source not published. Free (2% sweep fee), Standard $499 once (1%), Pro $999 once (no fee); no fee on Bitcoin or auto-converted payments | Open source (MIT), free, no fees |
| Support | Email; security fixes free for every buyer | Community |
Where Coldtill is stronger
Stablecoins and many chains are the core, not add-ons. BTCPay's own FAQ says "Bitcoin is the only focus of the project and its core developers". Other coins "are maintained by their respective communities", the developers "don't add alternative coins on request", and an integration that isn't maintained "will be removed". In Coldtill, USDT, USDC and the native coins of seven chains are part of the product and tested together, and auto-convert extends that to 200+ coins on 35+ chains.
You get paid in dollars, not Bitcoin. BTCPay's exchange plugins (SideShift, FixedFloat, Exolix, Trocador) take altcoins by swapping them into Bitcoin, so you still hold a coin whose price moves after every sale, and the FAQ notes those providers "charge your users a fee and can have minimums". Coldtill's auto-convert delivers USDC or USDT to your cold wallet, so every sale stays at its dollar value. That keeps your books in dollars and makes accounting and tax returns much simpler.
A safe place for incoming payments on every chain. For Bitcoin both are safe: they watch your wallet's public key, so the server never holds the keys. Coldtill extends that guarantee to Ethereum-style chains, Tron and Solana with deposit contracts that can only send to your cold wallet, so a break-in on the server can't redirect a payment.
Lighter to run. No Bitcoin node to sync and no days of waiting: Coldtill starts on a 2 GB server and talks to RPC nodes you choose. The trade-off is that you trust those nodes to report deposits, so the docs recommend at least two paid or self-hosted nodes per network.
Where BTCPay Server is stronger
- Lightning. Coldtill doesn't take Lightning payments yet.
- Open source and free. BTCPay is MIT licensed with no fees at all. Coldtill's source isn't published, and only the one-time Pro licence removes the fee completely.
- Its own full node. BTCPay checks Bitcoin payments against your own node rather than an RPC provider.
- Ecosystem. A point of sale, crowdfunding and a long list of store plugins, including Shopify.
Which should you choose?
Choose BTCPay Server for a Bitcoin-first business, especially if you want Lightning or a point of sale.
Choose Coldtill if most of your customers pay in stablecoins or on Ethereum, Tron, Solana, Base, Polygon or BNB Chain, if you want to take almost any coin and receive USDC or USDT, or if you want deposit addresses on every chain that a compromised server can't touch.
Facts about BTCPay Server come from docs.btcpayserver.org, its altcoin FAQ, hardware specs and plugin directory, checked on 15 October 2026. See also all self-hosted gateways compared.