7 min read
TidePay vs BitPay: Crypto Subscriptions for Merchants
TidePay vs BitPay: BitPay emails a crypto invoice every cycle; TidePay charges renewals automatically, straight to your wallet. Fees and fit compared.
TidePay vs BitPay is really a question about how a crypto subscription renews. BitPay emails your customer a new invoice every billing cycle, and the customer has to pay it. TidePay charges each renewal automatically from a wallet the customer approved once, and the money lands in your wallet, not in a processor's account.
Short verdict
Choose BitPay if you want crypto payments settled to your bank in dollars, euros or another fiat currency, you accept Bitcoin and many other coins, or you sell through plugins and in store.
Choose TidePay if you sell subscriptions and want renewals charged without the customer acting each month, payments in your own wallet within minutes, and a lower fee on small plans.
Some merchants use both: BitPay for one-off sales with fiat settlement, TidePay for recurring stablecoin plans.
Full disclosure: TidePay publishes this comparison. BitPay facts come from BitPay's own pricing, help and developer pages, linked below. Last checked: October 2026.
Who each platform is best for
BitPay is best for established businesses that want to accept many cryptocurrencies, receive fiat in a bank account, and plug crypto into an existing store, invoice or point-of-sale setup. Its long operating history and licensing matter to finance and compliance teams.
TidePay is best for SaaS products, memberships, communities and creators that bill on a schedule in stablecoins. It suits businesses that want renewals to happen automatically, prefer to hold USDC themselves, or need to split each payment with partners or affiliates.
TidePay vs BitPay at a glance
BitPay | TidePay | |
|---|---|---|
Recurring model | Emails the customer a new bill on a schedule (weekly, monthly or yearly); the customer pays each one | Customer approves once from their wallet; each renewal is charged automatically |
Custody | BitPay collects payments and settles them to you each business day | Non-custodial: each payment goes straight to your wallet |
Fees | 2% + 25¢ per paid invoice under $500K a month, 1.5% + 25¢ up to $1M, 1% + 25¢ above; higher for high-risk industries | 1% per successful charge, 0.8% above $25K a month; no fixed fee and no monthly fee |
Networks and tokens | Bitcoin and Lightning, Ethereum, Polygon, Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, Solana, Litecoin, XRP and others, including USDC and USDT | USDC and USDT on Polygon, Arbitrum, Base, Optimism and Solana; EURC on Base and Solana |
Settlement | Daily, to a bank in USD, EUR, GBP and five other currencies, or to a crypto address; US ACH arrives two business days later, minimum $20; USDC minimum 200 | No settlement step: each payment arrives within minutes, with no minimum |
Network gas | Paid by the customer when they send each invoice payment [VERIFY] | Covered by TidePay on renewals; paid by the customer on one-time payments |
Integrations | Email billing, plugins for Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Wix, BigCommerce and WHMCS, in-store payments, payouts, QuickBooks export | Paylinks, embedded checkout, REST API with signed webhooks, Discord roles, paid Telegram groups, split payments, per-link affiliates |
Account setup | Business verification with company and ID documents; processing limits depend on verification tier | Create an account and add the wallet you want to be paid in |
What a subscription costs in fees
BitPay's fixed 25¢ per invoice matters most on small plans, which is where most subscriptions sit.
Calculated from BitPay's and TidePay's published pricing, October 2026
On a $20 monthly plan, BitPay's fee is $0.65 and $19.35 is settled to you the next business day. TidePay's fee is $0.20, and $19.80 in USDC reaches your wallet within minutes.
How BitPay handles recurring billing
BitPay's subscriptions run through its email billing tool. According to BitPay's help center, you create a bill, mark it as recurring and pick a schedule: weekly, monthly or yearly, or a custom schedule through the API. BitPay then emails the bill to your customer on each date.
The customer opens the email, clicks to pay and sends the payment from their wallet. Nothing is charged unless they do. That works well for invoices between businesses, where someone in accounts payable expects a bill. For consumer subscriptions, every renewal depends on a customer noticing an email and acting on it, which is where involuntary churn comes from.
Once a bill is paid, BitPay collects the payment and settles it to you every business day, in fiat to your bank or in crypto to your address. Fiat settlement in US dollars arrives by ACH two business days after it is issued.
How TidePay subscriptions work
TidePay uses a pull model instead of invoices. At checkout, the customer connects a wallet and approves the subscription once. On each renewal date, TidePay charges the approved amount automatically and sends it straight to your wallet, with its 1% fee taken in the same transaction.
For a subscription business, that changes the day-to-day:
Renewals don't wait on the customer. There is no email to miss. If a wallet lacks funds, TidePay retries on a schedule and tells you through a signed webhook.
You hold the money from the first minute. There is no daily settlement batch and no minimum: each payment is in your wallet within minutes of the charge.
Gas on renewals is on us. TidePay covers the network fee on every automatic renewal. On one-time payments, the customer pays it.
Revenue can be shared at the source. Split payments pay a partner or affiliate in the same transaction as the charge.
The trade-off is that you receive stablecoins, not fiat. If you need dollars or euros in a bank, you convert USDC yourself through an exchange or off-ramp of your choice.
Where BitPay is better
BitPay has real strengths, and for some merchants they decide the choice:
Fiat in your bank account. BitPay converts payments and settles to a bank in US dollars, euros, pounds and five other currencies. With TidePay, you receive stablecoins and handle conversion yourself.
More coins. Customers can pay BitPay invoices in Bitcoin, Lightning, Ether, Litecoin, XRP and other assets. TidePay accepts stablecoins only.
Store plugins and in-person payments. BitPay has ready-made plugins for Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Wix, BigCommerce and WHMCS, plus point-of-sale tools.
Licensing and history. BitPay has processed crypto payments since 2011 and holds a New York BitLicense, which can matter to finance and compliance teams.
Large volumes. Above $1 million a month, BitPay's rate drops to 1% plus 25¢, close to TidePay's on larger payments.
If you mostly sell one-off orders, need fiat settlement, or want customers to pay in Bitcoin, BitPay is likely the better fit.
How to set up automatic crypto subscriptions with TidePay
You can keep BitPay for one-off sales and move only your recurring plans. Setup takes a few minutes:
Create a free TidePay account and add the wallet you want to be paid in.
Create an offer for each plan. Set the price in USDC, pick monthly or yearly billing, and choose the networks to accept. [SCREENSHOT: creating a monthly USDC plan in the TidePay dashboard]
Choose how customers check out: share a paylink, drop the embedded checkout into your site with one script tag, or create subscriptions through the REST API.
Connect access. Point signed webhooks at your app, or link a Discord server or Telegram group so paid access is granted and removed automatically.
Invite existing subscribers. Send current BitPay subscribers the new paylink; each approves once, and renewals run on their own from then on. [SCREENSHOT: the checkout where a customer approves a monthly subscription]
Not sure which networks to accept? See our guide to the cheapest network for payments.
Frequently asked questions
Does BitPay support recurring payments?
Yes, through email billing. BitPay sends your customer a new bill on a weekly, monthly or yearly schedule, and the customer pays each one from their wallet. Payment doesn't happen automatically.
What are BitPay's fees?
BitPay charges 2% plus 25¢ per paid invoice under $500,000 a month, 1.5% plus 25¢ up to $1 million, and 1% plus 25¢ above that. High-risk industries pay more.
Is TidePay a BitPay alternative for subscriptions?
Yes. TidePay is built for recurring billing: the customer approves once and renewals are charged automatically, for 1% per successful charge with no fixed fee. It accepts stablecoins only and doesn't settle to a bank.
Does TidePay or BitPay hold my money?
BitPay collects payments and settles them to you each business day. TidePay is non-custodial: each payment goes straight from the customer's wallet to yours.
Can I get paid in dollars to my bank?
With BitPay, yes, in USD and seven other currencies. With TidePay you receive USDC or USDT and convert them through an exchange or off-ramp you choose.
Can I use TidePay and BitPay together?
Yes. Many merchants keep BitPay for one-off orders and fiat settlement, and use TidePay for subscriptions that should renew without the customer's action.
Subscriptions that renew on their own
TidePay charges stablecoin subscriptions automatically on Polygon, Arbitrum, Base, Optimism and Solana, for 1% per successful charge with no fixed fee and no monthly fee. Every payment lands in your wallet within minutes, and gas on renewals is on us.
Start free and create your first plan, or read how recurring billing works.
Know merchants billing crypto customers by email? The TidePay affiliate program pays 30% of TidePay's fee on every charge they make, for life, on-chain.