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TidePay vs NOWPayments: Which Is Better for Subscriptions?
TidePay vs NOWPayments: email invoices, a ChangeNOW balance or an on-chain charge from the wallet? Compare how each renews crypto subscriptions.
NOWPayments and TidePay both let you charge customers in crypto on a schedule, and both send payments to your wallet. The difference in TidePay vs NOWPayments is what happens on renewal day. NOWPayments offers three ways to bill: an emailed invoice each period, automatic renewals from the customer's ChangeNOW balance, or a billing service that deducts from balances you manage. TidePay has one: the customer approves once from their own wallet, and every renewal is charged on-chain automatically.
The short verdict
Pick NOWPayments if your customers want to pay in many different coinNOWPayments and TidePay both let you charge customers in crypto on a schedule, and both send payments to your wallet. The difference in TidePay vs NOWPayments is what happens on renewal day. NOWPayments offers three ways to bill: an emailed invoice each period, automatic renewals from the customer's ChangeNOW balance, or a billing service that deducts from balances you manage. TidePay has one: the customer approves once from their own wallet, and every renewal is charged on-chain automatically.s, you're fine with them paying each invoice (or holding a ChangeNOW balance), and you want one gateway for one-off payments too.
Pick TidePay if you sell subscriptions in stablecoins and want renewals to happen from the customer's own wallet, without emails to chase or a third-party account to fund.
Last checked: November 2026. NOWPayments facts come from its own help center, product pages and blog, linked below.
How NOWPayments subscriptions work
NOWPayments describes itself as "a non-custodial service" that supports 75+ cryptocurrencies (about); its subscriptions page mentions "over 300 assets available for payments, including fiat." For recurring billing it offers three models.
1. Email subscriptions (standard)
You create a plan and add subscribers by email. Each period, NOWPayments sends a new payment request, and the customer opens it and pays. In NOWPayments' own words, "Standard Email Subscriptions do not automatically withdraw funds from external wallets" (source). The API has endpoints for plans (POST /v1/subscriptions/plans, with interval_day) and subscriptions (POST /v1/subscriptions, with the customer's email) (API overview).
2. Automatic renewals via ChangeNOW (new)
Announced on October 31, 2026: customers can choose "automatic billing through their ChangeNOW account" at first checkout. "Future payments are collected from their ChangeNOW balance on the scheduled date," with intervals of 1, 7, 30, 31 or 365 days (source). Renewals depend on "available funds, authorization remaining active, and other payment conditions."
3. Billing service
The subscriptions page describes a billing service where you "manage customer balances, and subscription amounts are deducted automatically" on the scheduled date. Customers top up a deposit balance first.
Fees
From the fees page: 1% for payments without exchange, 1.5% for multi-currency or fixed-rate payments, plus network fees. When funds are forwarded to your wallet, a network fee applies on the customer's deposit and again on the payout to you. The subscriptions page says rates can go "as low as 0.3%" with custom offers.
How TidePay subscriptions work
TidePay is non-custodial recurring billing in stablecoins, with one renewal model. The customer opens your paylink or checkout, connects their wallet and approves the subscription once. On EVM networks they also sign the terms: the maximum per charge, the minimum interval and the fixed list of payees, which TidePay's contract enforces. Each cycle, TidePay charges the subscription automatically, and the money moves from the customer's wallet to yours in one transaction. On Solana, charges run through the @solana/subscriptions program.
No account for the customer: a wallet is enough.
No balance to top up: renewals come from the wallet the customer already uses.
Failed renewals: the subscription goes past due, TidePay retries for 7 days, then cancels it and sends a signed webhook.
Customer control: they can cancel, or revoke the approval from their wallet at any time.
Assets: USDC and USDT on Polygon, Arbitrum, Base, Optimism and Solana; EURC on Base and Solana.
Fee: 1% per successful charge, 0.8% above $25K a month. TidePay covers network gas on automatic renewals; on one-time payments the payer covers gas.
Extras: trials, billing cycle anchors, customer portal, split payments to up to 10 wallets, Discord roles and Telegram groups, and a sandbox that fast-forwards up to 12 billing cycles.
TidePay vs NOWPayments side by side
NOWPayments | TidePay | |
|---|---|---|
Renewal models | Emailed invoice; ChangeNOW balance; billing service balances | Charged on-chain from the customer's wallet |
What the customer needs | An email (standard) or a ChangeNOW account (automatic) | Only a wallet |
Customer action each cycle | Pays the invoice (standard); none if the ChangeNOW balance covers it | None |
Limits the customer signs | Not described | Maximum per charge and minimum interval, enforced on-chain (EVM) |
Failed renewal | Depends on balance and authorization; not detailed | Past due, 7 days of retries, then canceled with a webhook |
Assets | 75+ cryptocurrencies (300+ assets per subscriptions page) | USDC, USDT; EURC on Base and Solana |
Fee | 1% (1.5% multi-currency) + network fees; down to 0.3% with custom offers | 1% (0.8% above $25K/month); gas covered on renewals |
Billing intervals | 1, 7, 30, 31 or 365 days (automatic); | Configurable, with trials and cycle anchors |
Communities | Not covered on the pages we checked | Discord paid roles, Telegram paid groups |
What renewal day looks like
NOWPayments, standard: the period ends → the customer gets an email → they open it, pick a coin and pay from their wallet → payment confirmed. If they miss the email, nothing happens until you follow up.
NOWPayments, automatic: the period ends → the amount is collected from the customer's ChangeNOW balance, if it has enough funds → payment confirmed.
TidePay: the period ends → TidePay charges the customer's wallet within the signed limits → USDC lands in your wallet and a payment.succeeded webhook fires. If the wallet is short, TidePay retries for 7 days before canceling.
Where NOWPayments is the better choice
Coin choice. If your customers want to pay in BTC, ETH, SOL or a long tail of altcoins, NOWPayments covers far more assets than TidePay's three stablecoins.
One gateway for everything. One-off payments, invoices, subscriptions, payouts and custody in one account.
Custom pricing at volume. Its subscriptions page mentions rates as low as 0.3% with custom offers.
Customers already on ChangeNOW. For them, automatic renewals from an existing balance are easy.
Where TidePay is the better choice
Renewals without asking. The customer approves once; every renewal after that is charged automatically from their own wallet. No email to open, no balance to keep at another company.
Fewer lost renewals. With emailed invoices, every cycle is a new decision for the customer. With a wallet charge plus 7 days of retries, a renewal only fails if the customer cancels or their wallet stays empty.
Trust you can show. On EVM, the customer signs a maximum per charge and a minimum interval, and the contract enforces them. They can revoke at any time.
Predictable cost. 1% per charge with gas covered on renewals, instead of a network fee on each leg.
Built for subscriptions. Trials, cycle anchors, a customer portal, signed
subscription.*webhooks, split payments and paid Discord and Telegram access.Stable prices. A 20 USDC plan costs 20 USDC every month, for you and for the customer.
FAQ
Does NOWPayments support automatic crypto subscriptions?
Yes, since October 31, 2026, through the customer's ChangeNOW account: renewals are collected from their ChangeNOW balance. Standard NOWPayments subscriptions email an invoice each period that the customer pays by hand.
Do customers need an account to subscribe with TidePay?
No. They connect any supported wallet, approve the subscription once, and renewals are charged from that wallet.
Which is cheaper, TidePay or NOWPayments?
Both start at 1% for single-currency payments. NOWPayments adds network fees on the deposit and on the payout to your wallet, and offers custom rates at volume. TidePay charges 1% (0.8% above $25K a month) and covers gas on automatic renewals.
Can I accept Bitcoin subscriptions with TidePay?
No. TidePay subscriptions are in stablecoins (USDC, USDT, and EURC on Base and Solana), so the plan price stays the same every cycle. For Bitcoin, NOWPayments is the better fit.
Is NOWPayments non-custodial?
Its help center says "NOWPayments is a non-custodial service" and that funds go to your payout wallet. Automatic renewals, however, depend on funds the customer keeps in a ChangeNOW account.
Try TidePay for subscriptions
Create a free TidePay account, set up a plan in USDC, and share a paylink. Read more about recurring billing on TidePay. You pay 1% per successful charge and nothing else.