Best open-source alternatives to PayPal

BTCPay Server is a self-hosted Bitcoin payment processor designed for merchants and organizations that want to accept Bitcoin without relying on intermediaries, transaction fees, or custodial payment providers. It emphasizes privacy and control by keeping private keys under the operator’s ownership and supporting features such as SegWit, Lightning Network integrations, and Tor. The project appears aimed at users who want to run their own payment infrastructure, but it also mentions third-party hosting for those who prefer not to self-host. It includes tools for invoice handling, payment requests, point-of-sale use, crowdfunding, and donation buttons, and it offers a multi-tenant mode for sharing one instance with friends. The README also documents two APIs, including a newer Greenfield API and a legacy BitPay-compatible API for integration and migration.

InvoicePlane is a self-hosted web application intended for individuals or organizations that need to manage invoicing and related billing workflows on their own infrastructure. It centers on creating and sending invoices and quotes, while also keeping client records, products, projects, tasks, and payment activity organized in one place. The project is presented as a libre, MIT-licensed application that can be deployed either via Docker for local development/testing or by uploading the release files to a web server for production use. It supports configuration through environment variables or an `ipconfig.php` file, and the documentation points users to detailed installation, upgrade, and deployment guides for running and maintaining the system.

Kill Bill is an open-source subscription billing and payments platform aimed at businesses that need to manage billing, payments, and SaaS-style subscription operations. It is positioned as a scalable backend for online businesses, including larger SaaS and e-commerce organizations, and emphasizes avoiding vendor lock-in by keeping business and client data under the operator’s control. The project highlights out-of-the-box capabilities such as real-time analytics, financial reporting, trial management, and promotional discounts. It is described as modular and extensible, allowing operators to disable or replace functionality as needed. The README also points to technical documentation, an AWS one-click deployment path, and hosted sandboxes and developer tools through the project’s cloud site.

SHKeeper is a self-hosted cryptocurrency payment processor aimed at merchants who want to accept crypto without intermediaries. It provides an invoice-based payment flow where each invoice maps to a unique address for the selected coin, allowing merchants to track payments by order or external ID. The project is designed for deployment on Kubernetes via Helm and includes guidance for setting up SSL, Lightning LNURL support, and merchant integrations. It also exposes a documented API for operations such as listing supported currencies, creating invoices, checking payment information, handling payouts, retrieving metrics, and receiving callbacks. Ready-made modules are listed for common ecommerce platforms, indicating the software is intended to integrate with online stores.

FOSSBilling is an open-source billing and client management system aimed at online service businesses. It is positioned for web hosting providers, but the README notes that it also fits software licensing, digital downloads, and subscription-based businesses. The project helps automate common operational tasks such as invoicing, payment handling, and client communication. It emphasizes extensibility, multilingual support, and a responsive interface that works on both desktop and mobile devices. The README also points users to a public demo and an installation guide, indicating that the project is intended for self-hosted deployment on standard LAMP/LEMP environments.

SolidInvoice is an open-source invoicing platform aimed at small businesses and freelancers who need to manage everyday billing tasks. It provides a web-based interface for handling clients, contacts, quotes, invoices, taxes, discounts, and payment collection. The project also exposes a RESTful API for integration with other systems and supports notifications through channels such as email, text messages, and HipChat. It can be installed via Docker, from an archived release package, or directly from source for developers and production deployments.

Bitcart is a merchant-focused platform intended for users, merchants, and developers. The README presents it as the central repository for a broader ecosystem of related projects, including core daemons, a merchants API, an admin panel, a ready-made store, a Python SDK, and a scripting language for checkout automation. The project is meant to be easy to set up and use, with the main repository serving as the hub for the ecosystem rather than a complete standalone product description. It also points readers to the documentation site and to linked repositories for deployment, administration, storefronts, and developer tooling. The README indicates an open-source project licensed under MIT.

DePay Widgets is a client-side JavaScript payment widget for integrating crypto payments into web applications. It is designed for developers who want to accept wallet-to-wallet payments without building the payment flow from scratch, and it supports both managed integrations and direct unmanaged payment setups. The widget works across EVM and Solana-based ecosystems and lists many supported blockchains and wallets. It can be installed via CDN or package manager, then imported into JavaScript. The README also describes configuration options such as payment amounts, currencies, fees, token lists, wallet selection behavior, and custom RPC providers, making it suitable for apps that need flexible on-chain payment collection.

Invoice Ninja 5 is an invoicing application designed for businesses that need to create and manage invoices, support a client portal, and expose an API for integrations. The README presents both a hosted SaaS offering and a self-hosted edition, making it suitable for teams that want either a managed service or full control over their own infrastructure. The project also includes mobile and desktop clients, plus self-hosted deployment options such as Docker and server/VM installation. It documents API usage, developer guidance, and user documentation, and highlights that Pro and Enterprise features from the hosted app are included in the source-available code. The README also shows example login credentials for administrator and client portal access, indicating support for multiple user roles.