BitPay vs Coinbase Commerce (2026): Which Fits Your Business?

BitPay suits a shop that needs bitcoin and ready-made connections; Coinbase Business suits an approved company collecting stablecoin invoices. Start with your company's country, then look at the offer you'd get and how the money reaches your bank.

Coinbase says the Commerce portal became permanently inaccessible after 31 March 2026. Its replacement, Coinbase Business, is custodial: Coinbase holds the account balance for you. The transition page publishes 1% for merchants migrating from Commerce, and that isn't a price for every new Business account.^[1]

Which should you choose today?

A consultant sending an invoice has different needs from a store that ships goods automatically. Choose BitPay if you want to offer customers more ways to pay, and compare Coinbase Business for stablecoin billing if your company qualifies and the quote works for you. What matters is which coins your customers already hold, which currency pays your suppliers, and who'll maintain the checkout. Our processor-selection guide turns those questions into a shortlist.

The bars below come from our scoring model. Some of the facts behind it are still being verified, so treat the scores as preliminary; the tables and fee figures leave those facts out. A higher score doesn't mean you'll be approved or tell you your final bill.

BitPay

73/100

5 – 1

Coinbase Commerce / Coinbase Business

67/100

2.5

Cost

6.7

10.0

Fiat cash-out

6.0

10.0

Licence

10.0

8.0

Coins and networks

7.0

10.0

Integrations and API

4.0

10.0

Features

7.1

6.0

Support and reliability

5.0

6.0

Onboarding

6.0

The table summarises what the providers publish. Its Coinbase fee is the migration headline, and the closed legacy WooCommerce plugin no longer counts as an available integration. Coin and network counts are general figures for each provider, and what your own account enables may differ. The custody label means the provider handles funds between payment and settlement, and BitPay's acceptance contract doesn't describe a general crypto custody account. Fee examples leave out the unknown conversion and withdrawal charges.

	BitPay	Coinbase Commerce / Coinbase Business
Score	73/100 · #3	67/100 · #5
Payment fee	2% + $0.25	from 1%
Cost on $10k/month	$225	$100
Pays out to bank	AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, MXN, NZD, USD	USD
Stablecoin networks	USDC: Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, Solana · USDT: Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, Solana · PYUSD: Ethereum · GUSD: Ethereum · USDP: Ethereum · EURC: Ethereum · BUSD: Ethereum, Polygon	USDC: Ethereum, Base, Polygon, Optimism, Arbitrum · USDT: Ethereum
Coins	19	2
Custody	Custodial	Custodial
Merchant KYC	Required	Required
Rolling reserve	Not stated	Not stated
Licence	Money transmitter (NMLS ID) (1496848); Virtual Currency Business Activity licence (NYDFS)	Money transmitter licences (NMLS ID, Coinbase, Inc.) (1163082); New York Virtual Currency Business Activity licence (NYDFS) (122466)
Plugins	WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento 2, WHMCS, Wix, BigCommerce	Not stated
Legal entity country	United States	United States
Founded	2011	Not stated

The BitPay review and Coinbase review go deeper on each product.

Can your company apply to either provider?

Your company's location and legal form decide this before price does. Coinbase's current Availability section names C corporations and LLCs in the US and Singapore. A later account-types paragraph also mentions LTDs and sole proprietorships, but don't read that broader wording as guaranteed eligibility.^[2]

For the US, the Business agreement updated 22 July 2026 specifies companies formed and located there: C corporations and multi-member LLCs, meaning LLCs with more than one owner. Other entity types are at Coinbase's discretion. That US clause says nothing about Singapore's contract or entity rules.^[3]

BitPay's help article, updated 3 October 2026, says US and Canadian merchants may apply. New applications from the EEA, UK and Australia are paused. Its country lists are non-exhaustive, and state-specific availability matters; a country appearing in a settlement table is not permission to open a new merchant account.^[4]

If neither provider is open to your company, start with the Coinbase Commerce alternatives. Don't restructure around a cheaper headline rate until the entity, owners, products and bank account you use would be approved.

Which has the lower processing fee?

Coinbase is lower in the published 1% migration-rate example. As a new Business applicant, though, you can't compare until you know your own rate.

BitPay counts volume cumulatively through the month and says higher fees apply to high-risk industries. The flat 25 cents stays at every standard tier.^[5] Small orders feel that fixed charge most: 25 cents adds 1.25 percentage points to a $20 payment.

BitPay's terms require a non-refundable application fee with no published amount, even if your application is denied or withdrawn or you decide not to proceed. Ask for that amount before you apply.^[7] Coinbase's automatic conversion also carries fees and spread, and the help article doesn't publish a complete numeric tariff. A spread can eat into your proceeds even when the percentage looks attractive.^[8]

The calculator covers the processing fee only. Coinbase's bar assumes an approved account on the 1% migration rate. Conversion and withdrawal charges are unknown for both providers and left out, and unknown isn't free. The model also leaves out BitPay's application charge, high-risk or custom pricing, shopper network fees, refund costs and account or exception charges. It applies one tier to the whole month, and annual figures assume twelve identical months.

Use the BitPay fee breakdown and Coinbase fee breakdown when requesting quotes, or the full fee calculator to widen the comparison.

Which coins and networks can customers use?

BitPay gives customers more ways to pay; Coinbase Business payment links focus on stablecoins. A stablecoin can make invoice amounts easier to understand, but the token and the blockchain both have to match the checkout.

Coinbase's current payment-link help lists USDC on Ethereum, Base, Polygon, Optimism and Arbitrum, and USDT on Ethereum. Payments land in your account as USDC, and converting to USD is an opt-in step of its own. The same article sends merchants to their account for payment fees. Customers on Base don't need a gas balance, but that says nothing about withdrawal costs or who funds the underlying transaction.^[6]

BitPay's invoice help lists bitcoin, including Lightning, plus BCH, LTC, DOGE, XRP and tokens across Ethereum, Polygon, Base, Optimism, Arbitrum and Solana. Which choices you see depends on the merchant's and the shopper's location.^[9] Ask about the exact token-and-network pair your customers use, because “USDT supported” on its own doesn't mean TRON payments are available.

When will the money reach your bank?

BitPay issues eligible settlements each business day, and Coinbase can automate USD withdrawals. Neither means the money reaches your bank instantly.

Settlement has two dates that matter: when the provider releases the money and when it reaches your bank. A balance below the minimum can wait before the bank-transfer clock even starts.

The BitPay rows come from its developer settlement table.^[11] Its current help page agrees on the US ACH and CAD minimums but not on the rest: euros are €100 in help versus €500 in the developer docs, and pounds are £1,000 versus £500. The minimum shown in your dashboard is the one to go by. Settlement in a currency doesn't lift today's application pauses.^[12]

Coinbase's ACH guide requires matching bank and account names and gives 1–3 business days. ACH is a US network, so that timing says nothing about whether a local-currency payout exists in Singapore.^[13] Automatic USD withdrawals can run daily, weekly or monthly, and conversion costs and available-balance conditions apply.

Which is easier to connect to your shop?

BitPay has clearer, current evidence of shop plugins. Coinbase Business offers links, invoices and a checkout API, but not the old Commerce plugin.

The BitPay WordPress listing shows version 7.1.3, WordPress 6.6 or later, tested up to 6.9.10 and PHP 8.1 or later. Those are directory claims, not our compatibility test. Its description still uses a 1% example; use the current tiered pricing page for fees.^[14]

The Coinbase Commerce WordPress listing says it was temporarily closed on 5 October 2026, cannot be downloaded and is pending a full review. The listed version is 1.4.1, last updated two years ago, so an old listing isn't an available Coinbase Business connection.^[15]

Shopify's cryptocurrency help names BitPay. It also says third-party transaction fees may apply, with the amount depending on your store's plan, and crypto refunds need to be handled manually through the payment gateway.^[16]

Coinbase's Checkout APIs support payment links and full or partial refunds. Its documentation tells merchants to fulfil from a successful payment event or completed status, not simply because the customer came back to the website.^[17] Before going live, have whoever runs your shop demonstrate a paid order, a failed order and a refund in a test environment. We searched the official Business API and help pages, Shopify's list and the WordPress listing and didn't find a current Business plugin for Shopify or WooCommerce, but that limited search can't prove none exists anywhere.

How much paperwork and refund work should you expect?

BitPay's compliance guide asks for business registration, tax documents, a business bank account and website information. Larger verification tiers require more paperwork, including bank statements and compliance discussion. Its shopper BitPay ID requirements can also affect payments above $3,000 and refund claims.^[20]

Coinbase asks for formation documents, tax ID, business description and identity information for the applicant, control persons and significant owners. Its bank-statement rule treats businesses older than twelve months differently from newer ones: the latter may submit a business or personal statement in the business or applicant's name. That exception doesn't waive the ACH rule that bank and account names must match.^[21]

BitPay's help describes full and partial refunds valued in the original fiat currency, converted at the rate when the customer claims them. A customer can therefore receive a different number of coins from the original payment.^[22] The merchant terms also permit a refund based on the original crypto amount. BitPay's refund API defaults to the merchant bearing the network fee, while the Inc. terms default to deducting it from the shopper unless instructed otherwise, and the B.V. terms put it on the merchant. Which of these applies depends on your contract and setting, so settle that before you promise a customer an exact refund amount.^[23][7]

For either checkout, decide who handles exceptions and who checks the final refund status. Coinbase's API supports partial refunds, but whether the original fee is returned and what every refund-related charge comes to are questions for the quote.

Who wins for these five business situations?

The best fit depends on the payment job, and approval should come before any development work.

For the fourth case, CoinGate's country list includes the UK, Australia and many EEA countries, though the US is absent from the current list. So check your own country and activity against it.^[30] The BitPay alternatives are another place to start.

What do custody, licences and business rules mean for you?

Both services put a provider between checkout and your proceeds, so find out which company you'd contract with and what activity it allows in your country.

Coinbase Business holds an account balance. BitPay receives payments and temporarily holds ledger funds until settlement, but its acceptance terms exclude cryptocurrency custody unless there's a different agreement. That difference matters if your goal is to keep direct control of incoming coins.^[7]

The New York regulator's current entity list names Bitpay, Inc. with a Virtual Currency licence and Coinbase, Inc. with Virtual Currency and Money Transmitter licences. It lists no licence numbers, and it says nothing about permission worldwide or about whether your company can apply today.^[25]

As checked on 11 October 2026, BitPay's merchant terms prohibit adult content and require express approval for restricted activities including legal gambling and forex.^[7] The US Coinbase Business agreement binds payment acceptance to its prohibited-use policy.^[3] That policy bars unlawful gambling, securities brokers and adult services, and requires written consent for currency exchanges. A gambling licence alone isn't provider approval.^[26] The Singapore contract is a different document, so check it too. This is general information, not legal advice.

BitPay publishes email support and phone hours, with a 24-hour email-response target, which isn't a measured result.^[27] For either provider, find out who to escalate to when a payment or withdrawal gets stuck. We haven't measured response times, uptime or refund performance, so we make no reliability promise for either.

What should former Commerce merchants check now?

The March migration deadline has passed, so look at what's working in your current account and records.

1. 
   01

   Match accounts and records

   List old and new transaction IDs, invoices, settlements and outstanding refunds. Note which Coinbase entity your account is under, which payment rate applies and what balances you hold. If records or funds are missing, follow current support guidance, because the closed portal may no longer export them.

2. 
   02

   Check the current checkout

   Have whoever runs your shop verify payment confirmation and refund handling. Old Commerce API keys and plugin names are no sign of a working Business checkout. Your accountant should be able to match each receipt to a bank credit or wallet transfer.

3. 
   03

   Work out where the money sits

   Tell a Business account balance apart from funds in a legacy self-managed wallet. Before you count a balance as cash for payroll, check the bank payout that's enabled and the conversion charges.

What are the useful alternatives if neither fits?

CoinGate is worth a look if you're in a country it covers and want hosted processing. BTCPay Server is worth considering for direct bitcoin receipts, if someone can maintain it.

CoinGate publishes 1%. Its commercial policy also includes a risk margin in the exchange quote without giving a percentage, so 1% isn't the complete cost of converted proceeds.^[29] Ask for the bank fees, minimums and payout schedule alongside the rate.

BTCPay Server is free, open-source software with no software fee on payments when you host it yourself. Payments go to the connected wallet, and hosting, maintenance, wallet security and any conversion service are yours to handle. Its documentation describes fiat conversion through plugins rather than an included bank payout.^[31] The gateway list widens the search, though country coverage differs from provider to provider.

Updated 11 October 2026 to reflect Coinbase Business eligibility and pricing, BitPay's application pauses, the settlement conflicts and the closed WooCommerce listing.