Instead of Stripe and PayPal
Card payments, subscriptions and payouts.
Payments are the one thing here where hosting the software does not remove the intermediary. The card networks are the product, and you are not going to out-host them.
You lose: Nothing, if you keep a processor. Your customers' cards, if you try to replace one.
Start here
BTCPay Server
If you take bitcoin, this is the serious option. It is not a card processor.
github.com/btcpayserver/btcpayserverbtcpayserver.org
A database, object storage or mail config, plus backups.
Also worth a look
- Hyperswitch
An orchestrator in front of processors. It removes the lock-in, not the processor.
- Kill Bill
Subscription billing you host. The money still moves through someone else.
Facts checked 8 November 2026. Licences, activity and archive status come from each project's own repository; the verdict and the cost lines are the desk's.