A side-by-side reading of Unheld and NOWPayments, taken from published pricing pages rather than marketing claims.
Unheld takes no share of the payment and asks you to run nothing. You pay a flat subscription, and the money arrives on an address only you control.
| What you are comparing | Unheld | NOWPayments |
|---|---|---|
| Share of payment value | 0% | 0.5%–1% |
| Who holds the money | You — funds land on your address | You — funds land on your address |
| Business verification | Not required | Sometimes required |
| Payout to a bank in fiat | No | Yes |
| Server you run yourself | No | No |
Every figure here is read from the provider's own published page on the date shown. Providers change pricing without notice — open the source before deciding.
Source: https://nowpayments.io/pricing· Checked:
NOWPayments: You — funds land on your address. With Unheld the answer never changes — the payment lands on an address only you control, so there is no balance for anyone to hold, freeze or lose.
NOWPayments takes 0.5%–1% of the payment value, read from its own published pricing on 2026-08-25. Unheld takes none of it — a flat monthly subscription based on transaction count, so your cost does not rise with your order value.
NOWPayments: Sometimes required. Unheld asks for no business verification before you can take a payment, because there is no account holding your money that would need one.
NOWPayments: No. Unheld is hosted and still non-custodial, so keeping your own keys does not cost you a server to maintain.