Can I self-host an alternative to Stripe?

Yes — Hyperswitch, Lago, Polar all support self-hosting. Most ship as Docker containers and run on any VPS.

Hyperswitch is open-source under Apache 2.0. You can self-host for free. Many also offer a hosted cloud option with a free tier and paid plans.

All alternatives

Payments

Best Open-Source Alternatives to Stripe

Q: What is the best open-source alternative to Stripe?

The top open-source alternative to Stripe is Hyperswitch: Hyperswitch is the open-source payment orchestrator built by JusPay (one of India's largest fintechs). It sits between your app and 80+ payment processors (Stripe, Razorpay, Adyen, Cybersource, etc.)

Stripe is the developer-default for payments — but their fees (2.9% + 30¢ in US, 3.9%+ outside) compound at scale, and their lock-in is real. Open-source alternatives focus on metering/billing (Lago, Polar) and on routing (Hyperswitch) — they don't replace the actual processor, they let you switch processors.

TL;DR — top pick

Hyperswitch

Hyperswitch is the open-source payment orchestrator built by JusPay (one of India's largest fintechs). It sits between your app and 80+ payment processors (Stripe, Razorpay, Adyen, Cybersource, etc.) so you can route, retry, and split payments without lock-in.

github.com/juspay/hyperswitch

All 3 alternatives ranked

Hyperswitch

Apache 2.0Self-hostable★ ~15k

github.com/juspay/hyperswitch

Pick Hyperswitch if

You're scaling past $1M/year and want to negotiate processor fees by routing volume, or you operate in multiple geos with different processor strengths.

Skip if

You're early-stage with one processor — adding orchestration adds latency + complexity you don't need yet.

Lago

AGPL-3.0Self-hostable★ ~9k

github.com/getlago/lago

Lago is open-source usage-based billing — the part of Stripe (Stripe Billing) that costs 0.5% per transaction plus subscription fees. Lago handles metering, plans, credits, coupons, invoicing, dunning. Pair with Stripe (or any processor) for the actual card capture; Lago owns the billing logic.

Pick Lago if

You're building usage-based or seat-based SaaS and want to control billing logic without Stripe Billing's cut.

Skip if

You're running flat-rate subscriptions only — Stripe Billing's included free tier is enough.

Polar

Apache 2.0Self-hostable★ ~5k

github.com/polarsource/polar

Polar is a merchant-of-record platform built for indie devs — they handle the sales tax, VAT, GST, chargebacks on your behalf, and you get one wire transfer. Lower setup friction than Stripe + Quaderno + Anrok stitched together. Open-source platform, paid hosted service (4% + 40¢, drops to 1.4% at volume).

Pick Polar if

You're selling digital goods globally and don't want to deal with sales tax registration across 30 jurisdictions.

Skip if

You're only selling to one country, or you already have an accountant handling tax compliance.

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