Open Source Billing Software Alternatives in 2026
A comprehensive comparison of BoxBilling, FOSSBilling, Paymenter, and other open-source billing platforms — and when a managed solution like PayRequest makes more sense.
Open Source Billing Platforms Compared
BoxBilling
AbandonedThe original open-source billing panel for hosting companies. Development stopped in 2022 with known security vulnerabilities left unpatched.
Pros
- Free and open-source
- Simple installation
- Basic hosting automation
Cons
- Abandoned — no updates since 2022
- Known security vulnerabilities
- Limited payment gateways
- Outdated PHP codebase
- No community support
Not recommended. Use FOSSBilling (its maintained fork) instead.
CompareFOSSBilling
ActiveThe community-maintained fork of BoxBilling. Actively developed with security fixes, new features, and a growing community.
Pros
- Free and open-source
- Active development community
- Security patches applied
- BoxBilling compatible
- Plugin ecosystem
Cons
- Self-hosted — server management required
- Limited payment gateway support
- Manual updates and backups
- Community-only support
- Hosting-focused design
Best open-source option for hosting billing. Good choice if you want full server control.
ComparePaymenter
Active (Early Stage)A newer open-source billing panel built on Laravel. Focused on hosting and game server provisioning with Pterodactyl and Virtualizor integration.
Pros
- Modern Laravel codebase
- Game server provisioning
- Active development
- Clean UI
- Docker support
Cons
- Early-stage — still maturing
- Requires PHP 8.2+ and Laravel expertise
- Limited payment gateways
- Small community
- Not yet production-hardened
Promising for game server billing. Wait for maturity if you need production stability.
CompareWHMCS
Active (Commercial)The industry standard for hosting billing. Not open-source but widely used. Requires a paid license plus your own hosting.
Pros
- Feature-rich and mature
- Large marketplace of modules
- Wide payment gateway support
- Industry standard
- Active development
Cons
- $18-55/month license fees + hosting costs
- Self-hosted — server management needed
- Complex setup and configuration
- Dated interface
- PHP security updates needed
The go-to for hosting-specific billing, but increasingly complex and expensive.
CompareQuick Comparison
| Feature | BoxBilling | FOSSBilling | Paymenter | WHMCS | PayRequest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free | Free | $18-55/mo | €20/mo |
| Status | Abandoned | Active | Early Stage | Active | Active |
| Hosting Required | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Setup Time | Hours | Hours | Hours | Hours/Days | Minutes |
| Mollie/iDEAL | No | No | Extension | Module | Native |
| Dunning | No | No | No | Basic | Full |
| Customer Portal | Basic | Basic | Basic | Full | Modern |
| Security Updates | None | Community | Community | Vendor | Automatic |
When to Choose Open Source vs Managed Billing
Choose Open Source When:
- You need hosting-specific provisioning (cPanel, Plesk, DirectAdmin)
- You have a technical team to manage servers and updates
- You need game server provisioning (Pterodactyl, Virtualizor)
- Budget is extremely tight and you can invest time instead
- You need full source code access for customization
Choose PayRequest When:
- You want billing without server management overhead
- You need European payments (iDEAL, SEPA, Bancontact)
- You're a non-hosting business (agency, SaaS, services)
- You want dunning, customer portal, and invoicing out of the box
- You need to be billing in minutes, not hours or days
- You value ongoing security and automatic updates
Skip the Server Management
PayRequest gives you everything the open-source options do — plus Mollie, dunning, a modern customer portal, and zero infrastructure to manage. €20/month, all features included.