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Zoneless — The open-source Stripe Connect alternative

Zoneless

The open-source Stripe Connect alternative.
Pay marketplace sellers globally with USDC. ~$0.002 fees. Instant payouts. Self-hosted.

Docs · Live Demo · Website · Discord

CI License: Apache 2.0

Zoneless is a free, open-source drop-in replacement for the payout part of Stripe Connect. It lets you pay marketplace sellers globally with stablecoins (USDC) using an API identical to Stripe — at near-zero cost.

If you know Stripe, you already know how to use Zoneless. Same webhooks, same object shapes, same SDK patterns. Just swap stripe for @zoneless/node and you're live.

Battle-tested in production

Zoneless powers payouts on PromptBase, an AI marketplace with 450,000+ users. At the peak, PromptBase was burning $9,400/month in opaque Stripe Connect fees for seller payouts. After switching to Zoneless:

~$0.002
avg. payout cost		 1,400+
payouts completed		 73%
of sellers chose Zoneless over Stripe		 2,200+
sellers onboarded

Based on 2,500 fully-onboarded sellers given the choice of Stripe or Zoneless payouts, Dec 2025 – Apr 2026.

"Our payout costs dropped significantly, sellers get paid faster, and we can onboard more countries — which has helped grow the buyer side too. A big worry was that sellers would be confused and hate USDC, but they actually love it."

— Ben Stokes, Founder of PromptBase

Why Zoneless?

  • Near-zero fees — Payouts cost ~$0.002 in SOL gas. No $2/month per account, no 0.25% + $0.25 per payout.
  • Stripe-compatible API — Same webhooks, events, object shapes, and SDK patterns. Migrate with minimal code changes.
  • Truly global — Pay anyone in 220+ countries & regions. No banking restrictions.
  • Instant payouts — USDC settles on Solana in seconds, 24/7/365. Not 2–7 business days.
  • Open source — Apache 2.0 licensed. Audit, fork, self-host. No vendor lock-in or surprise shutdowns.
  • Self-custodial — You hold your keys. Funds never touch a third party.

Zoneless vs Stripe Connect

Zoneless Stripe Connect
Monthly account fee Free $2/active account
Payout fee (domestic) ~$0.002 (SOL gas) 0.25% + $0.25
Payout fee (intl) ~$0.002 (SOL gas) $1.50 per payout
Cross-border fee None +0.25–1.25%
Currency conversion None (USDC) +0.50–1% FX fee
Payout speed Seconds 2–7 business days
Global coverage 220+ countries & regions ~47 countries
Source code Open source (Apache 2.0) Proprietary
Self-hostable Yes No

Built for

  • Microtransaction marketplaces — When payouts cost fractions of a cent, small transactions finally make sense. Digital goods, templates, prompts, and more.
  • Global creator platforms — Pay creators worldwide without banking restrictions. No more "sorry, we don't support your country."
  • AI agent economies — Programmatic payouts for AI agents and autonomous systems. Machine-to-machine commerce at scale.

Migrate in minutes

// Before — Stripe Connect
// import Stripe from 'stripe';
// const client = new Stripe('sk_live_...');

// After — Zoneless
import { Zoneless } from '@zoneless/node';
const client = new Zoneless('sk_z_...', 'api.example.com');

// Same API you already know
const account = await client.accounts.create({
  type: 'express',
  country: 'US',
  email: 'seller@example.com',
});

await client.payouts.create({
  amount: 10000,
  currency: 'usdc',
  destination: account.id,
});

Express Dashboard

Sellers get a familiar Express-style dashboard to view payouts, track earnings, and manage their account — plus guided wallet onboarding.

Zoneless Express Dashboard

Try the Live Demo →

How sellers get paid

  1. Seller connects a wallet — During onboarding, sellers connect a Solana wallet (e.g. Phantom). Takes 30 seconds with guided instructions.
  2. You send USDC — Trigger payouts via the API. Funds arrive in the seller's wallet in seconds, not days.
  3. Seller spends or off-ramps — Sellers spend USDC directly, or convert to local currency via an exchange like Coinbase.

You create and manage your own platform wallet — top it up with USDC via any exchange and you're ready to send payouts.

Quick Start

git clone https://github.com/zonelessdev/zoneless.git
cd zoneless
docker compose up -d

Open localhost/setup to create your platform account and API key.

See the full Quickstart Guide for creating connected accounts, transfers, and payouts.

Documentation

All guides and API reference docs live at zoneless.com/docs:

Local Development

npm install
docker compose up -d        # MongoDB
npx nx serve api            # API on :3333
npx nx serve web            # Dashboard on :4203

Or run everything at once:

npm run dev

Running Tests

npx nx test api
npx nx test web

Project Structure

zoneless/
├── apps/
│   ├── api/              # Express.js API backend
│   └── web/              # Angular dashboard & onboarding
├── libs/
│   └── shared-types/     # Shared TypeScript interfaces
├── docker-compose.yml    # Full-stack Docker setup
└── nx.json

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for development setup, style guidelines, and the pull request process.

Security

See SECURITY.md to report vulnerabilities.

License

Apache License 2.0

If Zoneless is useful to you, consider giving it a star — it helps others find the project.