Skip to content

docs: update README with more info #5

New issue

Have a question about this project? Sign up for a free GitHub account to open an issue and contact its maintainers and the community.

Sign up for GitHub

By clicking “Sign up for GitHub”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy statement. We’ll occasionally send you account related emails.

Already on GitHub? Sign in to your account

Merged
Benzilla merged 1 commit into from
Apr 8, 2026
Merged

docs: update README with more info #5

Changes from all commits
Commits
Show all changes
1 commit
Select commit
File filter

Filter by extension

Filter by extension
Conversations
Failed to load comments.
Loading
Jump to
Jump to file
Failed to load files.
Loading
Diff view
Diff view
116 changes: 95 additions & 21 deletions README.md
View file
Open in desktop
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -1,24 +1,89 @@
# Zoneless
<p align="center">
<a href="https://zoneless.com">
<img src="https://zoneless.com/assets/images/screenshots/og.png" alt="Zoneless — The open-source Stripe Connect alternative" width="800" />
</a>
</p>

[![CI](https://github.com/zonelessdev/zoneless/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/zonelessdev/zoneless/actions/workflows/ci.yml)
[![License: Apache 2.0](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-Apache%202.0-blue.svg)](./LICENSE)
[![Node.js](https://img.shields.io/badge/node-%3E%3D18-brightgreen)](https://nodejs.org)
[![Angular](https://img.shields.io/badge/Angular-20-dd0031)](https://angular.dev)
<h1 align="center">Zoneless</h1>

> **The Open-source Stripe Connect Alternative. Pay your marketplace sellers globally with USDC. Near-zero fees. Instant payouts. No vendor lock-in. Self-host your entire payout stack.**
<p align="center">
<strong>The open-source Stripe Connect alternative.<br>Pay marketplace sellers globally with USDC. ~$0.002 fees. Instant payouts. Self-hosted.</strong>
</p>

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 identical API to Stripe — at near-zero fees.
<p align="center">
<a href="https://zoneless.com/docs">Docs</a> &middot;
<a href="https://zoneless.com/#live-demo">Live Demo</a> &middot;
<a href="https://zoneless.com">Website</a> &middot;
<a href="https://discord.gg/WcYqPmjpjm">Discord</a>
</p>

<p align="center">
<img src="https://zoneless.com/assets/images/screenshots/dashboard1.png" alt="Zoneless Express Dashboard" width="700" />
<a href="https://github.com/zonelessdev/zoneless/actions/workflows/ci.yml"><img src="https://github.com/zonelessdev/zoneless/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg" alt="CI"></a>
<a href="./LICENSE"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/License-Apache%202.0-blue.svg" alt="License: Apache 2.0"></a>
</p>

**[See the Live Demo →](https://zoneless.com/#live-demo)**
---

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](https://promptbase.com), 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:

<table>
<tr>
<td align="center"><strong>~$0.002</strong><br><sub>avg. payout cost</sub></td>
<td align="center"><strong>1,400+</strong><br><sub>payouts completed</sub></td>
<td align="center"><strong>73%</strong><br><sub>of sellers chose Zoneless over Stripe</sub></td>
<td align="center"><strong>2,200+</strong><br><sub>sellers onboarded</sub></td>
</tr>
</table>

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

> _"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](https://promptbase.com)

## 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

```typescript
// 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');

Expand All @@ -36,19 +101,23 @@ await client.payouts.create({
});
```

## Zoneless vs Stripe Connect
## Express Dashboard

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

<p align="center">
<img src="https://zoneless.com/assets/images/screenshots/dashboard1.webp" alt="Zoneless Express Dashboard" width="700" />
</p>

**[Try the Live Demo →](https://zoneless.com/#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

Expand All @@ -69,6 +138,7 @@ All guides and API reference docs live at **[zoneless.com/docs](https://zoneless
- [Quickstart](https://zoneless.com/docs/quickstart) — end-to-end setup in under 5 minutes
- [Deployment](https://zoneless.com/docs/deployment) — deploy to a VPS with Docker
- [API Reference](https://zoneless.com/docs/account-links) — Accounts, Transfers, Payouts, Webhooks, and more
- [Migrate from Stripe](https://zoneless.com/docs/migrate-from-stripe) — step-by-step migration guide

## Local Development

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -116,3 +186,7 @@ See [SECURITY.md](./SECURITY.md) to report vulnerabilities.
## License

[Apache License 2.0](./LICENSE)

---

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