PHPNuxBill is the open-source billing system many hotspot and PPPoE operators in Africa and Asia install first. This comparison uses its GitHub repository (hotspotbilling/phpnuxbill) and the payment-gateway plugins published by the same organisation, read on 6 November 2026. Its claims are reported, not endorsed.
Short answer: PHPNuxBill is free under the GPL-2.0 licence and runs on your own Linux or Windows server with PHP 8.2 and MySQL. It bills MikroTik hotspot and PPPoE users, generates vouchers, supports FreeRADIUS, and adds payment gateways such as M-Pesa, Paystack, Flutterwave and PayPal as plugins. Its developer offers paid technical support from Rp 500,000 or $50. Iterative Billing is a managed platform that costs $0.135 per active customer outside Kenya, capped at $45 up to 500 customers, plus 2 percent of hotspot revenue capped at $27, with hosting, RADIUS, updates and support included. We build Iterative Billing, so check both.
The two platforms at a glance
PHPNuxBill's README lists a voucher generator, FreeRADIUS support, self-registration, user balances with auto-renewal, multiple MikroTik routers, hotspot and PPPoE, multiple languages, SMS validation, WhatsApp notifications to customers and Telegram notifications for admins. Gateways and extras install from its plugin manager; the organisation's repositories include plugins for M-Pesa, Paystack, Flutterwave, PayPal, bKash, Xendit, Tripay and Duitku. The latest tagged release is 2025.3.13, and the code was still being updated in November 2026.
Iterative Billing is a cloud ISP billing and OSS/BSS platform with built-in FreeRADIUS and CoA, MikroTik RouterOS v6 and v7, Huawei GPON OLT automation, TR-069, NOC monitoring and AI agents. It collects M-Pesa, MTN MoMo, Airtel Money, Paystack, Flutterwave, Pesapal and WaafiPay payments into the operator's own merchant accounts. Outside Kenya it charges $0.135 per active PPPoE or Static IP customer a month, capped at $45 up to 500 customers, $90 up to 1,000 and $360 above that, plus 2 percent of collected hotspot revenue capped at $27 a month up to $5,400 collected and $45 above it, with a $9 monthly minimum and a one-time $9 account fee. Optional add-ons are billed on top: every add-on together is $71 a month in the Legacy Partner bundle, with OLTs at $10 each.
What each costs to run
| Cost item | PHPNuxBill | Iterative Billing |
|---|---|---|
| Software fee | $0 (GPL-2.0) | $0.135 per active customer, capped at $45 up to 500 |
| Server and hosting | Your Linux or Windows server with PHP 8.2 and MySQL | Included |
| RADIUS | Optional FreeRADIUS you install and run | Built-in FreeRADIUS with CoA |
| Payment gateways | Community plugins | Native: M-Pesa, MTN MoMo, Airtel Money, Paystack, Flutterwave, Pesapal, WaafiPay |
| Technical support | Paid, from Rp 500,000 or $50 | Included |
| Hotspot billing | Included in the software | 2% of collected revenue, capped at $27 |
Self-hosting is cheapest in cash when someone on the team can install PHP updates, keep MySQL backed up, secure the server and fix a payment plugin when a gateway changes its API. That time is the real cost to weigh against a monthly fee.
Beyond billing
Iterative Billing adds things a billing script does not: NOC monitoring of every router, a network map, Huawei GPON OLT automation, TR-069 management of customer routers, a subscriber app and portal, and AI agents that troubleshoot routers and reset WiFi for customers. Some are paid add-ons; see the pricing page.
Moving from PHPNuxBill
Export your PPPoE customers to CSV and import them with a preview before anything is created; the importer recognises common column names such as username, password, plan and expiry. Migration assistance is complimentary. Hotspot vouchers already on the router keep working until they expire.
Which should you choose?
Stay on PHPNuxBill if you have the skills to run a server and want no software fee. Choose Iterative Billing if you would rather pay a capped fee than maintain hosting, RADIUS and gateway plugins yourself; the RADIUS billing server page covers the AAA side. Apply for Iterative Billing at billing.iterativebilling.com/register (approved networks get a 3-day trial), and the caps are on the pricing page. PHPNuxBill details are from its public repository and may change. We keep the same date-stamped comparisons for Splynx, Centipid and the other platforms on the alternatives page.
Frequently asked questions
- Is PHPNuxBill free?
- Yes. PHPNuxBill is open source under the GNU GPL version 2 or later. You run it on your own server, and its developer charges for technical support, from Rp 500,000 or $50 according to its README.
- Does PHPNuxBill support M-Pesa?
- Through a plugin: the hotspotbilling organisation on GitHub publishes an M-Pesa payment gateway plugin, along with Paystack, Flutterwave, PayPal and others. Iterative Billing integrates M-Pesa through Daraja natively.
- Can I import my PHPNuxBill customers into Iterative Billing?
- Yes. PPPoE customers import from a CSV export with a preview step, using columns such as username, password, plan and expiry, and migration assistance is complimentary.