LocalBitcoins Alternatives for Buying Bitcoin Peer to Peer

LocalBitcoins is gone. The Finnish peer-to-peer marketplace stopped new sign-ups on February 9, 2023 and ended trading and wallet use on February 16, 2023, citing "the ongoing very cold crypto-winter". The LocalBitcoins site now shows a closure notice. Former users can still log in, verify their identity and withdraw leftover bitcoin. The page says no maintenance fees have been charged since 1 July 2025, though a standard transaction fee applies to withdrawals.

The obvious replacement closed too. Paxful announced on October 3, 2025 that it would stop all operations by November 1, 2025, blaming misconduct by its former co-founders and the cost of compliance work. People who want a LocalBitcoins-style trade, a bank transfer or cash payment to a stranger with escrow in the middle, now mostly choose between Hodl Hodl, Bisq, Peach and RoboSats. Binance P2P and Kraken cover readers who are happy to show ID.

Rules differ by country. Peach, for example, says use from the EU or EEA may be restricted after July 1, 2026. Nothing below is investment advice, and no price views are given. Before you trade with someone you met online, read the FTC's guide to crypto scams, and never release coins until the money shows up in your own bank or wallet app.

Prices below are as of November 6, 2026. Our method is on How we review tools.

Quick comparison

Hodl Hodl

Hodl Hodl feels most like the old LocalBitcoins: a website full of buy and sell offers in local currency, with payment arranged between the two traders. The difference is custody. Each contract gets its own 2-of-3 multisig escrow address. Hodl Hodl holds one key and the traders hold the other two, so the platform cannot move the coins alone.

Sign-up asks for an email and a password. The FAQ says trades run without KYC or AML checks and that voluntary verification is no longer offered. The buyer only sees the seller's payment details once the bitcoin is locked in escrow. The home page lists more than 100 currencies and 300,000 registered users.

Best for: Former LocalBitcoins traders who want a web marketplace for bank transfers or cash in their own currency, without an ID check.

Pricing:

• 0.75% per party on each completed trade (1.5% total at most)
• 0.5% for users who joined with a referral code or referred an active trader
• No fee if a contract does not complete; Bitcoin network fees come off at release

Watch out for:

• At 0.75% per side, the standard fee is well above RoboSats' 0.2% for the whole trade.
• You can release escrow without Hodl Hodl, but the FAQ says that takes technical skill and the other trader's cooperation.

Official site: Hodl Hodl.

Bisq Easy

Bisq Easy is the beginner trade protocol inside Bisq 2. The Bisq wiki says it is meant for "novice bitcoin buyers seeking a non-KYC option." Neither side pays a trade fee or posts a security deposit. The seller covers the mining fee, or the routing fee on Lightning, to send the coins.

Safety rests on reputation, not escrow. Sellers need a reputation score of at least 30,000, and by default buyers can only message sellers above a set level. Trades run from 0.0001 BTC (10,000 sats) to 0.01 BTC (1,000,000 sats). Besides the desktop app, bisq.network lists Bisq Easy Mobile and Bisq Connect on Google Play, with Bisq Connect for iOS in TestFlight.

Best for: First-time buyers who want a small amount of bitcoin without ID checks or trade fees.

Pricing:

• Free: no trade fee for buyer or seller
• No security deposit
• Seller pays the on-chain mining fee or Lightning routing fee

Watch out for:

• The 0.01 BTC cap per trade rules it out for larger purchases.
• There is no escrow, so a buyer who pays first is relying on the seller's reputation score. Check it before you send money.

Official site: Bisq Easy.

Bisq 1

The original Bisq desktop app, at version 1.10.11, is still the main download on bisq.network. It runs on Windows, macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora and Arch Linux. There is no account to open: the site says no registration and no identity verification, and the code is open source on GitHub.

It is the older and fuller protocol, without Bisq Easy's 0.01 BTC ceiling. Fees are DAO parameters, so they only change after Bisq DAO holders vote. You can pay them in BTC or in the BSQ token, and the trading fees page says BSQ aims for a discount of about 50%.

Best for: Desktop users who want a no-account, no-KYC trade above Bisq Easy's size cap.

Pricing:

• Maker 0.15% and taker 1.15% when paid in BTC (1.3% combined)
• Paid in BSQ, the combined target is about 0.65%
• Minimum fee 0.00005 BTC

Watch out for:

• Taking an offer is expensive: 1.15% in BTC, against 0.15% for the maker.
• The fee page carries no date and BSQ rates move each DAO cycle, so check the fee shown in the app before you commit.

Official site: Bisq 1.

Peach Bitcoin

Peach is a phone app first, on iOS, Android, Zapstore and a direct APK, plus a web app at web.peachbitcoin.com. It needs no registration, and the site promises "No KYC where permitted by local law." Per the trading FAQ, a buyer can take up to 1,000 CHF of bitcoin a day without showing ID to the seller.

In normal operation the seller locks bitcoin in a 2-of-2 multisig shared with Peach, and the address passes to full Peach control after about 30 days (4,320 blocks) if a trade stalls. That is not how it runs today. A banner says escrow has temporarily changed so the seller fully controls the escrowed BTC, and only sellers with a long, trusted record may sell. Peach still mediates disputes.

Best for: Buyers outside the EU and EEA who want a mobile app for small no-KYC purchases.

Pricing:

• 2% of trade volume, paid by the buyer
• Bitcoin network fees on top

Watch out for:

• Its 2% buyer fee is the highest platform fee in this list.
• Peach says it does not target EU or EEA users and that use there may be restricted or non-compliant after July 1, 2026.

Official site: Peach Bitcoin.

RoboSats

RoboSats trades over the Lightning Network and is reachable only through Tor. Lightning hold invoices act as both the traders' bonds and the escrow, and the project calls itself "Simple and KYC-free". The code is open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence.

Its fees are the lowest of the P2P picks: 0.025% for the maker and 0.175% for the taker, 0.2% in total. Choosing an on-chain payout instead of Lightning adds a mining fee and a swap fee. An Android app is available through IzzyOnDroid, Obtainium, Zap.Store and GitHub releases. On a computer you open it in Tor Browser.

Best for: Lightning users who want the cheapest no-KYC trade and are comfortable with Tor.

Pricing:

• Maker 0.025%, taker 0.175% (0.2% total)
• On-chain payouts add a mining fee and a swap fee
• Lightning routing fees, with a budget you can set

Watch out for:

• The exchange is Tor-only, so you need Tor Browser or the Android app.
• Bonds and escrow run on Lightning, which means setting up a Lightning wallet first. For someone used to bank-transfer trades on LocalBitcoins, that is the steepest learning curve here.

Official site: RoboSats.

Binance P2P

Binance P2P is the large custodial option. Buyers and sellers still post ads and pay each other by bank or wallet app, but Binance reserves the crypto in escrow from the moment an order opens until both sides finish. The P2P FAQ counts more than 800 payment methods.

Expect full KYC. Binance says every user must complete identity verification to use P2P, and you also need SMS verification and at least one 2FA method. Fees depend on the market: Binance may charge makers and takers a fee on each completed order, with rates on a separate fees page, and your payment provider can add its own.

Best for: Traders who accept ID checks in exchange for deep order books and many local payment methods.

Pricing:

• No public price on the FAQ; maker and taker fees per completed order vary by fiat market
• Payment providers may charge separately

Watch out for:

• Binance's own P2P scam guide lists fake payment screenshots, forged bank SMS alerts, chargebacks through third-party accounts and "triangle" scams run by two buyers at once.
• The FAQ does not list where P2P is unavailable, so open the app in your country before you plan around it.

Official site: Binance P2P. Our listing: Binance P2P.

Kraken

Kraken is a centralized exchange, not a marketplace. You buy from the exchange instead of a stranger, so there is no counterparty to vet and no payment proof to check. Cash limits depend on where you live and your verification status. A standard verified individual account can deposit up to $100,000 a day and $500,000 a month.

There are two price paths. Instant Buy in the app costs 1% (1.5% on custom orders), or a flat fee of up to $2 on small trades, plus a spread. Kraken Pro charges 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker at the lowest volume tier. A Kraken+ membership drops trading fees on up to $10,000 of monthly buy, sell and convert volume, though spreads and card fees still apply.

Best for: People who want to buy or sell bitcoin with a bank account and are fine with identity checks.

Pricing:

• Instant Buy/Sell: 1% (1.5% custom orders), or a flat fee up to $2 on small trades, plus spread
• Kraken Pro, lowest tier: 0.40% maker, 0.80% taker
• Kraken+: zero trading fees on up to $10,000 monthly volume; spreads and card fees still apply

Watch out for:

• The Instant Buy price includes a spread that varies with volatility, order size and account activity, and Kraken may keep any excess spread.
• Coins bought on the exchange stay in Kraken's custody until you withdraw them to a wallet you control.

Official site: Kraken. Our listing: Kraken.

How to choose

What to do with an old LocalBitcoins balance

Staying is not an option, because LocalBitcoins stopped trading on February 16, 2023. The one task left there is a withdrawal. If you still hold a balance, log in, finish identity verification, add a bitcoin address and submit the request. Maintenance fees stopped on 1 July 2025, so the balance no longer shrinks while it sits there, and only a standard transaction fee comes off when you withdraw.

Frequently asked questions