Arcalotl vs Tebex
Tebex is the 14-year incumbent in game server monetization. Arcalotl is the in-game checkout platform built for recurring supporter tier revenue.
Tebex wins on maturity and product catalog breadth. Arcalotl wins on checkout UX, automated revenue recovery, and cross-platform subscriber management. Here is the head-to-head for Hytale servers specifically.
What's different
Tebex has processed an advertised $1.5B+ in cumulative game server transaction volume since 2012. They shipped day-one Hytale support when Early Access launched in January 2026 and are the most recognizable name in the category. If you are running a complex one-time product catalog (merch, bundles, coupons, gift cards, affiliated services) across multiple games, Tebex is a mature and battle-tested choice.
Where Tebex struggles is recurring subscription revenue. Tebex processes subscription payments, but it does not ship automated dunning, cancel save offers, or term optimization. When a subscriber's card fails, the subscription lapses and the perk revokes. When a subscriber tries to cancel, the cancellation processes without intervention. Industry dunning benchmarks of 40-70% of failed payments can be recovered. Without those features, that revenue silently disappears.
Arcalotl is built for the opposite optimization point. In-game checkout means players browse supporter tiers inside Hytale and touch a browser exactly once (the first checkout). Automated dunning, cancel saves, and term optimization are first-class features, not third-party add-ons. Stripe Connect direct payouts mean you own the customer relationship and can migrate off the platform without losing subscribers. The trade-off: smaller product catalog surface, no multi-game reach, and a newer operational history. If your Hytale monetization model is supporter tiers and recurring revenue, Arcalotl was built for you. If it is a big one-time cosmetic catalog, Tebex is the safer bet.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Arcalotl | Tebex |
|---|---|---|
In-game checkout UI Arcalotl renders the full supporter store inside Hytale; Tebex uses an external web store | Yes | No |
External web store builder Arcalotl storefronts have Hytale and Minecraft templates but no custom domain; Tebex's builder is more mature, with custom branding | Partial | Yes |
Recurring subscription support | Yes | Yes |
Automated dunning (failed-payment recovery) Multi-step DM sequences with one-click card update flow | Yes | No |
Cancel save offers Dynamic discount, pause, or downgrade based on cancel reason | Yes | No |
Term optimization (annual upsell) | Yes | No |
Direct payouts (Stripe Connect) Payouts flow directly to your Stripe account | Yes | No |
Tebex-held merchant of record Tebex handles chargebacks and tax compliance for you | No | Yes |
One-time product catalog Tebex supports larger product catalogs, bundles, gift cards, merch | Partial | Yes |
Cross-platform subscriber dashboard Arcalotl unifies Discord, Fluxer, Telegram, and Stoat today, with Root and Hytale planned | Yes | No |
Compliance baked into tier configuration Arcalotl enforces Hytale Policy disclosure requirements at config time | Yes | Partial |
Gift cards and coupon codes | Partial | Yes |
120+ payment methods Tebex supports more regional payment methods out of the box | No | Yes |
Multi-game support (Minecraft, Rust, FiveM, etc.) | No | Yes |
No monthly fee Both have a no-monthly-fee option; Tebex charges 5% per transaction on the base tier | Yes | Yes |
Payout timeline (your own Stripe schedule) Tebex pays out on a 14 to 30-day settlement window; Arcalotl payouts follow your own Stripe schedule | Yes | No |
No surprise chargeback / FX / wire fees Tebex layers 2% FX, $20 chargeback, +1% creator code, and £12 wire fees on top of the 5% headline | Yes | No |
Member checkout and bot in the member's language Community default, follows each member's Discord or browser | Yes | Yes |
Why the member's language matters
Three in four online buyers prefer to buy in their own language, and four in ten will not buy from a page in another language at all (CSA Research, 2020). Most checkouts ignore this: Stripe found 74% of European checkouts untranslated in 2022. Arcalotl sets a default language per community and then follows each member. The bot answers in the language their Discord client is set to, the checkout and the receipt use the language their browser is set to, and a Swedish member sees Swish and Klarna where a Dutch member sees iDEAL.
Tebex localizes its webstore and checkout in 30+ languages; it has no Discord bot replies to localize.
Pricing comparison
- Arcalotl
$0/mo. 2% transaction fee. No minimums, no setup cost. You pay nothing until you earn. Standard Stripe processing fees (2.9% + $0.30) apply on top.
- Tebex
5% standard platform fee (15% on FiveM) per docs.tebex.io. Additional fees: 2% FX on foreign-currency withdrawals, a $20 chargeback fee plus the withheld transaction on disputes not covered by Tebex Seller Protection (most transactions are covered), an extra 1% when creator codes are used, and ~£12 wire-transfer fees. Tebex is the merchant of record and pays out from a Tebex Wallet on a 14 to 30-day settlement window, which Tebex states 'is in place to ensure funds have fully settled.' (Competitor pricing per docs.tebex.io and Tebex's public statements, as of May 2026.)
Where Arcalotl goes further
In-game checkout, browser-once
Arcalotl renders the supporter store inside Hytale. The first purchase opens a secure checkout page in the browser where Stripe takes the player's card once. After that, every renewal, upgrade, cancel save, and failed-payment retry stays in-game. Tebex uses an external web store where every transaction requires a full browser round trip, and cart abandonment on multi-page external checkout runs north of 70% per Baymard Institute research.
Automated revenue recovery
Arcalotl runs dunning sequences for every failed payment, cancel save offers for every cancellation attempt, and term optimization prompts to upgrade engaged monthly subscribers to annual. None of these are features Tebex publicly ships. On recurring subscription revenue, the gap compounds into meaningfully higher MRR.
You own the customer relationship
Arcalotl uses Stripe Connect direct charges. Payouts flow to your Stripe account and customers live in your Stripe dashboard. If you ever want to leave Arcalotl, subscribers come with you. Tebex acts as the merchant of record and intermediates payments, which means migrating off Tebex typically requires asking subscribers to re-subscribe.
Cross-platform subscriber management
Arcalotl manages supported community platforms from one dashboard today. Discord, Fluxer, Telegram, and Stoat are live, and Hytale and Root remain planned. Tebex does not have cross-platform subscriber management for community chat apps.
Not 'the official Hytale payment provider'
A common forum misread: because Hytale's Creator Policy Section 6.1 says 'Payout Awards will be exclusively made through Tebex,' some people assume Tebex is Hytale's official server monetization platform. That clause is about paying commissions to content creators whose Creator Codes are used at checkout for the base game. It does not make Tebex the official or required server monetization platform. Hytale's Server Operator Policies do not mandate or endorse any specific payment provider. Server operators are free to use any compliant platform.
Frequently asked questions
Optimize for recurring revenue. Switch from Tebex to Arcalotl.
Zero monthly fees. Revenue recovery from day one.
Start free