Kenya
Best ISP billing system in Kenya (2026)
Updated 19 October 2026 · VillageHub
Short answer
There is no single best ISP billing system in Kenya; it depends on whether you want cloud hosting or self-hosting, how you price (hotspot vouchers or monthly PPPoE), and how you want M-Pesa money to reach you. For most small and mid-sized MikroTik operators who want cloud hosting, M-Pesa STK push straight into their own Paybill or Till and both hotspot and PPPoE in one place, VillageHub is a strong choice: hotspot costs KES 500 a month or 3% of what you collect, whichever is higher, and PPPoE costs KES 25 per active client. Centipid has an almost identical price model and a larger gateway catalogue, WifiPay has flat KES tiers, XenFi charges 3% per sale with no monthly fee, and if you want free and self-hosted software, PHPNuxBill or Mikhmon will run on your own server.
| Product | Hosting | Starting price | Local payments | PPPoE | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VillageHub | Cloud (SaaS) | Hotspot: KES 500/mo or 3% of collections, whichever is higher. PPPoE: KES 25 per active client/mo | M-Pesa Daraja STK push, Kopo Kopo, MegaPay, Paystack; money goes to your own account | Yes, with reminders, grace and auto cut-off/reconnect | MikroTik or Omada operators who want hotspot and PPPoE in one cloud dashboard |
| Centipid | Web app | Hotspot: 3% of revenue. PPPoE: USD 0.25 per user/mo. Minimum KES 500/mo in Kenya | Safaricom M-Pesa, Paybill, Till, Kopo Kopo, Paystack and more | Yes | Operators who want a very large gateway catalogue |
| WifiPay | Not stated on site | Hotspot: KES 500/mo (up to 50 users). PPPoE: KES 500/mo (up to 25 users), then KES 20/user. KES 1,500 one-time setup | M-Pesa, cards, bank transfer | Yes | Operators who prefer flat KES tiers |
| XenFi | Cloud | 3% of each sale, no monthly or setup fee | M-Pesa, Airtel Money, cards, vouchers, agent app | Yes | New hotspots with low or uneven sales |
| PHPNuxBill | Self-hosted (PHP 8.2 + MySQL) | Free (GPL); you pay for the server | Via downloadable gateway plugins | Yes | Technical operators who want full control and no software fee |
Prices checked 19 Oct 2026 from each vendor’s public pricing page or repository. Hosting is listed only where the vendor states it.
What to look for in an ISP billing system in Kenya
M-Pesa is the payment method most Kenyan WiFi customers expect, so the first question is how a system takes M-Pesa and where the money lands. Some systems push an STK prompt from your own Daraja Paybill or Till, some go through an aggregator such as Kopo Kopo or Paystack, and some collect the sale themselves and keep a percentage. Check which one you are signing up for.
Second, check the router side. Most Kenyan hotspots and small ISPs run MikroTik RouterOS. Ask whether the vendor provisions the router for you, whether it supports both hotspot and PPPoE, and how it handles customers who reconnect after their package expires.
Third, compare pricing models against your real revenue. A percentage fee is cheap in a slow month and expensive in a busy one; a per-user PPPoE fee scales with your client count; a flat tier is predictable but can jump when you cross a user threshold.
- M-Pesa STK push, and whether payments settle to your own Paybill or Till
- Prices in KES, with any USD fees converted so you know the real monthly cost
- MikroTik hotspot and PPPoE support, plus automatic cut-off and reconnect
- SMS provider support for receipts and reminders (for example Africa’s Talking or MobileSasa)
- Setup fees, trial length and whether router count is limited
- Licensing: the Communications Authority of Kenya regulates the ICT sector and runs licensing for communications services, so confirm the licence that fits your service with the CA
How VillageHub fits Kenyan operators
VillageHub is cloud SaaS billing for MikroTik RouterOS, with one-click router provisioning, and for TP-Link Omada. Customers pay through M-Pesa Daraja STK push, Kopo Kopo, MegaPay or Paystack, and the money goes into your own accounts rather than a VillageHub wallet.
It covers vouchers, phone-number login, a branded captive portal with 11 designs in English and Kiswahili, PPPoE billing with reminders, grace periods and automatic cut-off and reconnect, night and weekend offers, sales agents with an Android agent app, a white-label customer app, an AI assistant and outage credits. Routers are unlimited, there is no setup fee, and there is a 30-day free trial.
When another option is better
- You want no fixed monthly floor at all: XenFi charges only 3% per sale, so a month with no sales costs nothing. VillageHub has a KES 500 floor.
- You run mostly PPPoE with more than about 25 clients and want the lowest per-user rate: WifiPay lists KES 20 per user against VillageHub’s KES 25.
- You need a gateway VillageHub does not support: Centipid documents a catalogue of about 30 gateways.
- You have the skills to run your own server and want no software fee: PHPNuxBill (hotspot and PPPoE) or Mikhmon (hotspot voucher management) are free under the GPL.
- You are a large fibre or fixed-wireless ISP needing OLT, TR-069 and accounting integrations: Splynx is built for that, priced in USD from USD 0.55 per subscriber per month.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best ISP billing system in Kenya?+
It depends on your setup. For small and mid-sized MikroTik operators who want cloud hosting and M-Pesa paid into their own Paybill or Till, VillageHub is a strong choice. Centipid, WifiPay and XenFi are hosted alternatives with different price models, and PHPNuxBill or Mikhmon are free if you self-host.
How much does VillageHub cost in Kenya?+
Hotspot billing is KES 500 a month or 3% of what you collect through VillageHub, whichever is higher. PPPoE is KES 25 per active client per month. There is a 30-day free trial and no setup fee.
Does VillageHub take my M-Pesa money?+
No. Payments go into your own M-Pesa, Kopo Kopo, MegaPay or Paystack account. VillageHub bills its fee separately.
Is there a free ISP billing system for MikroTik in Kenya?+
Yes. PHPNuxBill and Mikhmon are open-source and free to use, but you host, secure and update them yourself, and you need a server.
Does VillageHub work with TP-Link Omada?+
Yes. VillageHub supports MikroTik RouterOS with one-click provisioning and TP-Link Omada.
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