How to receive a Lightning payment as a freelancer
Short answer. Put a Lightning address on your invoice. It looks like an email address, and your client pays it from any Lightning wallet. The Bitcoin goes straight to your own wallet. In Kute, every wallet comes with a Lightning address at paykute.com.
Lightning is a fast payment network on top of Bitcoin. It is for everyday payments, so a client can pay you in seconds from almost anywhere. You do not need to know how it works inside. You need three things: a wallet you control, a Lightning address and an invoice that tells the client how to pay.
Step 1: Set up a wallet you control
Install Kute. Create a wallet. The app makes your keys on your phone and keeps them there. Write your 12 words on paper. Keep the paper in a safe place. The 12 words are the only backup, and Kute has no copy (Kute FAQ). Our guide on how to back up your 12 words without showing anyone covers this step in detail.
Step 2: Find and edit your Lightning address
Open Receive. Your Lightning address looks like [email protected]. A new wallet gets a random name made of an adjective, a sea word and a number from 1000 to 9999. You can change it. Pick a name that a client will trust, such as your own name or the name of your studio. Names use lower case letters, numbers, dots, dashes and underscores.
The Receive screen also shows a QR code. By default, the QR code holds a Bitcoin address and a Lightning option together, so the payer's wallet picks what it can pay. You can switch to Bitcoin only or Lightning only.
Step 3: Put the address on your invoice
Add one line under your usual payment details, for example: "Pay in Bitcoin over Lightning: [email protected]". Keep the price in euros. Say which exchange rate you use. Our guide on how to invoice clients in Bitcoin has a full template.
If a client wants to pay an exact amount, make a Lightning invoice instead. In Kute, enter the amount on the Lightning receive option. The app makes a one-time invoice that the client can scan or paste.
Step 4: Check that the money arrived
The payment shows in Activity. Lightning payments are final when they arrive, so the payer cannot take the money back. If you show your screen on a video call, triple-tap the wallet first to hide your balance.
What it costs
| Wallet | Fee to receive over Lightning | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Kute | Kute charges the Kute fee on conversions, such as when you move between Bitcoin and dollars. The app shows it before you confirm. | Kute FAQ |
| Phoenix | "0 (no fees)". When Phoenix needs more room to receive: "1% + mining fees" | Phoenix FAQ, checked 20 October 2026 |
| Wallet of Satoshi | "no platform-specific fees for receiving payments", but network or operator fees may apply | Disclosure v1.23, checked 20 October 2026 |
Should I use Lightning or a normal Bitcoin address?
For invoices and small to medium amounts, Lightning is usually the better fit because it is fast. For a large payment that you plan to keep as savings, a normal Bitcoin address (on-chain) works too. We compare the two in Lightning or on-chain: which one should you use to get paid?
Questions people ask
No. Any wallet that can pay a Lightning address can pay you. Many popular Lightning wallets support it.
Sources
- Kute FAQ, kutewallet.com
- Kute app documentation: Bitcoin and Lightning, October 2026
- Phoenix FAQ (ACINQ), checked 20 October 2026
- Wallet of Satoshi Disclosure Document v1.23, checked 20 October 2026
This post explains how things work. It is not advice about what to do with your money. Features and fees can change; the app shows the current fee before you confirm.