Intermediate · 2 of 6
Zaps: Tips on Nostr
Learn how to send and receive Bitcoin tips (zaps) on Nostr using the Lightning Network
What are Zaps?
Zaps are Bitcoin tips sent over the Lightning Network. They’re the native value layer of Nostr, and they let readers reward content they love with real money.
Think of them as “likes with value”: a way to support people whose content you enjoy.
How Zaps Work
- You create good content → A post, thread, or reply
- Someone enjoys it → They click the ⚡ zap button
- They send satoshis → Tiny amounts of Bitcoin (1000 sats is well under a dollar)
- You receive instantly → Money appears in your wallet
- Everyone sees it → Zaps are public and create social proof
Why Zaps Are Revolutionary
On the usual platforms a like costs nothing, so it is worth nothing. Your work sells ads and the platform banks the money. Zaps change what the gesture is: when someone taps the bolt, real Bitcoin leaves their wallet and arrives in yours, with no company in the middle taking a percentage. Appreciation that costs the sender something tends to mean more.
Real Examples
An illustrator posts a sketch and wakes up to a few thousand sats from people she has never met. A writer’s long thread keeps circulating for a week and keeps earning tips the whole time. A musician shares a rough demo and covers the studio hour. Developers get zapped too, sometimes 100,000 sats (tens of dollars) for an afternoon spent fixing somebody’s bug.
The Value-for-Value Model
Traditional social media
- Free to post
- Free to read
- Attention pays the platform
Nostr
- Free to post
- Free to read
- Attention pays the creator
How Zaps Appear
In supported clients you see a lightning bolt with an amount beside it (“21 sats”), a running total on the post itself, and a notification of your own whenever one lands.
Alice
Just published my new article!
- 12
- 3
- 5,420 sats
- Bob zapped 1,000 sats
- Carol zapped 500 sats
Not Required!
Important: Zaps are completely optional. You can use Nostr for free forever without ever sending or receiving a single satoshi.
Wallet Setup
Before you can send or receive zaps, you need a Lightning wallet.
Recommended Wallets
For Beginners
Primal Wallet (Built into the Primal app)
- Zero setup: you activate it inside the client
- Self-custodial (Spark-based) since Primal 3.0
- Web, iOS, and Android
- primal.net
Coinos (Web)
- Hosted wallet that runs in any browser
- Gives you a
you@coinos.ioLightning address - Custodial, so keep only small amounts
- coinos.io
Phoenix (Mobile)
- User-friendly
- Self-custodial
- iOS and Android (back in the US App Store since April 2025)
- Note: true self-custody means small on-chain/channel fees when funding a tiny first balance
- phoenix.acinq.co
For Advanced Users
Alby Hub (Desktop/Cloud + Browser Extension)
- Your own self-custodial Lightning node, in the cloud or self-hosted
- Lightning address included; pairs with the Alby browser extension and the Alby Go mobile app
- Connects to any Nostr client via Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC)
- getalby.com
Zeus (Mobile)
- Connect to your own node, or use the built-in wallet
- Full control
- Power user features
- zeusln.com
Custodial vs Non-Custodial
Custodial (Coinos and other hosted wallets)
- ✅ Easy setup
- ✅ Lower fees
- ❌ They hold your funds
- ❌ KYC may be required
Non-Custodial (Primal Wallet, Phoenix, Alby Hub, Zeus)
- ✅ You control your keys
- ✅ Better privacy
- ❌ Slightly more complex
- ❌ Higher on-chain fees
Recommendation: Start with a hosted or built-in wallet for small amounts. Upgrade to full self-custody (Phoenix or Alby Hub) as your balance grows.
What About Wallet of Satoshi and Mutiny?
Older Nostr guides recommend these two. That advice is out of date:
- Mutiny Wallet shut down. The team announced the shutdown in August 2024 and ended all apps, hosted services, and support by December 31, 2024. Don’t send funds there.
- Wallet of Satoshi is no longer the zero-setup custodial app it was famous for. Its classic custodial service left the US market in November 2023 and was discontinued across the EU in early 2026. It has since relaunched around a Spark-based wallet marketed as self-custodial. It’s a different product from the one older guides describe.
For the easiest start today, use your client’s built-in wallet (like Primal’s) or a hosted web wallet like Coinos instead.
Connecting Your Wallet
Step-by-Step: Alby Hub + Web Client
-
Set Up Alby Hub
- Start a hub at getalby.com, in the cloud or self-hosted
- Alby Hub is a self-custodial Lightning node; Alby no longer offers a hosted custodial balance
- Optionally install the Alby browser extension and link it to your hub for one-click zaps in web clients
-
Get a Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC) String
- In Alby Hub, create a new app connection for your Nostr client
- Copy the connection string it generates
-
Connect to Client
- In your Nostr client (Primal, Iris, etc.)
- Settings → Wallet → Connect
- Paste the NWC connection string
-
Test with a Small Zap
- Find a post you like
- Click ⚡ button
- Send 10 sats
Step-by-Step: Phoenix + Mobile Client
-
Download Phoenix
- App Store / Play Store
- Create wallet (backup seed phrase!)
-
Fund Your Wallet
- Buy Bitcoin or receive from elsewhere
- Need at least 10,000 sats to start
-
Know Phoenix’s Receiving Limits
- Phoenix gives you Lightning invoices to receive payments
- It does not give you the classic
name@providerLightning address most Nostr clients expect for zaps (its human-readable address support on@phoenixwallet.meis an experimental BIP-353 feature)
-
For Receiving Zaps, Pair It with a Lightning Address
- Zaps arrive at the Lightning address in your Nostr profile
- Use an address from a wallet that provides one (your client’s built-in wallet, Coinos, or Alby Hub), and keep Phoenix as your self-custody wallet for larger balances
Step-by-Step: Built-In Client Wallet (e.g., Primal)
-
Activate the Wallet Inside Your Client
- Open your client’s wallet tab and follow the activation prompts
- Primal’s built-in wallet is self-custodial and works on web, iOS, and Android
-
Get Your Lightning Address
- Once active, the wallet shows your Lightning address
- It looks like:
username@provider.com - This is where zaps will arrive
-
Add to Your Nostr Profile
- Clients with a built-in wallet usually fill this in for you
- If not: Edit Profile → find “Lightning Address” or “LN Address” field → paste → save
-
Verify It Works
- Look for ⚡ icon on your profile
- Ask a friend to send you a test zap (100 sats)
- Check your wallet, the sats should arrive instantly
- You should see zap notification in your client
Important: Write down your wallet recovery phrase if using a self-custodial wallet (Phoenix, Primal Wallet, Alby Hub, Zeus)! If you lose access to your wallet, you lose your Bitcoin. No exceptions.
Sending Zaps
How to Zap a Post
- Find a post you like
- Tap the ⚡ button
- Choose amount or enter custom
- Add message (optional)
- Confirm and send!
Zap Amounts Etiquette
Quick reference:
| Amount | When to Use |
|---|---|
| 10-50 sats | Small appreciation |
| 100-500 sats | Good post/thread |
| 1,000-5,000 sats | Great content, podcast episode |
| 10,000+ sats | Exceptional value, art, tool |
Rule of thumb: Zap what the content is worth to you. No amount is too small!
Custom Messages
Most clients let you add a message with your zap:
"Thanks for the help!"
"Great thread, learned a lot"
"☕ Coffee's on me"This personalizes the interaction and helps creators know what content resonates.
Zap Simulator
Simulate sending and receiving Bitcoin payments (zaps) on Nostr using the Lightning Network.
Receiving Zaps
Setting Up Your Lightning Address
To receive zaps, you need to configure where they go:
-
Get your Lightning address
- From your wallet (your client’s built-in wallet, Coinos, Alby Hub, etc.)
- Format:
yourname@provider.com
-
Add to Your Profile
Client → Profile → Edit → Lightning Address Paste: yourname@getalby.com -
Verify it works
- Send a few sats to your own Lightning address from your wallet’s send screen
- Or ask a friend for a 10 sat test zap
Zap Notifications
Most clients push a notification the second a zap lands, and keep a zap tab in your notifications so you can scroll back through who sent what.
Privacy note: Zaps are public. Anyone can look at a post and see that it was zapped and for how much, because the amount is baked into the zap receipt that gets published to relays. Some clients offer an anonymous zap, which leaves the sender’s name off that receipt. The amount stays visible either way.
Zap Splits [ADVANCED]
Optional feature for sharing zap revenue automatically.
What are Zap Splits?
When someone zaps your post, automatically split the payment with collaborators:
Example: podcast episode
- 70%Host (you)
- 20%Producer
- 10%Editor
Setting Up Splits
Splits belong to the post, not to your account. You set them up while you are writing the post, in a client that supports the feature (Amethyst is the one most people use), and they apply to that one note. There is no setting that quietly splits everything you publish from then on.
- While composing the post: look for “Zap Splits”, “Recipients” or something similar in the compose screen
- Add collaborators by their Nostr profile: you pick people by npub or by searching for them, and the client reads each person’s Lightning address off their profile. Somebody with no Lightning address on their profile has nowhere to receive their share.
- Give each person a share (optional): these are relative weights rather than percentages, so 3 and 1 means one collaborator takes three quarters. Leave the weights out and the zap is divided equally.
- Publish: every zap on that note is divided the way you set it.
Common Use Cases
- Podcasts: Split between host and guests
- Collaborative posts: Share with co-authors
- Art: Split with inspiration sources
- Open source: Fund dependencies
Keeping Track of Zaps
Your client already holds most of what you would want to know. Every post carries its own zap total, and the zap tab in your notifications lists who sent what and when. If you use a client with a built-in wallet, like Primal, the wallet screen keeps your full history of sats in and sats out in one place.
What does not exist yet is a real analytics dashboard for zaps, so don’t go hunting for top-post charts or supporter leaderboards. zaplife.lol is worth a look anyway: it is a live feed of zaps happening across Nostr right now, more fun to watch than useful to measure.
Creator Best Practices
Maximizing Zap Support
1. Create Value
- Educational content
- Unique insights
- Entertainment
- Helpful tools/resources
2. Be Consistent
- Post regularly
- Build trust over time
- Quality over quantity
3. Acknowledge Supporters
- Thank people who zap
- Reply to comments
- Build relationships
4. Signal Value
- “Zaps welcome” occasionally
- Show appreciation
- Don’t beg or demand
5. Diversify Income
- Don’t rely solely on zaps
- Offer paid content/subscriptions
- Build products/services
- Accept direct donations
Tax Considerations
Not financial advice. Consult a tax professional in your jurisdiction.
General principles:
- Zaps may be taxable income
- Keep records of receipts
- Convert to fiat = taxable event in most places
- Bitcoin held = capital gains when sold
Tools:
- Koinly, CoinTracker for tracking
- Export wallet history regularly
- Document everything
Troubleshooting Zaps
”Zap button doesn’t work”
- Check wallet is connected (Settings → Wallet)
- Ensure you have sufficient balance
- Try reloading the client
”Wallet won’t connect”
- Verify your connection string is correct
- Check that your wallet is unlocked
- Some wallets need to be “online” (Phoenix)
“Zaps not showing up”
- Zaps take a few seconds to process
- Some clients batch notifications
- Check your wallet directly for confirmation
”Can’t receive zaps”
- Verify your Lightning address is in your profile
- Test with a small amount first
- Ensure your wallet is running (non-custodial)
Best Practices
Do:
- ✅ Zap content that provides value
- ✅ Add a friendly message
- ✅ Start small while learning
- ✅ Support newcomers with welcome zaps
- ✅ Keep some sats in your wallet
Don’t:
- ❌ Feel pressured to zap
- ❌ Zap more than you can afford
- ❌ Expect zaps in return
- ❌ Spam low-quality content expecting zaps
- ❌ Forget to backup your wallet seed
Resources
Community
Join the zapping community:
- Use #zap tag to discuss
- Follow #plebchain for tips
- Share your Lightning Address in your bio
Quick Reference
| Wallet | Difficulty | Control | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primal Wallet (built-in) | Easiest | Self-custody | Beginners |
| Coinos | Easy | Custodial | Web users, small amounts |
| Phoenix | Medium | Self-custody | Serious users |
| Alby Hub | Medium | Self-custody | Desktop users |
| Zeus | Hard | Full control | Power users |
Zap Amounts:
- 21 sats = a classic small zap (a Bitcoin in-joke)
- 100 sats = Standard “thank you”
- 1000 sats = “This was valuable”
- 10000+ sats = Exceptional content
Remember: Every sat counts. Don’t overthink the amount. Support good content generously!
Test Your Zap Knowledge
Ready to test what you’ve learned about zaps?
Zap Definition
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Keep reading
- Your keys, your identity: zaps are tied to the key that signs them, so this is worth getting right first
- Nostr tools worth knowing: wallets and services that make zapping less fiddly