What the number includes
The clock starts when the payment window opens, not when the coins leave the wallet. So every figure includes the human part: copying the address, switching to the exchange app, entering the amount, confirming. Then the network part: the transfer being mined and the confirmations the payment processor waits for.
That makes the numbers longer than raw block times, and closer to what you actually experience. Treat them as "time from deciding to pay until you can deploy".
We left out networks with too few payments to say anything, and our own test payments.
The results
Median and slow-case times, in minutes. "Slow case" is the 90th percentile: nine payments out of ten were credited faster than this.
- Solana (SOL): median 1.6, slow case 6.5
- Card (for comparison): median 2.3, slow case 21
- Ethereum (ETH): median 2.4, slow case 2.9
- USDT on BSC (BEP20): median 2.4, slow case 7.1
- USDT on Tron (TRC20): median 2.6, slow case 12.2
- USDT on Ethereum (ERC20): median 4.8, slow case 10.1
- Litecoin (LTC): median about 10, from a small sample
- Bitcoin (BTC): median 16.5, slow case 42
Three things stand out.
The cheap stablecoin rails are as fast as a card. USDT on BSC and Tron credits in under three minutes for a typical payment. The card median is in the same range, and its slow case is worse, because a card checkout can stop for a bank's 3-D Secure check.
Tron has a longer tail than BSC. The medians are almost the same, but one Tron payment in ten took over twelve minutes against about seven on BSC. A likely cause is on the sending side: some exchanges batch Tron withdrawals or hold them for review before they go out.
Bitcoin is slow because of blocks, not because of anything you did. A Bitcoin block comes roughly every ten minutes on average, and the gap between blocks varies a lot. A quarter of Bitcoin payments still took over 24 minutes. If you are paying to get a server up right now, Bitcoin is the wrong choice.
Ethereum: fast, but check the fee
ETH itself credited quickly and consistently, with the narrowest spread of any network here. USDT on Ethereum took about twice as long and cost far more to send, since an ERC20 token transfer uses more gas than plain ETH. Both are fine. For a small top-up, the fee on Ethereum mainnet can be a noticeable share of the amount, which is the main reason to choose another network.
The USDT top-up and network guide compares fees and support across chains in more detail.
What to pick
- You want the server in the next five minutes: USDT on BSC or Tron, or Solana.
- You hold ETH already: send ETH, it is fast and predictable. Avoid USDT on Ethereum for small amounts because of the fee.
- You hold Bitcoin: it works, just plan on about a quarter of an hour, sometimes longer.
- You only have a card: also fine, usually a couple of minutes.
How the balance gets used
Once the balance is credited, servers are billed by the hour from it, so the payment does not need to match a plan price. Top up once and deploy whatever fits. You can pay with USDT, Bitcoin, Litecoin and other coins, or with a card.