# How to open a payment channel?

Payment channels are a foundational aspect of the lightning network. They are extremely powerful because they enable near instant and cheap bitcoin transactions. In Alby Hub, there are two main reasons to open a channel. 

1. Top up your Spending Balance with BTC for spending on apps or sending to friends 
2. Ensure you have enough Receiving Capacity to receive tips, boostagrams, or payments

With Alby Hub you are **in control of your funds AND of the transaction fees**, because you choose the channel partner yourself. That's a big advantage over custodial wallets and most non-custodial wallets.

## Open a payment channel

Click on the link below to see an interactive demo of opening a payment channel in your Alby Hub:

{% content-ref url="../node/increase-receiving-capacity" %}
[increase-receiving-capacity](https://guides.getalby.com/user-guide/alby-hub/node/increase-receiving-capacity)
{% endcontent-ref %}

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***Important***: channels can be public or private.

* **Only open private channels**. Unless you are a podcaster or musician planning to receive Value 4 Value payments or boostagrams. In that case you need public channels.
* **Do not mix** to mix private and public channels
  {% endhint %}

## Which Lightning Service Provider to choose?

Alby Hub makes it extremely easy to open a payment channel. It offers a selection of Lightning Service Providers (LSPs) from which users can lease channels. In return you have a consistent and reliable payment experience. By default Alby Hub will automatically choose the best channel partner for you and you are free to choose yourself via "Advanced" settings. 

**Overview of available LSPs**

<table><thead><tr><th width="115.6666259765625">LSP</th><th width="128.5555419921875">Minimum Channel duration</th><th width="107.3333740234375">Sending fees*</th><th width="312.4444580078125">Comment</th><th>Support</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Flashsats</td><td>3 months</td><td>0.2% + 0.001 sat</td><td>Your channel stays open longer if you send or receive at least one payment per 30 days and a maximum of 12 months.<br>The channel will be closed if your Hub is offline for more than 2 weeks.</td><td><a href="https://flashsats.xyz/api-docs/index.html">Contact</a></td></tr><tr><td>LNServer</td><td>3 months</td><td>0%  </td><td></td><td><a href="https://lnserver.com/about-us">Contact</a></td></tr><tr><td>Megalith LSP</td><td>3 months</td><td>0.1% + 1 sat</td><td>Your channel stays open longer if you send or receive at least one payment per 30 days.</td><td><a href="https://megalithic.me/contact">Contact</a></td></tr><tr><td>Olympus by Zeus</td><td>12 months</td><td>0%</td><td>The channel will be closed immediately after the duration.</td><td><a href="https://docs.zeusln.app/category/services/">Contact</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

\*Total sending fees depend on routing nodes along the payment route to the recipient.\
There are zero fees for receiving payments.

{% hint style="success" %}
Great! 🎉 Now you understand why and how to open a channel!

***Tip:*** It is recommended to have more than one channel if you want to be insured against downtimes of a single channel partner.
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