Compare billing solutions
Compare billing solutions and find the perfect solution for your needs
Lago
Stripe Billing
General
Lago is the Open Source Billing solution focused on customized pricing: subscription, usage-based and all the nuances in between.
Stripe Billing is one of the 21 products offered by Stripe. It is Closed Source, and focuses on Subscription management.
Compatibility
Lago is agnostic to adjacent verticals: payment processors, CPQs, Accounting solutions, etc.
You can use Lago with any Payment Processors, and we have native integrations with GoCardLess and Stripe Payments.
You can use Lago with any Payment Processors, and we have native integrations with GoCardLess and Stripe Payments.
Stripe Billing can only be used with Stripe's payment product: "Stripe Payments".
Architecture
Event-based, Open Source, Developer First
Not Event-based, Code isn't auditable, Developer First
Features and Customization
Lago has been built for flexibility and to address usage-based and subscription pricing models.
Lago has no event rate limits for instance.
The Open Architecture gives you the option to build on top of Lago.
Lago has no event rate limits for instance.
The Open Architecture gives you the option to build on top of Lago.
Designed for B2C and eCommerce.
You'll need to compose with an architecture built around a product catalog, limited to 100 read and 100 write operations per second.
More info here.
You'll need to compose with an architecture built around a product catalog, limited to 100 read and 100 write operations per second.
More info here.
Pricing
Lago's Open Source and self-hosted product is free forever.
We also offer Premium products, priced based on usage.
We also offer Premium products, priced based on usage.
0.5-0.8% of revenue, on top of "Stripe Payments" fees.
You’re using Stripe and aren’t sure what you’re paying for? Use our Stripe Fees Calculator
You’re using Stripe and aren’t sure what you’re paying for? Use our Stripe Fees Calculator
Hosting
Cloud and Self-hosted (on-premise)
Cloud
Lago
Chargebee
General
Lago is the Open Source Billing solution focused on customized pricing: subscription, usage-based and all the nuances in between.
Chargebee is a Closed Source and hosted billing solution.
Compatibility
Lago is agnostic to adjacent verticals: payment processors, CPQs, Accounting solutions, etc.
You can use Lago with any Payment Processors, and we have native integrations with GoCardLess and Stripe Payments.
You can use Lago with any Payment Processors, and we have native integrations with GoCardLess and Stripe Payments.
Chargebee has several integrations with payment providers and adjacent tooling.
Architecture
Event-based, Open Source, Developer First
Not Event-based, Closed Source, not Developer First (although an API is available)
Features and Customization
Lago has been built for flexibility and to address usage-based and subscription pricing models.
Lago has no event rate limits for instance.
The Open Architecture gives you the option to build on top of Lago.
Lago has no event rate limits for instance.
The Open Architecture gives you the option to build on top of Lago.
Designed for subscription models, not for usage-based pricing.
For instance, the max. number of recordings for the lifetime of a subscription is 5000.
There's no native "persistent metric", or a way to implement annual plans with monthly usage-based overages.
Read more here.
For instance, the max. number of recordings for the lifetime of a subscription is 5000.
There's no native "persistent metric", or a way to implement annual plans with monthly usage-based overages.
Read more here.
Pricing
Lago's Open Source and self-hosted product is free forever.
We also offer Premium products, priced based on usage.
We also offer Premium products, priced based on usage.
Chargebee charges a subscription fee and takes a cut on your revenue.
Hosting
Cloud and Self-hosted (on-premise)
Cloud
Lago
Maxio
General
Lago is the Open Source Billing solution focused on customized pricing: subscription, usage-based and all the nuances in between.
Maxio is a Billing and Financial Operations platform specialized in recurring billing and subscription management.
Compatibility
Lago is agnostic to adjacent verticals: payment processors, CPQs, Accounting solutions, etc.
You can use Lago with any Payment Processors, and we have native integrations with GoCardLess and Stripe Payments.
You can use Lago with any Payment Processors, and we have native integrations with GoCardLess and Stripe Payments.
Maxio has several integrations with payment providers and adjacent tooling.
Architecture
Event-based, Open Source, Developer First
Closed Source
Features and Customization
Lago has been built for flexibility and to address usage-based and subscription pricing models.
Lago has no event rate limits for instance.
The Open Architecture gives you the option to build on top of Lago.
Lago has no event rate limits for instance.
The Open Architecture gives you the option to build on top of Lago.
Designed for subscription models, not for high volume usage-based scenarios.
For instance, Maxio suggests contacting their support team for aggregating over 200K daily event.
For instance, Maxio suggests contacting their support team for aggregating over 200K daily event.
Pricing
Lago's Open Source and self-hosted product is free forever.
We also offer Premium products, priced based on usage.
We also offer Premium products, priced based on usage.
No free trial
For paid plans, Maxio charges a subscription fee and takes a cut on your revenue.
For paid plans, Maxio charges a subscription fee and takes a cut on your revenue.
Hosting
Cloud and Self-hosted (on-premise)
Cloud
Lago
Recurly
General
Lago is the Open Source Billing solution focused on customized pricing: subscription, usage-based and all the nuances in between.
Recurly is a subscription management and recurring billing platform.
Compatibility
Lago is agnostic to adjacent verticals: payment processors, CPQs, Accounting solutions, etc.
You can use Lago with any Payment Processors, and we have native integrations with GoCardLess and Stripe Payments.
You can use Lago with any Payment Processors, and we have native integrations with GoCardLess and Stripe Payments.
Recurly has several integrations with payment providers and adjacent tooling.
Architecture
Event-based, Open Source, Developer First
Closed Source, not Developer First (although an API is available)
Features and Customization
Lago has been built for flexibility and to address usage-based and subscription pricing models.
Lago has no event rate limits for instance.
The Open Architecture gives you the option to build on top of Lago.
Lago has no event rate limits for instance.
The Open Architecture gives you the option to build on top of Lago.
Designed for subscription models, not for complex usage-based models or high volume usage-based scenarios.
For example, Recurly faces limitations when configuring PayPal’s per-transaction pricing. Recurly supports Invoicing but does not include Advanced invoicing features.
For example, Recurly faces limitations when configuring PayPal’s per-transaction pricing. Recurly supports Invoicing but does not include Advanced invoicing features.
Pricing
Lago's Open Source and self-hosted product is free forever.
We also offer Premium products, priced based on usage.
We also offer Premium products, priced based on usage.
Core Plan: a flat fee of $249/months + a free of 0.9% on revenue.Professional & Elite Plans: custom pricing.
Hosting
Cloud and Self-hosted (on-premise)
Cloud
Lago
Metronome
General
Lago is the Open Source Billing solution focused on customized pricing: subscription, usage-based and all the nuances in between.
Metronome is a usage-based billing solution helping software companies launch, iterate, and scale their business models.
Compatibility
Lago is agnostic to adjacent verticals: payment processors, CPQs, Accounting solutions, etc.
You can use Lago with any Payment Processors, and we have native integrations with GoCardLess and Stripe Payments.
You can use Lago with any Payment Processors, and we have native integrations with GoCardLess and Stripe Payments.
Metronome has several integrations with adjacent tools. Metronome only supports Stripe as its payment processor.
Architecture
Event-based, Open Source, Developer First
Closed Source, not Developer First (although an API is available)
Features and Customization
Lago has been built for flexibility and to address usage-based and subscription pricing models.
Lago has no event rate limits for instance.
The Open Architecture gives you the option to build on top of Lago.
Lago has no event rate limits for instance.
The Open Architecture gives you the option to build on top of Lago.
Metronome is built for usage-based billing. Metronome does not include built-in features to tackle Invoicing, Taxation & Time Zones.
Pricing
Lago's Open Source and self-hosted product is free forever.
We also offer Premium products, priced based on usage.
We also offer Premium products, priced based on usage.
No free trial.
Starts with a $10K minimum annual platform fee for small businesses. Source: Internal research in Q3/2023.
Enterprise plan comes with custom pricing.
Starts with a $10K minimum annual platform fee for small businesses. Source: Internal research in Q3/2023.
Enterprise plan comes with custom pricing.
Hosting
Cloud and Self-hosted (on-premise)
Cloud
Lago
Home-grown
General
Lago is the Open Source Billing solution focused on customized pricing: subscription, usage-based and all the nuances in between.
Your home-grown billing system is as good as the resources (time and expertise) you can allocate to it.
Compatibility
Lago is agnostic to adjacent verticals: payment processors, CPQs, Accounting solutions, etc.
You can use Lago with any Payment Processors, and we have native integrations with GoCardLess and Stripe Payments.
You can use Lago with any Payment Processors, and we have native integrations with GoCardLess and Stripe Payments.
In theory, your home-grown system can be compatible with any other tool. You'd have to maintain every connection and integration by yourself.
Architecture
Event-based, Open Source, Developer First
Chosen by your team.
Features and Customization
Lago has been built for flexibility and to address usage-based and subscription pricing models.
Lago has no event rate limits for instance.
The Open Architecture gives you the option to build on top of Lago.
Lago has no event rate limits for instance.
The Open Architecture gives you the option to build on top of Lago.
In theory, you can customize everything. The more you build yourself, the more you will need to scale and maintain...by yourself.
Pricing
Lago's Open Source and self-hosted product is free forever.
We also offer Premium products, priced based on usage.
We also offer Premium products, priced based on usage.
Home-grown billing systems are never a one-off project. Your billing and pricing will evolve.
Your total cost will be the cost of your engineers, product and project managers working on billing, the cost to hire and retain them, and the opportunity cost of them not working on your core business.
Your total cost will be the cost of your engineers, product and project managers working on billing, the cost to hire and retain them, and the opportunity cost of them not working on your core business.
Self-hosting
Self-hosting available. Full data ownership.
Self-hosting available. Full data ownership.
Find the right Billing system for your company
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Frequently asked questions
What are the benefits of an Open Source solution?
Billing is so core to your business that you'd want to have full control on your billing system. Lago's code is open, and you can understand exactly how it works and adapt it as needed. You can also have the full ownership of your data.
Lago offers a transparent, composable and participative solution to the long tail of billing edge cases. Read more here
Is Lago processing payments?
Lago's focusing on billing, not on payments and has a "platform approach". We are agnostic our API is compatible with all Payment Service Providers (PSPs). On top of that, we have native integrations with Stripe Payments and GoCardless, and many more are coming.
Is Lago only for engineers?
Implementing Lago will require some help from your engineering team. Once the initial implementation behind you, we've designed Lago to be usable by non-technical teams, and have an intuitive user interface available, on top of the API.
What are the prerequisites to self-host Lago?
You can find the main Lago repository on GitHub. To get started, you will need to:
1. Install Docker on your machine;
2. Make sure Docker Compose is installed and available (it should be the case if you’ve chosen to install Docker via Docker Desktop);
3. Make sure Git is installed on your machine; and
4. A cup of tea (or coffee)! ☕️ 🫖
To access Lago Cloud, email us: hello@getlago.com or ping us on Slack!
I’m using Stripe but can’t find which how much we’re paying for...
We’ve made this Stripe fees calculator to give you an estimated overview of your Stripe fees.
Two hosting options, same benefits
Whether you choose the cloud version or decide to host the solution yourself, you will benefit from our powerful API and user-friendly interface.
Open source
The optimal solution for small projects.
Premium
The optimal solution for teams who want control and flexibility on cloud or self-hosted version.
