Lago
Open-source metering and billing platform for usage-based and subscription pricing.
Updated · AppBreakup editorial · Web, Self-hosted
Is Lago free?
Yes, free and open source
- License:
- AGPL-3.0
Checked on Lago's site Nov 8, 2026
Switch from Lago to
All 3
Stripe BillingCustom domain price: $10 per month
ChargebeeStarting price: $0 + 0.80% of billing (Billing)
RecurlyStarting price: $249 a month + 0.9% of billing volume (Starter)
- Verified facts
- 3 of 3
- Alternatives ranked
- 3
- Approved reviews
- 0
- Visits sent from here
- 0
About Lago
Lago is an open-source billing platform built around usage-based pricing. It ingests events such as API calls, tokens or compute time, meters them against billable metrics, and combines usage charges with subscription fees, credits and wallets to produce itemised invoices. It also handles plans, add-ons, coupons and quotes, and connects to payment providers such as Stripe for collection. Engineering teams can self-host it under the AGPL licence at no cost, or use the managed Lago Cloud; a Premium tier on either adds features such as real-time usage alerts, SSO and audit logs. It is popular with AI and API companies whose pricing outgrows simple per-seat plans. Compared with Stripe Billing it gives more control and avoids a percentage fee on revenue, but you take on running it yourself or pay for the cloud plan, and payments still need a separate processor.
Best for: API and AI companies with usage-based pricing that want to own their billing system..
Pros and cons
What works
- Self-hostable under the AGPL
- Built for usage metering and hybrid pricing
- No percentage-of-revenue fee when self-hosted
Why people leave
- Needs a separate payment processor
- Self-hosting means running and upgrading it yourself
- Premium features require a paid licence
Lago vs Stripe Billing, Chargebee and Recurly
From each app's listing and the prices verified on its own site. A dash means we haven't verified it yet.
| Attribute | Lago | Stripe Billing | Chargebee | Recurly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Open source | Paid | Free plan + paid | Paid |
| Verified price | — | $10 per month | $99 a month + 0.65% of billing | $249 a month + 0.9% of billing volume (Starter) |
| Free plan | Free app | No | Yes | No |
| Open source | Yes | No | No | No |
| Self-hostable | Yes | No | No | No |
| Platforms | Web, Self-hosted | Web | Web | Web |
Top Lago alternatives
See all 3- 1Stripe Billing68.8
Fully managed subscriptions and invoicing tied to Stripe payments, no servers to run.
- 2Chargebee64.8
Managed subscription billing with revenue reporting and dunning for SaaS teams.
- 3Recurly61.8
Hosted recurring billing with strong churn recovery for subscription businesses.
Why people left Lago
In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.
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Reviews
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Lago: common questions
What is Lago?
Lago: Open-source metering and billing platform for usage-based and subscription pricing. Best for API and AI companies with usage-based pricing that want to own their billing system. Available for Web, and you can host it yourself.
Is Lago free?
Yes. Lago is free, open-source software that you can host yourself.
Is Lago open source?
Yes. The source code is on GitHub at getlago/lago. You can also run it on your own server.
What platforms does Lago run on?
Lago is available for Web and Self-hosted.
What are the best alternatives to Lago?
The highest-ranked Lago alternatives right now are Stripe Billing, Chargebee and Recurly. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.
Lago vs Stripe Billing: what's the difference?
Lago is free and open source; Stripe Billing is a paid product. Lago is open source and Stripe Billing is not. Both run on Web.