Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Adyen vs Lago

Adyen logo

Adyen

Accounting

The payments platform built for growth

From
$0.13/per-transaction
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Lago logo

Lago

Accounting

Open-source billing infrastructure for usage-based models

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Lago has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Adyen there is a minimum monthly invoice, set by industry and business model and only disclosed through the sales team, so small volumes are not economic; Lago free tier limited to 10,000 entities per month with 5M event cap
  • They diverge on capability: Adyen covers Payment processing, Lago covers Real-time usage metering.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Adyen and Lago actually diverge.

Attributes where Adyen and Lago differ
AttributeAdyenLago
Starting price$0.13/per-transactionFree
Pricing modelusage-basedFreemium with optional paid tiers
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Api, PosWeb, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC
Founded2006Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Accounting).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Adyen

  • Payment processing
  • Risk management
  • Unified commerce
  • Issuing
  • Platform payments
  • SAP
  • Salesforce
  • Oracle

Only in Lago

  • Real-time usage metering
  • Multiple pricing models
  • Automated invoicing
  • Prepaid credits
  • Entitlements
  • Multi-currency support
  • Payment orchestration
  • Revenue analytics

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Adyen

  • Card acquiring with interchange plus pricing for larger merchantsnot Lago
  • Accepting local payment methods across multiple countriesnot Lago
  • Settling in several currencies through linked bank accountsnot Lago
  • Unified online and in-person paymentsnot Lago

Lago

  • Building usage-based billing for high-volume APIs and infrastructurenot Adyen
  • Implementing metered billing for AI and tokenized servicesnot Adyen
  • Creating subscription and hybrid pricing modelsnot Adyen
  • Managing multi-currency billing for global companiesnot Adyen
  • Maintaining billing infrastructure without vendor lock-innot Adyen

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Adyen

  • There is a minimum monthly invoice, set by industry and business model and only disclosed through the sales team, so small volumes are not economic
  • Published fees are indicative rather than a rate card, with real pricing negotiated
  • Interchange++ means the card cost varies per transaction rather than being a single predictable percentage
  • Alternative payment methods carry their own rates on top, such as 3.3 percent plus $0.10 for American Express in North America

Lago

  • Free tier limited to 10,000 entities per month with 5M event cap
  • No specific pricing published for Pro annual plan or Scale plan
  • Self-hosted and on-premise deployments require engineering resources
  • Community support only on free tier
  • Scale plan requires annual contracts and sales engagement

Pricing, plan by plan

Adyen

$0.13/per-transaction
  • Transaction-Based Pricing$undefined/mo
    • Fixed $0.13 USD per transaction
    • Variable fee determined by payment method
    • No setup fees

Lago

Free
  • Build (Free)Free
    • 10,000 managed entities per month
    • 5M usage events per month
    • 1K events per second rate limit
  • Pro$399/month
    • 10,000 entities included (graduated pricing to 100K)
    • 25M usage events included (to 500M with graduated rates)
    • 10K events per second (upgradeable to 100K)
  • Scale$null/custom
    • Custom entity and event volumes
    • 50K events per second (upgradeable to 100K)
    • RBAC and SSO (SAML)

Which should you pick?

Choose Adyen if

  • You need payment processing.
  • You work on Web, Api, Pos.
  • You also want risk management.
Adyen review

Choose Lago if

  • You need real-time usage metering.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC.
  • You also want multiple pricing models.
Lago review

Questions people ask

Is Adyen or Lago better?
Neither clearly leads. Adyen starts at $0.13/per-transaction and Lago at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Adyen or Lago?
Lago has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $0.13/per-transaction for Adyen and Free for Lago.
Does Adyen or Lago run on more platforms?
Adyen runs on Web, Api, Pos. Lago runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC.
Can I use Lago for free?
Yes. Lago has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Adyen starts at $0.13/per-transaction.
What is Adyen best used for?
Adyen is most often used for card acquiring with interchange plus pricing for larger merchants, accepting local payment methods across multiple countries, settling in several currencies through linked bank accounts, unified online and in-person payments. Of those, card acquiring with interchange plus pricing for larger merchants and accepting local payment methods across multiple countries are not what Lago is typically brought in for.
What can Adyen do that Lago cannot?
Adyen covers Payment processing, Risk management, Unified commerce, Issuing. Lago covers Real-time usage metering, Multiple pricing models, Automated invoicing, Prepaid credits.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Adyen: How much does Adyen charge per transaction?

Adyen charges a fixed $0.13 USD per transaction plus a variable fee based on the payment method used. Credit cards typically cost $0.13 + 0.60% + interchange, while digital wallets and BNPL options cost between $0.13 + 0.99% to $0.13 + 4.99%+, depending on the specific method and region.

Source
Lago: Can I use Lago open-source for free?

Yes, Lago is open-source under the AGPLv3 license and can be self-hosted. The cloud-based Build plan is also free with limits of 10,000 entities and 5M events per month.

Source
Adyen: Does Adyen have monthly subscription or setup fees?

No, Adyen has no setup fees or monthly recurring charges. You pay only for each transaction processed. The transaction fee structure remains the same regardless of transaction volume or business size.

Source
Lago: What payment providers does Lago integrate with?

Lago integrates with Stripe and Adyen for payment processing. It is not a payment processor itself but orchestrates payments through these providers.

Source
Adyen: What's Adyen's Interchange++ pricing option?

Adyen offers an Interchange++ transparent pricing model that passes interchange and scheme fees directly to merchants instead of bundling them into a percentage rate. This allows visibility into exact costs for each payment method.

Source
Lago: Does Lago support multiple currencies?

Yes, Lago supports multi-currency billing with automatic currency conversion for global businesses.

Source
Adyen: Can I process payments in multiple currencies with Adyen?

Yes, Adyen supports 100+ payment methods across multiple currencies. You can link multiple bank accounts in different currencies to avoid currency conversion fees on international transactions.

Source
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