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E-Commerce · head to head

FastSpring vs Lago

FastSpring logo

FastSpring

E-Commerce

Merchant-of-record commerce platform for global payments, subscriptions, and tax compliance

From
On request
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: FastSpring pricing is not published and requires contacting sales for a quote, making cost comparison difficult upfront.; Lago free tier limited to 10,000 entities per month with 5M event cap
  • They diverge on capability: FastSpring covers Global online payments, Lago covers Real-time usage metering.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which FastSpring and Lago actually diverge.

Attributes where FastSpring and Lago differ
AttributeFastSpringLago
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modeltransactionFreemium with optional paid tiers
Free tierNoYes
Platformsweb, apiWeb, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC
CategoryE-CommerceAccounting
Founded2006Unknown

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

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 FastSpring

  • Global online payments
  • Subscription billing
  • Branded checkout
  • Tax compliance
  • Fraud prevention
  • Digital invoicing and quotes

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.

FastSpring

  • Selling software or SaaS internationally without a local tax entitynot Lago
  • B2B invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise SaaS dealsnot Lago
  • Recurring subscription billing for digital productsnot Lago
  • Reducing fraud and chargebacks on digital purchasesnot Lago

Lago

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

Where each one falls short

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

FastSpring

  • Pricing is not published and requires contacting sales for a quote, making cost comparison difficult upfront.
  • As a merchant-of-record, FastSpring takes on more control of the checkout and payment relationship than a pure payment gateway like Stripe.
  • Revenue share pricing can become more expensive than flat per-transaction gateway fees at very high volumes.
  • Primarily targeted at software/digital goods sellers, so it is less suited to physical product e-commerce.

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

FastSpring

On request
  • Custom$undefined/mo
    • All-in-one transaction-based pricing based on sales volume
    • No subscription fees or per-feature charges
    • Discounted rates for ACH and wire transfers

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 FastSpring if

  • You need global online payments.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want subscription billing.
FastSpring 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 FastSpring or Lago better?
Neither clearly leads. FastSpring starts at On request and Lago at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, FastSpring or Lago?
Lago has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for FastSpring and Free for Lago.
Does FastSpring or Lago run on more platforms?
FastSpring runs on web, api. 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. FastSpring starts at On request.
What is FastSpring best used for?
FastSpring is most often used for selling software or saas internationally without a local tax entity, b2b invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise saas deals, recurring subscription billing for digital products, reducing fraud and chargebacks on digital purchases. Of those, selling software or saas internationally without a local tax entity and b2b invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise saas deals are not what Lago is typically brought in for.
What can FastSpring do that Lago cannot?
FastSpring covers Global online payments, Subscription billing, Branded checkout, Tax compliance. Lago covers Real-time usage metering, Multiple pricing models, Automated invoicing, Prepaid credits.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

FastSpring: What does FastSpring cost?

FastSpring uses flat-rate, all-in-one pricing based on transaction volume, with fees withheld from payouts. There is no minimum volume or subscription fee, and pricing is typically quoted based on expected sales volume after contacting their sales team.

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
FastSpring: Is there a free plan?

FastSpring does not offer a free plan; instead pricing is transaction-based with no upfront subscription cost, and merchants only pay a commission on completed sales.

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
FastSpring: What does FastSpring integrate with or include compared to a payment gateway like Stripe?

FastSpring bundles international payments, subscription management, tax compliance, fraud prevention, reporting, and B2B invoicing into one price, whereas gateways like Stripe charge separately for many of these features.

Source
Lago: Does Lago support multiple currencies?

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

Source
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