Is Hasura or Lago better?

Neither clearly leads. Hasura starts at Free and Lago at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Hasura or Lago?

Hasura starts at Free and Lago at Free.

Does Hasura or Lago run on more platforms?

Hasura runs on Web. Lago runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC.

Can I use Hasura for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is Hasura best used for?

Hasura is most often used for automatic graphql api generation from existing databases, real-time data subscriptions for modern applications, backend infrastructure for web and mobile applications, event-triggered webhooks for database changes. Of those, automatic graphql api generation from existing databases and real-time data subscriptions for modern applications are not what Lago is typically brought in for.

What can Hasura do that Lago cannot?

Hasura covers GraphQL API, Real-time subscriptions, Access control, PostgreSQL. Lago covers Real-time usage metering, Multiple pricing models, Automated invoicing, Prepaid credits.

APIs · head to head

Hasura vs Lago

Hasura

APIs

GraphQL engine that instantly creates production-ready GraphQL API from databases

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Lago

Accounting

Open-source billing infrastructure for usage-based models

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Hasura active model definition: model/command accessed more than 1,000 times monthly; Lago free tier limited to 10,000 entities per month with 5M event cap
They diverge on capability: Hasura covers GraphQL API, 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 Hasura and Lago actually diverge.

Attributes where Hasura and Lago differ
Attribute	Hasura	Lago
Pricing model	freemium	Freemium with optional paid tiers
Platforms	Web	Web, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC
Category	APIs	Accounting
Founded	2017	Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Hasura

GraphQL API
Real-time subscriptions
Access control
PostgreSQL
MySQL
Webhooks
REST APIs
Cloud support

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.

Hasura

Automatic GraphQL API generation from existing databasesnot Lago
Real-time data subscriptions for modern applicationsnot Lago
Backend infrastructure for web and mobile applicationsnot Lago
Event-triggered webhooks for database changesnot Lago

Lago

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

Where each one falls short

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

Hasura

Active model definition: model/command accessed more than 1,000 times monthly
Private DDN requires Base or Advanced plan

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

Hasura

Free

DDN FreeFree
- Unlimited models
- 1 supergraph developer
- 15-minute observability retention
DDN Base$5/month
- Per active model billing
- Unlimited developers
- 30-day observability retention
DDN Advanced$30/month
- Per active model billing
- Federated collaboration
- Multi-repo CI/CD

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 Hasura if

You need graphql api.
You want to start without paying.
You also want real-time subscriptions.

Hasura 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 Hasura or Lago better?: Neither clearly leads. Hasura starts at Free and Lago at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hasura or Lago?: Hasura starts at Free and Lago at Free.
Does Hasura or Lago run on more platforms?: Hasura runs on Web. Lago runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC.
Can I use Hasura for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Hasura best used for?: Hasura is most often used for automatic graphql api generation from existing databases, real-time data subscriptions for modern applications, backend infrastructure for web and mobile applications, event-triggered webhooks for database changes. Of those, automatic graphql api generation from existing databases and real-time data subscriptions for modern applications are not what Lago is typically brought in for.
What can Hasura do that Lago cannot?: Hasura covers GraphQL API, Real-time subscriptions, Access control, PostgreSQL. Lago covers Real-time usage metering, Multiple pricing models, Automated invoicing, Prepaid credits.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Hasura: How much does Hasura cost?

Hasura DDN Free is free. DDN Base starts at $5/active model/month, and DDN Advanced starts at $30/active model/month.

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

Hasura: What is an active model in Hasura pricing?

An active model is defined as any model or command accessed more than 1,000 times monthly.

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

Hasura: Is there a free version of Hasura?

Yes, Hasura DDN Free is always free and includes unlimited models, 1 supergraph developer, and 15-minute observability retention.

Source

Lago: Does Lago support multiple currencies?

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

Source

Hasura vs Lago

Hasura

Lago

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Hasura

Only in Lago

What people use each for

Hasura

Lago

Where each one falls short

Hasura

Lago

Pricing, plan by plan

Hasura

Lago

Which should you pick?

Choose Hasura if

Choose Lago if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Hasura

More on Lago

Keep looking

Other head to heads