Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Lago vs Medius Expense

Lago logo

Lago

Accounting

Open-source billing infrastructure for usage-based models

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Medius Expense logo

Medius Expense

Accounting

Expense management, formerly Expensya, now the expense module of the Medius spend platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Lago has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Lago free tier limited to 10,000 entities per month with 5M event cap; Medius Expense the Expensya name is being retired, so contracts, logins and support articles change identity mid-relationship and internal documentation has to be rewritten.
  • They diverge on capability: Lago covers Real-time usage metering, Medius Expense covers Receipt OCR.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lago and Medius Expense actually diverge.

Attributes where Lago and Medius Expense differ
AttributeLagoMedius Expense
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelFreemium with optional paid tiersquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPCWeb, iOS, Android

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 Lago

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

Only in Medius Expense

  • Receipt OCR
  • Mileage and per diem
  • VAT recovery
  • Card reconciliation
  • Approval workflows
  • AP suite integration

What people use each for

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

Lago

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

Medius Expense

  • A French or Spanish employer needing VAT-compliant receipt capture in local formats and languagesnot Lago
  • A company already running Medius for supplier invoices that wants employee spend on the same platformnot Lago
  • A finance team with heavy mileage claims needing statutory rates applied without spreadsheetsnot Lago
  • A group consolidating several country expense tools into one European platformnot Lago

Where each one falls short

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

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

Medius Expense

  • The Expensya name is being retired, so contracts, logins and support articles change identity mid-relationship and internal documentation has to be rewritten.
  • It is now a module inside an accounts payable suite, so expense-specific roadmap items compete with supplier invoice work for engineering time.
  • Pricing is not published and is discounted against bundling with Medius AP, which makes standalone expense quotes less competitive than they look.
  • Strength is concentrated in Europe and the Maghreb; North American and Asian tax and mileage handling are thinner than the European coverage.
  • It does not issue cards, so real-time spend controls are absent and it relies on card feed reconciliation after the fact.

Pricing, plan by plan

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)

Medius Expense

On request
  • Medius Expense$undefined/year
    • Per-user subscription, quoted not published
    • Tiering by feature set and entity count
    • Implementation and OCR configuration fees

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Medius Expense if

  • You need receipt ocr.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want mileage and per diem.
Medius Expense review

Questions people ask

Is Lago or Medius Expense better?
Neither clearly leads. Lago starts at Free and Medius Expense at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Lago or Medius Expense?
Lago has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Lago and On request for Medius Expense.
Does Lago or Medius Expense run on more platforms?
Lago runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC. Medius Expense runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Lago for free?
Yes. Lago has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Medius Expense starts at On request.
What is Lago best used for?
Lago is most often used for building usage-based billing for high-volume apis and infrastructure, implementing metered billing for ai and tokenized services, creating subscription and hybrid pricing models, managing multi-currency billing for global companies. Of those, building usage-based billing for high-volume apis and infrastructure and implementing metered billing for ai and tokenized services are not what Medius Expense is typically brought in for.
What can Lago do that Medius Expense cannot?
Lago covers Real-time usage metering, Multiple pricing models, Automated invoicing, Prepaid credits. Medius Expense covers Receipt OCR, Mileage and per diem, VAT recovery, Card reconciliation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Medius Expense: Is Expensya still available?

Under that name, no. The product continues as Medius Expense, with the branding cutover on 30 September 2026 and no change to features or data.

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
Medius Expense: Do I have to buy Medius AP as well?

No, but the commercial terms improve materially if you do, which is worth testing during negotiation.

Lago: Does Lago support multiple currencies?

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

Source
Medius Expense: Does it issue corporate cards?

No. It reconciles existing card feeds rather than issuing its own cards.

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