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Accounting · head to head

Lago vs Medusa

Lago logo

Lago

Accounting

Open-source billing infrastructure for usage-based models

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Medusa logo

Medusa

E-Commerce

Open source Shopify alternative

From
$29/month
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; Medusa the managed cloud meters four separate resources: edge requests, emails, compute hours and database storage
  • They diverge on capability: Lago covers Real-time usage metering, Medusa covers Open source.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lago and Medusa actually diverge.

Attributes where Lago and Medusa differ
AttributeLagoMedusa
Starting priceFree$29/month
Pricing modelFreemium with optional paid tierssubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPCWeb
CategoryAccountingE-Commerce
FoundedUnknown2020

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 Lago

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

Only in Medusa

  • Open source
  • Modular architecture
  • Multi-region support
  • Plugin system
  • Admin dashboard
  • Order management
  • Inventory tracking
  • Payment integrations

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 Medusa
  • Implementing metered billing for AI and tokenized servicesnot Medusa
  • Creating subscription and hybrid pricing modelsnot Medusa
  • Managing multi-currency billing for global companiesnot Medusa
  • Maintaining billing infrastructure without vendor lock-innot Medusa

Medusa

  • Building a custom ecommerce backend on an open source headless platformnot Lago
  • Running a self hosted or managed commerce API with a custom storefrontnot 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

Medusa

  • The managed cloud meters four separate resources: edge requests, emails, compute hours and database storage
  • The Develop plan at $29 a month applies a hard limit of 1,000 emails, so it stops rather than bills
  • Compute hours are capped at 600 on Develop and 800 on Launch
  • Edge request overage is $0.3 per million and storage $0.5 per GB month above the plan allowance
  • Background workers and priority support require the Scale plan at $299 a month

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)

Medusa

$29/month
  • Develop$29/month
    • Base cloud hosting
    • Commerce features included
    • No GMV-tax
  • Launch$99/month
    • Enhanced features
    • No GMV-tax
  • Scale$299/month
    • Advanced features
    • No GMV-tax
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • Custom configuration

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 Medusa if

  • You need open source.
  • You also want modular architecture.
Medusa review

Questions people ask

Is Lago or Medusa better?
Neither clearly leads. Lago starts at Free and Medusa at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Lago or Medusa?
Lago has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Lago and $29/month for Medusa.
Does Lago or Medusa run on more platforms?
Lago runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC. Medusa runs on Web.
Can I use Lago for free?
Yes. Lago has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Medusa starts at $29/month.
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 Medusa is typically brought in for.
What can Lago do that Medusa cannot?
Lago covers Real-time usage metering, Multiple pricing models, Automated invoicing, Prepaid credits. Medusa covers Open source, Modular architecture, Multi-region support, Plugin system.

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
Medusa: What does Medusa charge for additional team members?

Additional seats on the Medusa Cloud development platform cost $30 per seat per month. Unlimited users can access the Medusa Admin Dashboard at no additional cost for commerce operations.

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
Medusa: Are there usage-based charges beyond the base Medusa plan price?

Yes. Beyond base plan costs, Medusa charges for edge request overages at $0.30 per 1M requests, email overages at $0.70 per 1,000 emails, data transfer at $0.125 per GB, and database storage at $0.50 per GB-month.

Source
Lago: Does Lago support multiple currencies?

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

Source
Medusa: Can I cancel my Medusa subscription at any time?

Yes, users can cancel their Medusa subscription anytime. Plans are billed monthly in advance, with flex usage charges from the previous month added to the next invoice.

Source
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