Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Lago vs Plaid

Lago logo

Lago

Accounting

Open-source billing infrastructure for usage-based models

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Plaid logo

Plaid

Accounting

The safer way to connect financial accounts

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; Plaid no dollar amount is published for any product, and the pricing page states no per request rate or minimum commitment
  • They diverge on capability: Lago covers Real-time usage metering, Plaid covers Bank account linking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lago and Plaid actually diverge.

Attributes where Lago and Plaid differ
AttributeLagoPlaid
Starting priceFree$29/month
Pricing modelFreemium with optional paid tiersusage-based
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPCApi, Web, Ios, Android
FoundedUnknown2013

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 Plaid

  • Bank account linking
  • Transaction data
  • Identity verification
  • Income verification
  • Asset reports
  • Venmo
  • Robinhood
  • Coinbase

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

Plaid

  • Connecting bank accounts to an application for balances and transactionsnot Lago
  • Verifying account ownership and income for payments or lendingnot 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

Plaid

  • No dollar amount is published for any product, and the pricing page states no per request rate or minimum commitment
  • Three different billing models apply depending on the product, being one time per connected account, monthly per connected account, and per successful API call
  • That mix means total cost depends on which products are combined rather than on a single unit
  • Discounted rates require the Growth plan, which is a 12 month commitment

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)

Plaid

$29/month
  • Pay-as-you-goFree
    • Bank connections
    • Transaction data
    • Account verification

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 Plaid if

  • You need bank account linking.
  • You work on Api, Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want transaction data.
Plaid review

Questions people ask

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

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
Plaid: How much does Plaid cost?

Plaid does not publish per request rates. It offers Pay as You Go with no upfront commitment, a Growth plan on a 12 month commitment with discounts, and a Custom plan priced on volume. Figures come from its sales team.

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
Plaid: How does Plaid bill for its products?

Plaid uses three billing shapes: one time fee products charged once per connected account, subscription products charged monthly per connected account, and per request products charged a flat fee for every successful API call.

Source
Lago: Does Lago support multiple currencies?

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

Source
Plaid: Can I test Plaid for free?

Yes. Plaid's Limited Production service allows up to 200 API calls with each available product using live data, before any commitment. Plaid is also free for the consumers whose accounts are connected.

Source
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