Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Lago vs Rydoo

Lago logo

Lago

Accounting

Open-source billing infrastructure for usage-based models

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Rydoo logo

Rydoo

Accounting

Expense management with per-user pricing and a five-user minimum, built for European multi-entity teams

From
$10/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; Rydoo a five-user minimum means very small teams pay for seats they do not have, which removes Rydoo from consideration for firms of two or three.
  • They diverge on capability: Lago covers Real-time usage metering, Rydoo covers Receipt OCR.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lago and Rydoo actually diverge.

Attributes where Lago and Rydoo differ
AttributeLagoRydoo
Starting priceFree$10/month
Pricing modelFreemium with optional paid tiersPer user per month
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 Rydoo

  • Receipt OCR
  • Per diem engine
  • Mileage
  • VAT fields
  • Multi-entity
  • ERP export

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

Rydoo

  • A Belgian or German employer that must apply statutory per diem rates correctly across staff travelling in several countriesnot Lago
  • A group with five legal entities wanting one expense tool but separate approval chains and ledgersnot Lago
  • A company that already has a corporate card programme and refuses to change banks to get expense softwarenot Lago
  • A finance team recovering VAT on foreign travel and needing the fields captured at claim timenot 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

Rydoo

  • A five-user minimum means very small teams pay for seats they do not have, which removes Rydoo from consideration for firms of two or three.
  • Pricing is per user rather than per active user, so organisations where most staff claim expenses twice a year still pay a full seat every month for them.
  • There is no card issuing, so real-time spend control and pre-authorisation are outside the product and remain with your bank.
  • Per diem and multi-entity handling sit on the higher tier, so the countries that most need Rydoo generally cannot buy the cheap plan.
  • Receipt extraction quality varies by language and receipt format, and finance teams still review a meaningful share of claims by hand.

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)

Rydoo

$10/month
  • Essentials$10/month
    • Around 9 per user per month billed annually
    • Five-user minimum
    • Receipt capture, approvals and accounting export
  • Pro$12/month
    • Around 11 per user per month billed annually
    • Per diem engine and advanced policy controls
    • Multi-entity and multi-currency handling
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Quoted pricing
    • Custom ERP and single sign-on work
    • Dedicated support and onboarding

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 Rydoo if

  • You need receipt ocr.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want per diem engine.
Rydoo review

Questions people ask

Is Lago or Rydoo better?
Neither clearly leads. Lago starts at Free and Rydoo at $10/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Lago or Rydoo?
Lago has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Lago and $10/month for Rydoo.
Does Lago or Rydoo run on more platforms?
Lago runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC. Rydoo runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Lago for free?
Yes. Lago has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Rydoo starts at $10/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 Rydoo is typically brought in for.
What can Lago do that Rydoo cannot?
Lago covers Real-time usage metering, Multiple pricing models, Automated invoicing, Prepaid credits. Rydoo covers Receipt OCR, Per diem engine, Mileage, VAT fields.

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
Rydoo: Does Rydoo issue cards?

No. It is expense software only; you keep your existing corporate card or bank programme.

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
Rydoo: Is there a minimum?

Yes, pricing carries a five-user minimum, so the smallest bill is five seats regardless of headcount.

Lago: Does Lago support multiple currencies?

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

Source
Rydoo: Do I need the Pro plan?

If you operate per diems, multiple legal entities or multi-currency claims, yes. Essentials is for single-entity receipt and approval workflows.

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