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Accounting · head to head

Lago vs Spendesk

Lago logo

Lago

Accounting

Open-source billing infrastructure for usage-based models

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Spendesk logo

Spendesk

Accounting

Smart spend management for modern teams

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; Spendesk no publicly available pricing, requires custom quote
  • They diverge on capability: Lago covers Real-time usage metering, Spendesk covers Company cards.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lago and Spendesk actually diverge.

Attributes where Lago and Spendesk differ
AttributeLagoSpendesk
Starting priceFree$29/month
Pricing modelFreemium with optional paid tierssubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPCWeb, Mobile iOS, Mobile Android
FoundedUnknown2016

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 Spendesk

  • Company cards
  • Expense management
  • Invoice payments
  • Budget management
  • Spend analytics
  • Xero
  • Sage
  • NetSuite

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

Spendesk

  • Expense managementnot Lago
  • Spend controlnot Lago
  • Finance automationnot 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

Spendesk

  • No publicly available pricing, requires custom quote
  • Strong European presence but limited in some non-EU markets
  • High implementation costs due to extensive integration requirements

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)

Spendesk

$29/month
  • EssentialsFree
    • Virtual cards
    • Expense tracking
    • Approvals

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 Spendesk if

  • You need company cards.
  • You work on Web, Mobile iOS, Mobile Android.
  • You also want expense management.
Spendesk review

Questions people ask

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

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
Spendesk: What is included in Spendesk's platform?

Spendesk combines corporate cards, a mobile receipts app, approval workflows, automated reconciliation, accounts payable, procurement, and spend controls into one platform.

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
Spendesk: How does Spendesk handle expense receipts?

Spendesk captures receipts via mobile photo upload with OCR technology, automatically matching receipts to transactions and generating automated expense reports with 98% of expense receipts collected on time.

Source
Lago: Does Lago support multiple currencies?

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

Source
Spendesk: What integrations does Spendesk offer?

Spendesk integrates with accounting software including Sage, Xero, NetSuite, and SAP, plus HR systems and tools like Slack for comprehensive spend management.

Source
Spendesk: Is Spendesk profitable?

Yes. Spendesk became the first spend management platform to reach profitability in 2025, processing over £10 billion in spend across 35+ countries.

Source
Spendesk: What is Spendesk's valuation?

Spendesk is a unicorn company with a valuation of $1.5 billion, with 2025 revenue of $52 million ARR.

Source
Spendesk: How much time can Spendesk save on bookkeeping?

Organizations using Spendesk save an average of 4 days per month on bookkeeping, equivalent to over 380 hours per year returned to the business.

Source
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