Is Lago or Stripe better?

Neither clearly leads. Lago starts at Free and Stripe at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Lago or Stripe?

Lago starts at Free and Stripe at Free.

Does Lago or Stripe run on more platforms?

Lago runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC. Stripe runs on Web, iOS, Android.

Can I use Lago for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

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 Stripe is typically brought in for.

What can Lago do that Stripe cannot?

Lago covers Real-time usage metering, Multiple pricing models, Automated invoicing, Prepaid credits. Stripe covers Payment processing, Subscription billing, Invoicing, Terminal (in-person payments).

Accounting · head to head

Lago vs Stripe

Lago

Accounting

Open-source billing infrastructure for usage-based models

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Stripe

E-Commerce

Financial infrastructure for the internet

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Lago free tier limited to 10,000 entities per month with 5M event cap; Stripe requires developer setup and API integration for most use cases
They diverge on capability: Lago covers Real-time usage metering, Stripe covers Payment processing.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lago and Stripe actually diverge.

Attributes where Lago and Stripe differ
Attribute	Lago	Stripe
Pricing model	Freemium with optional paid tiers	Unknown
Platforms	Web, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC	Web, iOS, Android
Category	Accounting	E-Commerce
Founded	Unknown	2010

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Stripe

Payment processing
Subscription billing
Invoicing
Terminal (in-person payments)
Fraud prevention
3D Secure
Global payouts
Financial reporting

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

Stripe

Online paymentsnot Lago
Subscription managementnot Lago
Marketplace paymentsnot Lago
Global expansionnot Lago
Platform monetizationnot 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

Stripe

Requires developer setup and API integration for most use cases
Dispute fee of $15 per chargeback is standard industry cost
Limited offline payment capabilities

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)

Stripe

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Stripe review.

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 Stripe if

You need payment processing.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, iOS, Android.
You also want subscription billing.

Stripe review

Questions people ask

Is Lago or Stripe better?: Neither clearly leads. Lago starts at Free and Stripe at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Lago or Stripe?: Lago starts at Free and Stripe at Free.
Does Lago or Stripe run on more platforms?: Lago runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC. Stripe runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Lago for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Stripe is typically brought in for.
What can Lago do that Stripe cannot?: Lago covers Real-time usage metering, Multiple pricing models, Automated invoicing, Prepaid credits. Stripe covers Payment processing, Subscription billing, Invoicing, Terminal (in-person payments).

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

Stripe: What are Stripe's transaction fees?

Standard US rates are 2.9% plus 30 cents for online card payments, 2.7% plus 5 cents for in-person, 3.4% plus 30 cents for keyed/phone transactions, and 0.8% capped at $5 for ACH payments.

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

Stripe: How many currencies and countries does it support?

Stripe accepts 135+ currencies and supports payment acceptance in 40+ countries through Stripe Connect, enabling sellers to onboard and receive payouts in minutes.

Source

Lago: Does Lago support multiple currencies?

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

Source

Stripe: What payment methods are supported?

Stripe supports dozens of payment methods including credit/debit cards, ACH transfers, and local payment options, with additional support through partnerships with Meta and Google.

Source

Stripe: Are there monthly fees or contracts?

No. Stripe charges no monthly fees or contracts, only per-transaction fees and dispute fees, making costs fully transparent and variable.

Source

Lago vs Stripe

Lago

Stripe

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Lago

Only in Stripe

What people use each for

Lago

Stripe

Where each one falls short

Lago

Stripe

Pricing, plan by plan

Lago

Stripe

Which should you pick?

Choose Lago if

Choose Stripe if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Lago

More on Stripe

Keep looking

Other head to heads