Accounting · head to head
Lago vs Tryton

Lago
Accounting
Open-source billing infrastructure for usage-based models
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -

Tryton
ERP
Modular open source ERP in Python with a five year support window on major releases only
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Lago free tier limited to 10,000 entities per month with 5M event cap; Tryton ordinary series are supported for only one year, so any deployment not pinned to a long term support major version needs a funded upgrade project every twelve months, which is the largest hidden cost of running Tryton.
- They diverge on capability: Lago covers Real-time usage metering, Tryton covers Modular installation.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Lago and Tryton actually diverge.
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 Tryton
- Modular installation
- Double entry accounting
- Manufacturing
- Inventory and supply chain
- Sales and purchasing
- Desktop and web clients
- Multi-company
- Project management
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 Tryton
- Implementing metered billing for AI and tokenized servicesnot Tryton
- Creating subscription and hybrid pricing modelsnot Tryton
- Managing multi-currency billing for global companiesnot Tryton
- Maintaining billing infrastructure without vendor lock-innot Tryton
Tryton
- A small European manufacturer that wants bills of materials and routings without a per user ERP subscriptionnot Lago
- A company with in-house Python developers that intends to extend the data model rather than configure a closed productnot Lago
- An organisation that will not adopt an open core product because it expects features to migrate to a paid edition over timenot Lago
- A distributor needing multi-company books in one database with analytic accounting on topnot 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
Tryton
- Ordinary series are supported for only one year, so any deployment not pinned to a long term support major version needs a funded upgrade project every twelve months, which is the largest hidden cost of running Tryton.
- There is no vendor to buy support from, only a list of independent service providers, so procurement teams that require a single accountable supplier with an SLA have to construct one themselves.
- The module ecosystem is far smaller than Odoo or ERPNext, so region-specific tax rules, payroll and industry add-ons frequently have to be written rather than installed.
- Out of the box reporting is thin and there is no built-in business intelligence layer, so most deployments end up exporting to an external tool to get management reporting.
- Documentation and community discussion are functional but sparse compared with commercial ERPs, which lengthens implementation for teams that have not worked with Tryton before and makes hiring experienced consultants harder.
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)
Tryton
Free- Self-hostedFree
- GPL-3.0-or-later licence with no per user cost
- All official modules included
- Series released every six months
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.
Choose Tryton if
- You need modular installation.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Linux, Windows, macOS, Self-hosted.
- You also want double entry accounting.
Questions people ask
- Is Lago or Tryton better?
- Neither clearly leads. Lago starts at Free and Tryton at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Lago or Tryton?
- Lago starts at Free and Tryton at Free.
- Does Lago or Tryton run on more platforms?
- Lago runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC. Tryton runs on Web, Linux, Windows, macOS, Self-hosted.
- 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 Tryton is typically brought in for.
- What can Lago do that Tryton cannot?
- Lago covers Real-time usage metering, Multiple pricing models, Automated invoicing, Prepaid credits. Tryton covers Modular installation, Double entry accounting, Manufacturing, Inventory and supply chain.
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.
SourceTryton: What licence is Tryton under?
The platform and official modules are GPL-3.0-or-later. There is no paid enterprise edition.
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.
SourceTryton: How long is a release supported?
Series are released every six months and supported for one year. Major versions get five years of long term support, so pin to an LTS release unless you can fund annual upgrades.
Lago: Does Lago support multiple currencies?
Yes, Lago supports multi-currency billing with automatic currency conversion for global businesses.
SourceTryton: Is there a hosted version from the project?
No. The foundation lists independent service providers who offer hosting and support commercially.
Tryton: How does it differ from Odoo?
Tryton has no open core split, so there is no paid edition holding back features, but the module ecosystem and partner network are much smaller.
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- Tryton vs Orb
- Tryton vs Metronome
- Tryton vs Stigg
- Tryton vs Dodo Payments
- Tryton vs Creem
- Tryton vs Invoicera
- Tryton vs Polar
- Tryton vs Maxio
- Tryton vs Zuora
- Tryton vs Paddle
- Tryton vs Invoicely
- Tryton vs QuickBooks
- Tryton vs Mercury
- Tryton vs Mesh Payments
- Tryton vs Money Forward Cloud
- Tryton vs Moneybird
- Tryton vs MYOB
- Tryton vs Netvisor
- Tryton vs Metasfresh
- Tryton vs Odoo
- Tryton vs ADempiere
- Tryton vs Dolibarr
- Tryton vs Apache OFBiz
- Tryton vs iDempiere
- Tryton vs Axelor
- Tryton vs NetSuite
- Tryton vs Katana MRP
- Tryton vs Sage X3
- Tryton vs SYSPRO
- Tryton vs BatchMaster
- Tryton vs Omie
- Tryton vs Priority Software
- Tryton vs Protean ERP
- Tryton vs QAD ERP
- Tryton vs Ramco
- Tryton vs Rootstock
