Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Lago vs Wise Business

Lago logo

Lago

Accounting

Open-source billing infrastructure for usage-based models

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Wise Business logo

Wise Business

Accounting

The smart way to send and receive business payments

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; Wise Business opening a Wise Business account in the UK carries a one off setup fee of 50 GBP
  • They diverge on capability: Lago covers Real-time usage metering, Wise Business covers Multi-currency accounts.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lago and Wise Business actually diverge.

Attributes where Lago and Wise Business differ
AttributeLagoWise Business
Starting priceFree$29/month
Pricing modelFreemium with optional paid tiersusage-based
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPCWeb, Ios, Android, Api
FoundedUnknown2011

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 Wise Business

  • Multi-currency accounts
  • International transfers
  • Batch payments
  • API access
  • Team management
  • Xero
  • QuickBooks
  • Various

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

Wise Business

  • Holding and converting multiple currencies as a businessnot Lago
  • Paying international suppliers and contractors at the mid market ratenot Lago
  • Receiving payments into local currency account details in several countriesnot 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

Wise Business

  • Opening a Wise Business account in the UK carries a one off setup fee of 50 GBP
  • Volume discounts on transfers start only above 20,000 GBP equivalent sent per month

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)

Wise Business

$29/month
  • StandardFree
    • Multi-currency account
    • Real exchange rate
    • Batch payments

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 Wise Business if

  • You need multi-currency accounts.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want international transfers.
Wise Business review

Questions people ask

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

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
Wise Business: How fast are international transfers with Wise Business?

Wise Business offers fast global payments with 70% arriving in 20 seconds and 95% arriving in under 24 hours. You can also pay up to 1,000 contacts in a single batch transfer.

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
Wise Business: Does Wise Business offer volume discounts?

Yes, volume discounts are available on monthly transfers over 20,000 GBP or equivalent.

Source
Lago: Does Lago support multiple currencies?

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

Source
Wise Business: How does Wise Business keep funds secure?

Wise customers move over AED60 billion monthly with systems built to keep funds safe. The company runs over 7 million daily fraud checks (80 per second), keeps funds diversified with secure financial institutions, and offers 24/7 customer support.

Source
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