Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Stigg vs Lago

Stigg logo

Stigg

Accounting

Usage runtime platform for credits and entitlements

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Lago logo

Lago

Accounting

Open-source billing infrastructure for usage-based models

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Stigg free tier limited to 10,000 entities and 5M events per month; Lago free tier limited to 10,000 entities per month with 5M event cap
  • They diverge on capability: Stigg covers Real-time credit enforcement, Lago covers Real-time usage metering.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Stigg and Lago actually diverge.

Attributes where Stigg and Lago differ
AttributeStiggLago
Pricing modelFreemium with usage-based and custom tiersFreemium with optional paid tiers
PlatformsWeb, Cloud, BYOC, BYODB, APIWeb, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC

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

  • Real-time credit enforcement
  • Financial-grade credits
  • High-scale metering
  • Budget governance
  • Flexible deployment
  • Billing platform integration
  • Data warehouse integration
  • CRM integration

Only in Lago

  • Real-time usage metering
  • Multiple pricing models
  • Automated invoicing
  • Prepaid credits
  • Entitlements
  • Multi-currency support
  • Payment orchestration
  • Revenue analytics

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Stigg

  • Managing token and credit usage for AI productsnot Lago
  • Enforcing spending caps and budget controlsnot Lago
  • Implementing prepaid credit systems with expirynot Lago
  • Real-time entitlement verification for feature accessnot Lago
  • Scaling billing infrastructure for high-volume eventsnot Lago

Lago

  • Building usage-based billing for high-volume APIs and infrastructurenot Stigg
  • Implementing metered billing for AI and tokenized servicesnot Stigg
  • Creating subscription and hybrid pricing modelsnot Stigg
  • Managing multi-currency billing for global companiesnot Stigg
  • Maintaining billing infrastructure without vendor lock-innot Stigg

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Stigg

  • Free tier limited to 10,000 entities and 5M events per month
  • Pro plan pricing ($399/month) may be high for early-stage companies
  • Scale and BYOC plans require custom contracts and sales engagement
  • Primarily targets AI and high-scale use cases, not all business models
  • Requires integration with separate billing platform (Stripe, Zuora, etc.)

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

Pricing, plan by plan

Stigg

Free
  • Build (Free Forever)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)
  • BYOC$40000/year
    • Deploy in customer VPC
    • Unlimited entities and events
    • No event billing

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)

Which should you pick?

Choose Stigg if

  • You need real-time credit enforcement.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Cloud, BYOC, BYODB, API.
  • You also want financial-grade credits.
Stigg review

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

Questions people ask

Is Stigg or Lago better?
Neither clearly leads. Stigg starts at Free and Lago at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Stigg or Lago?
Stigg starts at Free and Lago at Free.
Does Stigg or Lago run on more platforms?
Stigg runs on Web, Cloud, BYOC, BYODB, API. Lago runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC.
Can I use Stigg for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Stigg best used for?
Stigg is most often used for managing token and credit usage for ai products, enforcing spending caps and budget controls, implementing prepaid credit systems with expiry, real-time entitlement verification for feature access. Of those, managing token and credit usage for ai products and enforcing spending caps and budget controls are not what Lago is typically brought in for.
What can Stigg do that Lago cannot?
Stigg covers Real-time credit enforcement, Financial-grade credits, High-scale metering, Budget governance. Lago covers Real-time usage metering, Multiple pricing models, Automated invoicing, Prepaid credits.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Stigg: How quickly does Stigg check entitlements?

Stigg makes entitlement checks in under 10 milliseconds, enabling real-time enforcement of spending decisions before token consumption.

Source
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
Stigg: Can I use Stigg with my existing billing platform?

Yes, Stigg integrates with major billing platforms including Stripe, Zuora, Chargebee, Metronome, and Orb to manage entitlements and credits.

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
Stigg: What deployment options does Stigg offer?

Stigg offers cloud API, BYOC (Bring Your Own Cloud) for VPC deployment, and BYODB options for customers who want to manage their own database.

Source
Lago: Does Lago support multiple currencies?

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

Source
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