BillaBear vs Lago
BillaBear
billabear.com
Lago
getlago.comSide by side
| Figure | BillaBear | Lago |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $1/mo | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 5 |
| Spec score · Dunning Management Software | 8.7 (#7) | 8.5 (#13) |
| Spec score · Subscription Billing Software | 8.7 (#9) | 8.4 (#21) |
| Billing features | Features include subscription and plan management, invoices, hosted checkout, paylinks, quotes, dunning, vouchers, credit notes, and subscription reports. | The platform supports quotes and order forms, prepaid credits, entitlements and quotas, subscription and usage charges, and itemized invoices. |
| Deployment | The repository describes Docker Compose deployment and a DigitalOcean App Platform deployment option. | Lago Premium is offered as cloud or self-hosted deployment, and Lago says it can be run on-premises or in a VPC. |
| Developer access | BillaBear provides a REST API and lists SDKs for PHP, Java, Go, JavaScript, Ruby, and Python. | Applications can connect through a REST API, official JavaScript, Python, Ruby, and Go SDKs, and signed webhooks. |
| Pricing models | It supports fixed prices, usage-based packages, volume and graduated tier pricing, fixed-plus-unit pricing, and per-seat pricing. | The platform supports consumption pricing, prepaid credits, usage allowances, subscriptions and hybrid plans. |
| Product | BillaBear is a subscription management and billing system that integrates with Stripe and provides a REST API. | Lago is an open-source billing platform for usage-based, subscription, prepaid, and hybrid pricing that connects product usage and commercial terms to customer invoices. |
Plans
Lago
- Open sourceFree
- Open SourceFree
- Open-source self-hostedFree
- Lago PremiumPriced on request
- PremiumPriced on request
In their own words
BillaBear
BillaBear is a subscription management and billing system with Stripe integration, a REST API, and web, API, and self-hosted deployment options. It manages subscriptions, custom plans, add-ons, invoices, quotes, hosted checkouts, paylinks, vouchers, credit notes, dunning, and reports. Pricing models include fixed, usage-based, volume and graduated tiers, fixed-plus-unit, and per-seat charges. The system supports multiple brands and currencies, tax management, country and state rules, configurable thresholds, EU reverse charge, one-stop-shop, and VAT Sense integration. Workflows can retry failed tasks, including API requests. Invoice, quote, PDF, and email templates use Twig or email-service-provider templates. Integrations listed include Stripe, Slack, Freshbooks, Xero, Mailchimp, EmailOctopus, SendGrid, MailGun, and Postmark; Zendesk and Freshdesk integrations help agents find customer profiles. SDKs are listed for PHP, Java, Go, JavaScript, Ruby, and Python. The Starter plan is $1 a month, with $50,000 of revenue free. Managed cloud hosting is currently unavailable.
Lago
Lago is an open-source billing platform that connects product usage and commercial terms with customer invoices. It supports usage-based, subscription, prepaid, and hybrid pricing, plus quotes, order forms, prepaid credits, entitlements, quotas, subscription and usage charges, and itemized invoices. For AI products, Lago can meter input, output, and cached tokens separately and assign usage to customers for billing. Applications can connect through a REST API, official JavaScript, Python, Ruby, and Go SDKs, or signed webhooks. Listed AI integrations include OpenAI, Anthropic, AWS Bedrock, Google Gemini, and Mistral; payment and finance integrations include Adyen, Stripe, NetSuite, and Xero. The Open source plan is free, licensed under AGPLv3 and self-hosted. Lago Premium is available as cloud or self-hosted deployment, including on-premises or in a VPC, but pricing is provided after contacting Lago. Lago states it is SOC 2 Type II certified and describes single sign-on, role-based access controls, and audit logs. Premium includes platform support, business-hours incident management, and implementation guidance.