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Open-source usage-based billing

Lago

Open-source (AGPLv3) metering and usage-based billing engine you can self-host for free or buy as Lago Cloud, used for token, API and hybrid pricing.

Visit getlago.com ↗ Alternatives Open source Open source Self-hostable
Lago homepage
§1

Overview

Lago is an open-source billing platform for usage-based, subscription and hybrid pricing. Your application sends events (tokens, API calls, compute minutes), Lago aggregates them into billable metrics, applies plans, prepaid credits and entitlements, then generates invoices and collects payment through Stripe, Adyen, GoCardless or Cashfree.

The core is AGPLv3 and can be self-hosted with Docker at no licence cost; the repository has been public since 2022. Lago Premium, available in Lago's cloud or self-hosted, adds features such as entitlements, customer portal, real-time usage alerts, RBAC, SSO via Okta and AI assistants, and is priced by quote.

Lago says it processes up to 1,000,000 billing events per second and counts Mistral AI among its users. It is not a payment processor or merchant of record, so tax registration remains yours unless you use its tax integrations.

Self-hosting needs Docker and supporting services; the repository ships a local demo that prices sample AI requests end to end, which is a quick way to judge fit. Lago Cloud removes the operational work but requires a sales conversation.

§2

Pricing and plans

Plan Price What you get
Open source (self-hosted) Free AGPLv3 code on your own infrastructure
Lago Premium Custom Cloud or self-hosted; entitlements, progressive billing, RBAC, SSO, AI assistants; add-ons on demand

Lago does not publish prices for Premium or Lago Cloud; the pricing page asks you to contact sales. Some Premium items (tax integrations, dunning, progressive billing, custom branding, 24x7 incidents) are add-ons on demand. Payment processing is paid to the integrated provider. No EU data-residency option for Lago Cloud was stated on the pages read, so euRegion is false (self-hosting lets you choose the location).

Source: getlago.com/pricing · prices as published, excluding tax.

§3

What it does

Event-based metering
Ingest usage events and define billable metrics with aggregation rules.
Hybrid pricing
Combine subscriptions, usage charges, prepaid credits and wallets in one plan.
Invoicing
Invoice generation, credit notes, grace periods and an invoice preview endpoint.
Payment integrations
Collect through Stripe, Adyen, GoCardless or Cashfree.
Self-hosting
Deploy on-prem or in your VPC with the same AGPLv3 codebase.
MCP server and SDKs
SDKs for JavaScript, Python, Ruby and Go, plus an MCP server for AI-assisted billing.
§4

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • Free to self-host with full metering and invoicing
  • Handles high-volume usage events
  • Works with several payment providers
  • SOC 2 Type II for the cloud

Limitations

  • Premium and cloud pricing are not published
  • AGPLv3 licence has obligations if you modify and offer it as a service
  • Several features (dunning, tax integrations, progressive billing) are Premium add-ons
  • Self-hosting means running and upgrading it yourself
§5

Who it suits

Good for

  • AI products billing tokens or compute
  • Infrastructure and API companies with metered pricing
  • Teams that must keep billing data on their own servers

Look elsewhere if

  • Simple flat subscriptions, where Stripe Billing or a MoR is less work
  • Teams without capacity to operate a self-hosted billing system
§6

Alternatives to Lago

Tool From Free option Stages
Stripe Billing Subscription billing
Usage-based Paid
Paddle Merchant of record for software
Usage-based Paid
Stripe Payments Payment processor (API-first)
Usage-based Paid
Razorpay Payment gateway (India, plus US, Singapore, Malaysia)
Usage-based Paid
Square Payments Payment processor (in-person and online)
Usage-based Paid
FastSpring Merchant of record for software
— Paid

All payments and billing →

§7

Questions

Is Lago free?

The AGPLv3 open-source version is free to self-host. Lago Premium and Lago Cloud are priced by quote.

Does Lago process payments?

No. It integrates with Stripe, Adyen, GoCardless and Cashfree to collect payments.

What licence is Lago under?

GNU Affero General Public License v3.0.

Sources read for this page