Best Usage-Based & AI Billing in 2026.
Metering and usage-based pricing for AI products and modern SaaS
Lago
Self-hosted: free. Cloud: from $100/monthOpen-source metering and usage-based billing
Open source Stripe Billing alternative with powerful metering and usage-based pricing. Self-hostable (free) or cloud. Built for AI apps and SaaS with complex pricing models.
Orb
Custom pricing (contact sales)Usage-based billing for AI and SaaS
Purpose-built for usage-based billing. Handles credits, seats, metered usage, and hybrid pricing. Designed specifically for AI products and modern SaaS.
Metronome
Custom pricing (enterprise)Usage-based billing for enterprise
Enterprise usage-based billing with real-time metering. Used by Databricks, Notion, and similar scale companies. Not for early-stage.
Amberflo
From $500/monthReal-time metering and usage-based billing
Real-time metering and usage-based billing platform. Strong in consumption pricing and real-time analytics for SaaS and AI products.
Stripe Billing
0.5–0.8% on top of standard Stripe fees. You handle taxes.Subscription billing with full developer control
Maximum flexibility and lowest fees at scale. You own tax compliance. Best for technical teams building complex billing.
How to choose
- Match the tool's category and best-for tags to your stack.
- Decide if you need a merchant of record (global tax handled) or DIY billing.
- Weigh paywall and A/B testing capabilities against fee competitiveness.
- Compare ease of setup against the depth of advanced billing you need.
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