DevVersus

Chargebee vs Lago(2026)

Chargebee is better for teams that need free up to $250k revenue. Lago is the stronger choice if open source (self-host free). Chargebee is freemium (from $0 (free up to $250k revenue)) and Lago is open-source (from $500/month (Lago Cloud)).

Full feature breakdown, pricing details, and pros & cons below.

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Chargebee logo

Chargebee

freemium

Chargebee is a subscription management platform for SaaS businesses with billing automation, revenue recognition, and metrics.

Starting at $0 (free up to $250k revenue)

Visit Chargebee
Lago logo

Lago

open-source

Lago is an open source billing API for usage-based and metered billing, allowing you to self-host your billing infrastructure.

Starting at $500/month (Lago Cloud)

Visit Lago

How Do Chargebee and Lago Compare on Features?

FeatureChargebeeLago
Pricing modelfreemiumopen-source
Starting price$0 (free up to $250k revenue)$500/month (Lago Cloud)
Subscription management
Revenue recognition
Dunning management
Trial management
Invoicing
MRR analytics
Metered billing
Usage-based pricing
Invoice generation
Tax handling
Open source

Chargebee Pros and Cons vs Lago

C

Chargebee

+Free up to $250k revenue
+Excellent subscription features
+Revenue recognition included
+Integrates with Stripe/Braintree
Expensive beyond free tier
Complex setup
Less developer-friendly than Stripe
L

Lago

+Open source (self-host free)
+Best for usage-based pricing
+Full ownership of billing data
+Modern API
Newer product
Complex self-hosting
Smaller ecosystem than Stripe Billing

Should You Use Chargebee or Lago?

Choose Chargebee if…

  • Free up to $250k revenue
  • Excellent subscription features
  • Revenue recognition included

Choose Lago if…

  • Open source (self-host free)
  • Best for usage-based pricing
  • Full ownership of billing data

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