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Recurly vs Lago(2026)

Recurly is better for teams that need strong dunning recovery. Lago is the stronger choice if open source (self-host free). Recurly is paid (from $249/month) and Lago is open-source (from $500/month (Lago Cloud)).

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

By Bikram Nath

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Recurly logo

Recurly

paid

Recurly is a subscription billing management platform for SaaS and subscription businesses with revenue recovery and analytics.

Starting at $249/month

Visit Recurly
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 Recurly and Lago Compare on Features?

FeatureRecurlyLago
Pricing modelpaidopen-source
Starting price$249/month$500/month (Lago Cloud)
Subscription management✓✓
Dunning management✓—
Revenue recovery✓—
Analytics✓—
Tax automation✓—
Multi-currency✓—
Metered billing—✓
Usage-based pricing—✓
Invoice generation—✓
Tax handling—✓
Open source—✓

Recurly Pros and Cons vs Lago

R

Recurly

+Strong dunning recovery
+Good revenue analytics
+Flexible plan configuration
+Multiple payment gateways
−Expensive
−Complex onboarding
−Not ideal for early-stage startups
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 Recurly or Lago?

For most teams, Lago is the better default: it offers open source (self-host free) and is open-source (from $500/month (Lago Cloud)). Choose Recurly instead if strong dunning recovery matters more than newer product. There is no universal winner — the right pick depends on your budget, team size, and whether you value strong dunning recovery or open source (self-host free) more.

Choose Recurly if…

  • •Strong dunning recovery
  • •Good revenue analytics
  • •Flexible plan configuration

Choose Lago if…

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

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