Top 7 Alternatives to Zuora for usage-based Billing

Zuora is a leading subscription management and billing solution, designed to support complex billing needs and offer advanced subscription capabilities. Known for its robust set of features and workflows, Zuora helps large organizations transition to subscription-based models while managing multi-tiered pricing, revenue recognition, and complex subscription structures.

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While Zuora can be a strong solution for enterprises looking to scale and automate their subscription billing processes, it comes with some challenges. Many users report high pricing and a complex implementation process, which can be a barrier for companies without significant resources to invest in setup and training. Additionally, since usage-based billing isn’t a core feature of Zuora, businesses with specific needs for usage and metering may encounter limitations, prompting them to explore alternative solutions.

Here are some options that might better suit your needs for complex subscription management:

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1. Lago

Lago (that’s us!) is an open-source billing infrastructure tailored for businesses with complex, customizable billing needs. With Lago, companies can set up postpaid, prepaid credits, and progressive billing options.

Lago’s agnostic approach to payment processors and billing-adjacent applications means it integrates seamlessly with tools like Stripe, NetSuite, Salesforce, and Anrok, making it highly adaptable for various tech stacks.

Key Features

• Open-Source Flexibility: Fully customizable to fit specific business needs, provides an API, and a no-code user interface.
• Advanced Billing Models: Supports postpaid, prepaid credits, progressive billing, and usage-based billing.
• Integration-Agnostic: Works with a variety of Payment Service Providers, CRM, and ERP systems.
• Real-Time Tracking: Transparent usage tracking for accurate, flexible billing.

Ideal For

Lago is ideal for SaaS companies and businesses with complex billing requirements, looking for a developer-first solution, with maximum control and flexibility.

Pros

• Open-source flexibility: Fully customizable with API and a no-code interface for complex billing needs.
• Integration-agnostic: Works with various PSPs, CRMs, and ERPs, making it highly adaptable.
• Developer-friendly: Transparent usage tracking and flexible billing models like postpaid, prepaid, and progressive billing.

Cons

• Self-hosting complexity: Open-source tools may require setup effort and technical resources. That’s why a cloud product: “Lago Cloud” has been launched.
• Limited support options: Support for the open-source and free product is “Community-led” via Slack. Premium support options are available.
• Emphasis on the developer experience: Lago provides a no-code interface, but their DNA lies in complex use cases managed by technical product managers or engineers, which might be overwhelming for non-technical billing teams.

Pricing

Lago offers a free forever open-source product. Their premium offering consists of a platform fee, and consumptions based on the volume of events ingested. Lago doesn’t take a cut on revenue.

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2. Stripe Billing

Stripe Billing is part of Stripe’s ecosystem, offering a straightforward billing solution with native payment processing integration. While it may lack some of the advanced features found in dedicated billing platforms, it’s a practical choice for businesses already using Stripe for payments.

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Key Features

• ‍Subscription and Invoice Automation: Basic subscription management with automated invoicing.‍
• Dunning Features: Basic dunning tools to manage failed payments.‍
• Simple Integrations: Seamless with other Stripe products and ecosystem.‍
• Customizable Pricing: Tiered pricing options for flexibility.

Ideal For

Stripe Billing is best suited for small to mid-sized companies that use Stripe for payments and need subscription features.

Pros

• ‍Seamless integration with Stripe: A natural choice for businesses already using Stripe for payments.‍
• Basic dunning tools: Automated reminders for failed payments.‍
• Simple setup: Easy to start, particularly for small to mid-sized businesses.

Cons

• Limited billing models: Best for basic subscription and tiered pricing; lacks advanced billing flexibility. Read more here.‍
• Reliant on Stripe ecosystem: Limited options if you wish to use different payment providers. Read more here.

Pricing

Stripe Billing fees start at 0.7% of the transaction volume (i.e., they take a cut on revenue). Here’s our Stripe Calculator, for more details.

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3. Metronome

Metronome is a key player in the usage-based billing and metering landscape, offering an easy-to-implement solution for business operators that requires minimal engineering resources. While it may lack some of the advanced capabilities and engineering flexibility found in other dedicated billing platforms, it remains a practical choice for businesses seeking a straightforward, low-code or no-code approach to billing.

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Key Features

• Subscription and Usage-Based Billing: Basic subscription management with support for usage-based billing.
• Customer Portal: Allows customers to manage their subscriptions and entitlements directly from an user interface
• Revenue Recognition: Supports revenue cognition, ensuring proper tracking of earned revenue.
• Pre-built Templates: Offers pre-configured billing and pricing templates for quick implementation.

Ideal For

Metronome Billing is best suited for small to mid-sized businesses looking for an easy-to-implement, no-code solution to handle basic usage-based billing and subscription needs.

Pros

• Ease of Setup: Simple to implement, particularly for businesses looking for minimal engineering effort.
• Customer Portal: A built-in customer portal to manage subscriptions and entitlements.
• Revenue Recognition: Ensures accurate tracking of revenue in accordance with business needs.

Cons

• Limited Customization: Pre-built pricing and billing templates offer limited flexibility for complex billing models.
• Basic Metering: Basic metering and usage-based billing capabilities, lacking advanced features for more complex billing scenarios.
• Reliance on Templates: Customization options are constrained due to reliance on pre-configured templates.

Pricing

Metronome’s platform fees start at a $10K minimum annual fee for small businesses. Enterprise plans come with custom pricing. There is no free trial available. For more details, consult Metronome’s pricing page.

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4. Zoho Subscriptions

Zoho Subscriptions is part of the broader Zoho ecosystem, providing a straightforward subscription management solution with integrations across other Zoho products. It’s ideal for smaller companies that benefit from the suite’s interconnected applications.

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Key Features

• ‍Recurring Billing and Invoicing: Automated subscription billing and invoicing.‍
• Multi-Currency Support: Useful for businesses with an international customer base.‍
• Basic Integrations: Works with other Zoho products, such as Zoho CRM and Zoho Books.‍
• Flexible Plans: Customizable subscriptions with add-ons and upgrades.

Ideal For

Zoho Subscriptions is ideal for small businesses or those already using Zoho applications, offering essential subscription management with simple cross-platform integration.

Pros

• ‍Integrated with Zoho suite: Ideal for businesses already using Zoho CRM, Books, etc.‍
• International support: Multi-currency billing for global operations.‍
• Affordable: Cost-effective, especially for smaller companies or Zoho users.

Cons

• Limited flexibility: Not suitable for complex or highly customizable billing needs.
• Basic features: Lacks the advanced functionality found in other platforms.

Pricing

Zoho Subscriptions starts at $49/month for basic plans, with tiered pricing based on additional features.

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5. Paddle

Paddle is a full-service billing platform that handles not only billing but also payment processing and tax compliance. Its built-in tax compliance and fraud prevention tools make it particularly useful for SaaS companies with global operations.

Key Features

• ‍Global Tax Compliance: Simplifies tax management for international sales.‍
• Comprehensive Billing and Payments: Manages billing, payments, and fraud prevention in one place.‍
• Flexible Billing Models: Supports both subscriptions and usage-based billing.
• ‍End-to-End Solution: Covers invoicing, revenue recovery, and payment processing.

Ideal For

Paddle is ideal for SaaS companies needing a unified billing solution with integrated tax compliance for global customers. Paddle is also a Merchant of Record.

Pros

• ‍End-to-end solution: Handles billing, payments, tax compliance, and fraud prevention.‍
• Global tax compliance: Built-in tax handling simplifies international sales.‍
• Merchant of Record (MoR): Paddle acts as the Merchant of Record, handling compliance, taxes, and chargebacks on behalf of the business. This simplifies international sales, as Paddle manages VAT, sales tax, and other regulatory requirements, allowing businesses to focus on growth without the complexities of global compliance.

Cons

• Less customizable: Paddle’s all-in-one model is great for simplicity but may limit flexibility.
• Primarily suited for digital products: Not ideal for all SaaS companies.

Pricing

Paddle’s fee structure includes a percentage-based fee on each transaction, which varies based on volume and other factors. Their blended fee average between 5-7% of revenue.

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6. Recurly‍

Recurly is known for its intuitive interface and strong subscription management capabilities, focusing on customer retention features like automated dunning workflows. With integrations to popular CRMs and accounting software, Recurly simplifies subscription billing for companies focused on recurring revenue.

Key Features

• Subscription Management: Supports trials, freemium, and multiple subscription types.

• Automated Dunning: Customizable dunning to reduce churn.

• Analytics and Reporting: Provides customer insights and revenue reporting.

• Integrations: Connects with Salesforce and QuickBooks for CRM and accounting.

Ideal For

Recurly is best for SaaS companies seeking a user-friendly subscription platform with robust retention tools to reduce churn.

Pros

• ‍User-friendly interface: Known for ease of use and strong subscription management.‍
• Retention tools: Automated dunning and analytics to help reduce churn.‍
• Solid integrations: Connects well with Salesforce, QuickBooks, and other popular tools.

Cons

• ‍Limited customization: Not as flexible for highly complex billing models.‍
• Restricted to recurring revenue: Best for subscription-focused businesses, with limited support for non-recurring billing models.

Pricing

Recurly’s pricing begins at $149/month, plus transaction fees (a cut on revenue), with additional costs for enterprise features.

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Pricing

Custom pricing, typically suited for mid-to-large enterprises with budget flexibility for enterprise-level features.

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7. Building a Homegrown Billing System

Some companies choose to build a custom billing system for complete control. While a homegrown solution allows for full customization, it comes with notable downsides, including high development costs, ongoing maintenance, and scalability challenges.

Key Features

• Full Customization: Design the billing system to match exact business requirements.
• Complete Control: No reliance on third-party billing platforms.
• Direct Integration: Custom integrations tailored to the existing tech stack

Ideal For

A homegrown billing system may be suitable for companies with unique billing requirements and the resources to support long-term development and maintenance.

Pros

• Complete control: Customizable to specific business needs with no reliance on third-party vendors.
• Direct integration: Tailored to fit seamlessly into an existing tech stack.

Cons

• High upfront costs: Building and maintaining a system requires significant development resources.
• Ongoing maintenance: Constant updates and security requirements can strain internal teams.
• Scalability challenges: As needs evolve, scaling a homegrown system can become complex.

Pricing

Development costs vary significantly, often running into the tens of thousands for initial setup, plus ongoing maintenance expenses. The “cost of opportunity” of staffing engineering talent on a “non core” competency such as billing is also to be taken into account.

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Before building billing yourself, we’d encourage you to have a look at the hundreds of comments on billing nightmares that our post attracted on HackerNews (this is how Lago was born!).

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Original article here

HackerNews thread here

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Is Lago Right for You?

If your business needs go beyond simple subscriptions, and you’re seeking a billing solution that offers flexibility, scalability, and transparency, Lago might be the perfect alternative to Chargebee. Here’s an example of how Lago compares with Chargebee for a Banking as a Service company.

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As an open-source, integration-agnostic platform, Lago provides maximum control and adaptability, making it easy to integrate with any payment processor, CRM, ERP, or tax compliance tool of your choice.

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Lago’s extensive support for advanced billing models—such as postpaid, prepaid credits, and progressive billing—ensures that your billing infrastructure can evolve alongside your business.

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With Lago, you gain a powerful, customizable billing solution that empowers your team to manage and scale with confidence.

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Next generation companies, such as Mistral, Groq and Together.ai chose Lago. Learn more here.

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