Billing software

Lago as a Stripe alternative

Lago is a billing software. On November 9, 2026 the rate line is Not a processing rate. The dispute line is The gateway's fee. Confirm the billed row before you leave Stripe. The provider's own page is the figure a contract will follow.

Type: Billing software
Pricing: Software
Card rate: Not a processing rate
Dispute fee: The gateway's fee.
Payouts: The gateway pays you.
Where: Wherever your gateway operates.
Underwriting: The gateway decides.
What it replaces: Stripe Billing's usage-based metering. You still need a processor.

Pricing page · Website

What is Lago?

Lago is open-source usage-based billing. You host it or use Lago's cloud, and you connect a payment gateway. There is no Lago card rate, because Lago does not process the card.

Who should choose Lago?

Lago fits: Teams that want open-source, usage-based billing and will run it themselves. A listing here is not an approval, and a published rate is not a quote.

Who should look elsewhere?

What Lago replaces: Stripe Billing's usage-based metering. You still need a processor. Look elsewhere when you need something outside that.

Underwriting: The gateway decides.

How does Lago charge?

Lago has 0 public standard fee lines in this dataset on November 9, 2026. The headline on the profile is "Not a processing rate" because no single list price was transcribed.

Use Lago's pricing page for any number this dataset left blank. A blank is not zero.

What does Lago cost at $10,000, $100,000, and $1 million a month?

The arithmetic below uses a $50 average ticket and successful charges only. It is not a quote for international cards or disputes.

Lago does not have a public standard rate in this dataset, so there is no dollar total at $10,000.00, $100,000.00, or $1,000,000.00.

Stripe at those volumes, on 2.9% + $0.30 and a $50 ticket, is $10,000.00 → $350.00 (200 × $0.30 + 2.9% of $10,000.00); $100,000.00 → $3,500.00 (2000 × $0.30 + 2.9% of $100,000.00); $1,000,000.00 → $35,000.00 (20000 × $0.30 + 2.9% of $1,000,000.00).

Where does Lago operate?

Coverage: Wherever your gateway operates. That is where Lago operates, not a list of industries it accepts.

Do not treat a processor logo as an industry approval. If the business is on Stripe's prohibited list, switching the logo does not make the card payment lawful. The restricted-business guide is the map of Stripe's own words.

How does Lago differ from Stripe?

Stripe is a payment service provider at 2.9% + $0.30 for US domestic cards, read November 9, 2026, and it can review an account after you have started processing. Lago is a billing software with the rate line Not a processing rate and the dispute line The gateway's fee.

Lago is software around a payment. It does not, on the record above, replace the merchant account by itself. You still pay whoever moves the card.

How do you switch from Stripe to Lago?

Stripe's data export page, read November 10, 2026, says Stripe transfers saved cards only to a PCI DSS Level 1 processor and does not export subscriptions or payment history. The switching guide covers what moves, what needs Stripe's approval, and how to keep subscriptions billing. Read it before you cancel the Stripe account.

Export Stripe customers, prices, and dispute history while the dashboard still allows it.
Ask Lago, in writing, whether it can receive a card transfer from Stripe. The switching guide names the providers whose own pages describe one.
Recreate plans and the next billing date. Run five real customers in a test mode, including one annual plan and one past-due plan.
Map webhooks and payout reconciliation before the cutover. Do not bill the same period on both systems.
If Stripe has already closed the account, plan for customers to enter cards again.

What usually goes wrong?

The dispute fee is the small line. The disputed amount and the card-network ratio are the ones that close accounts.

The other failure is comparing a different product, such as a merchant-of-record percent or a gateway monthly fee, to Stripe's card rate as if they were the same line.

Which providers are similar?

These listings share Lago's type. The order is alphabetical, not a rank.

Maxio: Not a processing rate.
Outseta: Stripe's rate, plus Outseta's software fee.
PayKickstart: See PayKickstart.
Recurly: Not a processing rate.

Also read Stripe's fee breakdown and the pricing dataset.

What does Lago publish as its card rate?

Lago's rate line in this directory is Not a processing rate, read on November 9, 2026. Use that line only for the product it describes.

What is Lago's dispute fee?

Lago's dispute line is The gateway's fee. Stripe's published fee to receive a dispute is $15 on the same date, November 9, 2026.

Is Lago the merchant of record?

Lago is a billing software, not a merchant of record in this directory. You remain the merchant unless a contract you sign says otherwise.

Where does Lago operate?

Wherever your gateway operates. That is the coverage note stored with the November 9, 2026 reading. It is not a list of merchant category codes Lago has approved.

Should you leave Stripe for Lago?

Only when this is the fit: Teams that want open-source, usage-based billing and will run it themselves. If the Stripe account is healthy and Stripe's other products are part of why you chose it, staying is often the smaller move. Lago does not become a yes just because it is on this page.

How much is Lago at $10,000 a month?

Lago has no public standard rate in the November 9, 2026 dataset, so this page does not invent a total at $10,000. Stripe on a $50 ticket is $350.00 at 2.9% + $0.30.

Which sources were checked?

Lago has no public fee lines in this dataset. Its pricing page is linked below.

Last verified November 9, 2026.

Which related pages should you read next?

Open the Stripe profile before you treat a single percent as the whole decision.