Metered billing software tracks customer usage, applies pricing rules, and converts that usage into charges inside a billing system.
Instead of a flat subscription, companies bill for measurable consumption such as API calls, storage, compute, AI tokens, or text messages.
For example, a SaaS product may include 100,000 API calls in a plan and charge per request once the limit is exceeded during the billing cycle.
This approach supports modern usage-based pricing without embedding billing logic into application code.
It matters most for SaaS, AI, and infrastructure products where revenue depends on accurate usage data, not just access.
In this blog, we break down how metered billing works and which platforms handle it best in 2026.
These are the best metered billing software tools in 2026:
Schematic + Stripe
Metronome
Orb
Lago
Stripe
Maxio
Metered billing is the infrastructure that measures product consumption and converts it into charges during a billing period. It extends subscription billing with tracked usage instead of charging only for access.
A plan may include defined usage metrics such as API requests, storage, compute, or active user counts.
The billing system records usage events, applies pricing rules, and generates charges tied to a contract. Many SaaS businesses use it to support a usage-based pricing model or overages inside existing plans.
Metered billing becomes more important when tiered pricing, volume pricing, or custom terms introduce complex billing scenarios. At that point, manual work increases and revenue leakage risk rises.
Every billing platform handles four core layers:
Metering - Capturing raw usage events from REST APIs or application logs
Aggregation - Calculating totals based on usage patterns over a billing period
Rating - Applying complex pricing logic to those totals
Invoicing - Generating charges, reporting, and revenue recognition
Most traditional systems focus on rating and invoicing after usage is reported.
Other platforms expose metering and rating logic in real time. The product can evaluate limits, credits, or overages before the billing cycle closes.
The tools below support different layers of metered billing, from usage capture and rating to invoicing and product enforcement.
The right choice depends on how tightly billing needs to connect to your product and runtime access decisions.
Schematic combines metered billing with in-product enforcement. It is built on Stripe for billing and payments, then extends that foundation into plans, limits, credits, and runtime access control.
Schematic acts as the system of record for your product catalog. Plans, SaaS entitlements, seat-based access, usage limits, trials, add-ons, and overrides live in one place. Stripe subscriptions sync bi-directionally, so billing state and product access stay aligned.
Where most billing tools stop at rating and invoicing, Schematic evaluates usage and entitlements inside the product in real time. Limits can block access when exceeded. Credits can burn down dynamically. Trials can convert automatically without manual updates.
It supports hybrid pricing models, including seat-based, pay-as-you-go, overages, and credit burndown.
Engineering implements monetization once. Product and revenue operations teams can then manage packaging and pricing without rewriting billing code.
For SaaS and AI companies running hybrid self-serve and sales-led motions, that runtime control is the key difference.
Usage metering tied directly to plans and entitlements
Real-time entitlement enforcement inside the product
Bi-directional Stripe subscription sync
Support for seat-based, usage-based, overages, and credit models
Enterprise overrides without code forks
Embeddable React billing components
Centralized product catalog for plans, limits, and add-ons
Source: metronome.com
Metronome, now part of Stripe, is a high-volume metered billing and rating engine designed for product-led and sales-led companies.
It handles real-time metering, pricing logic, invoice generation, and reporting inside a centralized billing platform.
Engineering teams use Metronome for complex pricing structures such as credits, tiered usage, and custom enterprise contracts. Finance teams rely on detailed analytics and revenue reporting to monitor costs and customer value as usage grows.
Metronome is suited for companies with large event volumes and sophisticated billing operations. Pricing updates and contract changes can be managed centrally without rebuilding core billing calculations.
Its strength lies in usage calculation and invoice accuracy. Application-level limit enforcement and entitlements are typically handled outside the billing engine.
Source: withorb.com
Orb is a usage-focused metered billing platform built for companies with complex pricing and high event volume.
It captures granular usage events, aggregates them over a billing period, and applies flexible rating logic before generating invoices. Credit systems, tiered usage pricing, and contract-based pricing rules are supported within the billing engine.
Orb connects usage data to CRM contracts and automates revenue recognition workflows. It also provides detailed analytics and pricing simulations so finance teams can test pricing changes before rollout.
Customer dashboards expose real-time spend and usage totals, which can reduce billing disputes because transparency builds trust.
Orb focuses on metering, rating, and invoicing inside the billing platform. Product-layer enforcement of limits and entitlements typically lives outside the system.
Source: getlago.com
Lago is an open-source metered billing infrastructure designed for teams that want control over their billing stack.
It processes usage events, calculates totals over the billing period, applies pricing rules, and generates invoices. Hybrid plans, prepaid credits, tiered pricing, and enterprise contracts are supported within the billing layer.
A key difference is deployment choice. Lago can be self-hosted or deployed in a managed environment. That flexibility appeals to engineering teams that want deeper control of their billing platform or need to integrate closely with internal systems.
It focuses on metering, rating, invoicing, and extensibility. Runtime product enforcement of limits and entitlements typically lives outside the platform.
For companies prioritizing infrastructure control and open-source flexibility in metered billing software, Lago is a billing-layer solution.
Source: stripe.com/billing
Stripe Billing is often the starting point for teams implementing metered billing and subscription billing in one system.
It allows the definition of pricing structures such as flat subscriptions, tiered usage, and flat fee plus overage. Usage events are reported during the billing cycle and converted into invoice line items.
For example, a base plan can include a fixed number of API calls, with per-unit charges applied once usage exceeds the threshold.
Stripe supports subscriptions, meters, trials, coupons, add-ons, prorations, and revenue reporting. The Dashboard manages invoicing, payment retries, and customer self-service.
Stripe centers on billing execution and payment collection. Product-layer limit enforcement and entitlement decisions require additional systems when those checks must happen before invoicing.
Source: maxio.com
Maxio is a billing and financial operations platform for B2B SaaS companies that combine subscriptions with usage-based billing.
Usage data is ingested via API or batch upload, aggregated, and rated according to configured pricing logic such as per-unit, volume, tiered, or prepaid credit models.
Invoices reflect recurring charges and consumption beyond committed amounts. Minimum commitments, contract terms, and subscription migrations are supported.
Maxio includes finance-oriented capabilities such as SaaS metrics reporting, GAAP and IFRS-compliant revenue recognition, automated reconciliations, and ERP integrations.
Its focus is on billing accuracy and financial control. Real-time product access enforcement typically occurs outside the billing platform.
Not every metered billing tool solves the same problem. Some focus purely on invoice accuracy. Some connect billing to product behavior.
When evaluating platforms, consider how deeply billing needs to integrate with your application and existing systems.
Key questions to ask:
Does the platform support real-time usage tracking, or does it calculate totals only at invoice time?
Can it handle custom metrics beyond simple API calls or storage counts?
Is it built for enterprise-grade scale, contracts, and audit requirements?
Does it reduce operational complexity by eliminating manual processes between engineering, finance, and RevOps?
If billing decisions affect runtime access, entitlements, or feature limits, your billing infrastructure must extend beyond invoice generation.
Most metered billing platforms calculate charges correctly. Fewer connect those calculations to what your product allows at the moment usage occurs.
When limits, credits, trials, and contract overrides live only in the billing system, enforcement happens after the invoice is generated. Engineers patch edge cases in code. RevOps handles exceptions manually. Product waits on billing updates before shipping packaging changes.
Schematic moves those decisions into the product layer. Usage, plans, and billing state become runtime inputs that your application can evaluate instantly. Access can change the moment a limit is reached or a contract updates.
Pricing models determine how usage is measured, rated, and converted into invoice line items. Metered billing software must support tiered, per-unit, overage, credit-based, or hybrid pricing structures to align with your broader pricing strategy and ensure charges reflect actual product consumption.
Subscription billing charges a fixed recurring fee for access, while metered billing charges based on actual usage during the billing period. Many companies combine both models, especially when running usage-based API billing for infrastructure or AI products alongside a base subscription.
A company should consider metered billing software when revenue depends on usage, when pricing models include overages or credits, or when manual billing processes create errors or revenue leakage.
