Recurly, one of the most popular billing platforms for many finance teams, works well when pricing stays simple, subscriptions renew on schedule, and invoices go out on time. Billing feels predictable, and reports stay clean.
That changes when pricing starts shaping product behavior. Usage, limits, trials, and sales terms begin to control what customers can access in real time.
Many B2B SaaS companies reach that point and start evaluating Recurly alternatives. This guide covers the top options in 2026 for those who need a billing state to reflect what happens inside the product.
These are the top Recurly alternatives in 2026 for SaaS and AI companies:
Stripe Billing
Chargebee
Stigg
Maxio
Lago
Orb
Recurly is a subscription billing platform designed to manage recurring charges for SaaS products that sell fixed plans. Teams use it to handle invoicing, payment retries, and renewal flows tied to predictable billing cycles.
Recurly supports plan configuration, add-ons, and discounts, with tooling focused on operational billing needs rather than product control. Its billing system tracks what customers are charged and when invoices close.
That scope is intentional. Recurly is not designed to decide feature access, enforce limits, or evaluate usage during product interaction.
Those decisions typically live outside the platform. This boundary defines where Recurly fits well and where additional systems become necessary.
Limits appear once pricing behavior extends beyond invoices. Usage-based billing, credits, and mid-cycle changes typically require custom billing logic that lives in application code or internal tooling.
Product access and limits drift from the billing state because Recurly updates on billing events, not during feature use. Sales-led contracts add more friction when custom terms or temporary overrides need engineering support.
Reporting also becomes harder to reconcile as pricing grows more dynamic. Finance and RevOps teams often struggle to connect usage, invoices, and downstream revenue recognition without additional systems.
There are seven of the best Recurly alternatives this year:
Schematic is built on Stripe and sits between your product and your billing system. It evaluates SaaS entitlements, usage, and limits at runtime, not after invoices close.
Teams use Schematic when Recurly’s billing state no longer reflects what customers should be able to access inside the product.
Recurly records charges and renewals. Schematic turns plans, trials, credits, add-ons, and overrides into real product decisions.
That includes enforcing limits during feature use, granting temporary access for sales deals, and reacting to usage as it happens.
This makes Schematic a strong alternative to Recurly for SaaS and AI companies running hybrid pricing with both self-serve and sales-led motion. Billing stays in Stripe, and product access stays aligned with pricing.
Runtime entitlements – Decide feature access, limits, and trials during product use, not billing events
Stripe-native sync – Import Stripe plans and customers, and keep billing state aligned without webhook glue
Usage tracking and enforcement – Meter usage, enforce limits, and trigger overage or paywalls in real time
Sales-led overrides – Grant temporary access, custom limits, and exceptions without code changes
Hybrid pricing support – Combine seats, usage, credits, add-ons, and bundles in one system
Low-latency evaluation – Enforce access in under 50ms with SDKs for modern stacks
If billing accuracy is no longer enough on its own, you can start a free account with Schematic.
Source: stripe.com/billing
Stripe Billing is a subscription billing solution built for companies that want to manage billing directly within Stripe. It supports recurring subscriptions, usage-based billing, and invoicing through a single billing system.
The platform is frequently evaluated alongside Recurly when teams decide whether to centralize billing inside Stripe or use a dedicated subscription platform.
Unlike Recurly, which operates as a standalone subscription management platform, Stripe Billing is tightly coupled with Stripe’s payment processing and payments infrastructure.
This setup works well when you want billing, taxes, and payments handled in one place, especially for products with complex billing scenarios or high monthly recurring revenue volume.
Stripe Billing focuses on billing execution and financial workflows. Product access, limits, and entitlements are typically handled outside Stripe Billing.
Recurring subscriptions – Manage plans, renewals, and recurring revenue inside Stripe
Usage-based billing – Meter usage and charge variable amounts per billing cycle
Automated invoicing – Generate and collect invoices tied to subscriptions or one-time charges
Revenue recognition – Pair Billing with Stripe’s revenue and reporting tooling when finance needs recognized revenue outputs
Customer portal – Let customers manage plans, payment details, and billing history
Source: chargebee.com
Chargebee is a subscription billing platform used by B2B SaaS companies that need to manage subscriptions, invoices, and revenue workflows at scale.
Compared to Recurly, Chargebee offers broader support for complex billing models, including usage-based pricing, CPQ flows, and finance-led controls.
It is often selected when teams move beyond basic subscription management and require stronger revenue recognition, tax workflows, and reliable integrations with accounting and ERP systems.
Chargebee focuses on billing operations and financial accuracy rather than in-product access control, similar to Recurly, but adds more depth for finance teams handling high volumes, multiple entities, and pricing adjustments over time.
Subscription billing capabilities – Supports recurring billing processes, plan changes, proration, and renewals for long-running customer accounts
Automated revenue recognition – Built-in ASC 606 and IFRS support for accurate revenue recognition and audit readiness
Tax and compliance tooling – Handles sales tax, VAT, and global tax compliance through native and partner integrations
Payment gateway coverage – Works with multiple payment processors and supports different payment providers and currencies
Reporting and exports – Provides financial reporting, invoice data, and exports for finance and revenue teams
Source: stigg.io
Stigg positions itself as a monetization layer that manages pricing, plans, and entitlements outside of traditional billing systems.
You can consider this tool when you want pricing and entitlements to evaluate the product, while billing stays with your existing provider.
Unlike Recurly, which centers on subscription billing and invoicing workflows, Stigg focuses on defining custom pricing logic, usage limits, and access rules that the product enforces at runtime.
It typically sits alongside an existing billing provider rather than replacing it.
This makes Stigg relevant for SaaS products running complex pricing models, usage-based features, or hybrid plans where product behavior needs to react to usage and plan state more frequently than billing cycles allow.
Plan and entitlement modeling – Define features, limits, and usage allocations as structured entitlements rather than hardcoded rules
Usage-based and hybrid pricing support – Track consumption events and evaluate limits for products using tiered or mixed pricing models
Product-side access control – Enforce plan rules inside the application instead of relying on post-invoice billing state like Recurly
API and SDK integrations – Instrument usage and entitlement checks through developer-focused APIs and SDKs
Environment-aware configuration – Version and test pricing changes in environments before promotion
Source: maxio.com
Maxio is a billing and financial operations platform that combines subscription billing with reporting and revenue workflows.
It is frequently evaluated alongside Recurly when finance teams need deeper visibility into billing data, stronger revenue recognition capabilities, and tighter integration with downstream accounting tools and ERP systems, rather than focusing only on subscription billing mechanics.
While Recurly centers on managing subscriptions and billing events, Maxio places greater emphasis on financial reporting, SaaS metrics, and alignment with GAAP and IFRS requirements.
B2B SaaS companies typically adopt Maxio when they run complex billing needs, multiple pricing plans, or hybrid go-to-market motions that require finance to manage billing, collections, and revenue metrics in one system.
Subscription and invoice management – Manage recurring charges, invoicing, and billing cycles for SaaS subscriptions
Revenue recognition and reporting – Support advanced revenue recognition workflows with audit-ready reporting
SaaS metrics and analytics – Track ARR, churn, and basic subscription metrics tied to billing data
Multi-entity and currency support – Handle multi-entity structures and multiple currencies for growing organizations
Integrations for finance systems – Connect billing and revenue data to tools like NetSuite, QuickBooks, and Xero
Source: getlago.com
Lago is an open-source billing platform built for usage-based and hybrid billing, with metering, invoicing, and an API-first workflow.
It is often considered when teams want to move beyond fixed plans and need greater control over usage tracking, rating logic, and billing customization.
Unlike Recurly, which centers on subscription billing mechanics, Lago emphasizes developer ownership, transparency, and extensibility through its open-source core.
It is commonly adopted by B2B SaaS and AI companies running complex billing needs, such as credit-based pricing, hybrid plans, or high-volume usage events, where engineering wants direct control over billing behavior and data flows.
Usage metering and rating – Track and rate high-volume usage events in near real time for consumption-based pricing
API-first billing workflows – Build and manage billing logic programmatically using developer-friendly APIs
Open-source core – Self-host or extend the platform to meet internal requirements and compliance needs
Flexible pricing logic – Support hybrid plans, tiered pricing, prepaid credits, and custom pricing structures
Stripe integration – Sync billing and payment flows with Stripe for invoicing and cash collection
Source: withorb.com
Orb is a usage-based billing platform built for companies that treat pricing as a first-class system rather than a downstream billing task.
It is often suitable when subscription billing expands into complex billing needs such as high-volume usage, contract-based pricing, or hybrid models that combine subscriptions with consumption.
While Recurly focuses on recurring billing mechanics and renewals, Orb centers on metering accuracy, pricing logic, and finance-grade workflows that connect usage data to invoices and revenue processes.
AI and infrastructure-focused SaaS companies adopt it when high transaction volumes require precise billing inputs, spend controls, and accurate financial reporting tied to usage.
Usage metering infrastructure – Capture and process granular usage data for consumption-based pricing
Flexible billing options – Support tiered pricing, usage-based charges, and contract-aligned billing logic
Revenue recognition workflows – Align billing outputs with finance processes and close requirements
Invoicing and spend controls – Generate detailed invoices and apply controls to reduce failed payments
Payment provider integrations – Connect Orb to invoicing, tax, and finance systems, then run payments through your payment provider
The decision to move on from Recurly usually comes down to timing. You are ready to switch when billing still works, but it no longer drives how your product behaves.
You reach that point when pricing decisions need to be evaluated during feature use, not after a billing event closes. Usage limits, trials, and credits start affecting access in real time, and invoice-based logic falls behind what users see inside the product.
Readiness also shows up when product teams need direct control over limits and access without deployments. Hybrid pricing and sales-led terms demand changes that apply immediately, not at the next billing cycle.
Another signal appears when billing becomes one part of a broader revenue delivery platform. Payment handling and global payment support remain necessary, whether through Stripe, Zoho Billing, or a merchant of record, but they stop defining product behavior.
If these shifts sound familiar, the question is no longer whether Recurly works. The question becomes whether it still fits how you ship pricing today.
Recurly works when billing stays separate from product behavior. Many teams reach a point where that separation breaks down. Pricing starts to shape access, limits, and usage while customers are active in the product.
Schematic is built for that shift. It turns plans, trials, credits, add-ons, and overrides into real-time decisions inside the product. Product, engineering, and RevOps stay aligned without hardcoded logic or delayed enforcement.
Stripe continues to handle billing, invoices, and payments. Schematic makes sure that what customers see and use always matches what they are entitled to.
Not always. Some Recurly alternatives complement existing billing systems by managing entitlements, usage evaluation, and access control inside the product, while billing and payments continue to run through platforms like Stripe. Tools such as Schematic follow this model by separating in-product enforcement from billing execution.
No. Some alternatives let you keep Recurly or Stripe for billing while adding a separate layer that controls product access and usage in real time. This avoids a full billing migration and shifts the change to how pricing affects the product, not invoices.
Recurly remains a good choice for early-stage SaaS companies with simple subscription pricing and predictable billing cycles. Complexity usually appears later, when pricing begins to influence product access and usage in real time. At that stage, some teams add a product-side layer such as Schematic to manage entitlements and usage enforcement, without replacing their billing system.
