Usage-based billing becomes necessary when subscriptions stop matching how customers consume your product.
You can track usage in real time, but many billing stacks still convert that usage into charges at the end of the cycle. That delay leads to surprise invoices, broken limits, manual fixes, and missed revenue.
To avoid that disconnect, usage billing software connects usage data to pricing rules, limits, and invoices so billing reflects what customers consumed.
Below are eight tools many teams use when usage needs to feed invoices, or when usage needs to control limits and entitlements during the cycle.
These are the top usage billing software options for B2B SaaS teams in 2026:
Stripe
Metronome
Orb
Lago
Chargebee
Maxio
Zuora
Usage billing is a pricing model where customers pay based on actual usage, not just access alone.
Instead of charging a flat subscription, you define pricing around measurable service usage such as API calls, active seats, AI credits, or events processed. Each unit reflects actual consumption and delivered value, not assumptions.
A modern usage-based billing system is designed to capture usage data directly from the product and translate it into billable usage.
That data feeds pricing rules, usage-based metering, and invoicing workflows inside existing billing infrastructure. This is how SaaS teams support usage-based billing without manual reconciliation.
Many teams combine usage with subscriptions, tiers, or volume pricing to run hybrid pricing models. The subscription sets the baseline. Usage scales the bill.
In practice, some teams apply usage only at the end of a billing cycle. Others evaluate usage in real time to control limits, credits, or trials when pricing needs to influence product behavior.
Usage billing works when usage stays accurate, pricing stays clear, and billing reflects how the product is actually used.
Teams wire usage into billing in a few repeatable ways. These patterns define how systems exchange usage data and how closely billing reflects real product behavior.
Understanding the pattern first helps you choose the right billing software later.
Usage data flows into the billing system at the end of the billing cycle. Invoices show customer usage patterns, but product access stays unchanged during the cycle. Limits, trials, and feature access live entirely in application code.
This pattern fits teams that use a usage-based pricing model mainly to automate billing and reporting. It works well when usage-based billing offers predictability, pricing stays simple, and billing operations focus on invoicing, tax, and revenue recognition. Product teams track usage for visibility, not enforcement.
Billing-only setups often align with a traditional subscription model that adds usage on top. They reduce operational risk but can lag behind real customer behavior when pricing grows more complex.
Usage events first flow into a dedicated rating layer that handles aggregation, pricing rules, and complex calculations. Rated usage then syncs into Stripe for invoicing and payments.
Teams choose this pattern when usage volume is high, pricing math is complex, or usage patterns drive a detailed pricing strategy.
It helps prevent billing errors caused by incorrect aggregation or late usage events. Finance teams gain confidence in invoice accuracy, while engineering avoids building custom rating pipelines.
This approach supports complex billing scenarios without changing how the product enforces access. Real-time data improves billing precision, but product behavior still evaluates usage separately.
Usage decisions directly affect what customers can do inside the product. Limits, credits, trials, and overages are evaluated at runtime using real-time usage tracking. Billing reflects outcomes already enforced in the product.
This pattern fits teams adopting usage-based billing to align pricing with actual value delivered. It supports a customer-centric approach where pricing responds to customer behavior, not billing delays.
Product and RevOps teams can tailor pricing, adjust entitlements, and handle exceptions without shipping billing code.
Product enforcement creates customer-centric billing with transparent pricing and fewer surprises. It works best when usage-based billing aligns tightly with the business model and customer experience.
Usage billing breaks down at different points in the stack. For some teams, the gap sits in billing and invoicing. For others, it appears earlier, where usage should influence access and entitlements during the cycle.
Below are the tools used to solve those problems:
Schematic is built on Stripe for teams that need usage-based billing to stay consistent with in-product access.
Stripe handles invoices and payments. Schematic handles the usage layer where you define how plans and SaaS entitlements map to usage limits, including usage, credits, and overages, then enforce those rules at runtime.
You use it when usage should trigger product behavior during the billing cycle.
Examples include blocking API calls after a limit, allowing overages for paid tiers, granting time-boxed trials, or applying a sales override for a customer with custom terms.
Engineering is implemented only once. Product and RevOps can change limits, credits, and packaging without shipping billing code.
Built on Stripe – Sync products, customers, subscriptions, and billing state without a billing migration.
Usage events and metering – Track usage events for API calls, seats, credits, or tokens.
Entitlements tied to usage – Evaluate usage against plan limits and included allowances in one decision path.
In-product enforcement – Enforce trials, credits, limits, and overages inside the product.
Sales-led exceptions – Apply contract overrides and expirations without code changes.
Hybrid pricing support – Combine subscriptions, usage, credits, and add-ons for self-serve and sales-led flows.
Drop-in billing UI components – Embed in-app upgrades, plan changes, add-ons, and usage visibility directly in your product when customers hit limits.
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Source: stripe.com/billing
Stripe Billing sits at the center of many SaaS billing stacks, especially for teams that treat usage as an input to invoicing rather than a product control surface.
You send usage events into Stripe, define pricing rules, and let the platform calculate charges at the end of each billing cycle.
Most teams rely on Stripe for metered billing, invoicing, payments, tax, and accounting alignment. Usage limits, access rules, and enforcement typically live in application code, not inside Stripe itself.
That separation works well when billing accuracy and financial workflows matter more than real-time product decisions.
Stripe Billing fits teams that want a flexible usage-based billing platform with strong APIs, global payments, and reliable finance tooling, and are comfortable owning pricing logic and entitlements elsewhere.
Metered billing support – Track usage metrics like API calls or seats and bill per unit.
Flexible pricing models – Configure tiered pricing, volume pricing, and hybrid plans.
Invoicing and payments – Generate accurate invoices and handle global payments.
Revenue recognition – Support accounting workflows tied to billing data.
Developer APIs – Integrate usage events into existing systems with Stripe’s APIs.
Source: metronome.com
Metronome is designed for SaaS companies where billing accuracy depends on precise usage math at scale.
Instead of focusing on invoices directly, it specializes in ingesting large volumes of usage events, applying rating logic, and producing clean, billable usage outputs.
Teams adopt Metronome when pricing models change often, usage dimensions are complex, or event volume is too high for basic metering setups.
Rated usage typically flows into Stripe or another billing system for invoicing and payments.
Metronome shows up frequently in AI and infrastructure companies where errors in usage calculation translate directly into revenue risk.
Feature access and enforcement remain in the product, while Metronome handles the hard parts of usage computation and reliability.
High-volume usage ingestion – Process large streams of usage events at scale.
Usage rating and aggregation – Convert raw events into billable units using configurable pricing logic.
Support for complex pricing models – Handle credits, overages, tiered rates, and custom usage dimensions.
Stripe integration – Sync rated usage into Stripe for invoicing and payments.
Usage and revenue reporting – Provide detailed visibility into consumption and billed amounts.
Source: withorb.com
Orb approaches usage-based billing from a finance and pricing perspective. The platform emphasizes turning detailed usage data into invoices that reflect contract terms, pricing changes, and corrections without manual cleanup.
Orb can pair with Stripe or an existing billing stack to connect usage to contract terms and invoicing.
It supports setups where subscriptions, usage charges, and negotiated terms coexist, and where pricing changes need audit trails and financial confidence.
Orb is often chosen when billing disputes, backfills, or pricing experiments directly affect renewals and trust.
You keep product enforcement separate, while Orb focuses on billing accuracy, transparency, and revenue recognition readiness.
Usage metering – Ingest and aggregate granular usage events for APIs, tokens, seats, or custom units.
Flexible price modeling – Define complex pricing rules, volume tiers, and customer-specific rates without code rewrites.
Accurate invoicing – Generate detailed invoices that reflect backfills, corrections, and contract changes.
Revenue recognition support – Align billing data with ASC 606-ready finance workflows.
Customer visibility tools – Provide dashboards, alerts, and spend tracking to support transparent usage billing.
Source: getlago.com
Lago converts raw product usage into invoices using pricing logic you define, without forcing a fixed billing schema.
You send events such as API calls, credits, or compute usage, and Lago aggregates them into billable metrics in real time.
Usage can either accumulate toward an invoice or draw down from prepaid credits, depending on how you structure plans. Subscriptions, add-ons, and enterprise thresholds all live in the same billing flow.
Teams often pick Lago when they want control over usage calculation and invoice logic, plus flexibility in how and where the system runs.
Open-source and self-hosted options make it attractive in environments with strict deployment or compliance needs.
Usage metering – Ingest and aggregate raw usage events into billable metrics with custom logic.
Hybrid billing models – Combine subscriptions, usage charges, credits, and thresholds in one invoice flow.
Billing and invoicing – Generate usage-based invoices with support for end-of-period and prepaid billing.
Open-source deployment – Run Lago self-hosted or in managed environments for compliance needs.
Finance integrations – Sync billing data with Stripe, tax tools, and accounting systems for accurate reporting.
Source: chargebee.com
Chargebee layers usage-based billing into a full subscription and revenue management platform.
Usage data enters the system through APIs and supported integrations, then gets rated using pricing rules that support tiers, credits, and included allowances.
Invoices combine recurring charges and usage, which makes Chargebee a common choice for businesses running both self-serve plans and negotiated enterprise contracts.
Sales quoting, amendments, renewals, and revenue recognition live in the same system.
Chargebee is suitable when billing, invoicing, and finance workflows need to stay tightly coordinated, and when usage pricing complexity exceeds what basic subscription tools can handle.
Usage-based pricing – Rate usage with tiers, overages, included units, or credit models.
Subscription billing – Combine recurring plans with usage charges in one invoice.
Usage ingestion – Accept raw or aggregated usage data from multiple sources.
CPQ and contracts – Quote and manage usage terms in sales-led deals.
Revenue recognition – Support GAAP and ASC 606 workflows tied to usage revenue.
Source: maxio.com
Maxio treats usage billing as part of a broader finance-first billing system. Pricing models, usage ingestion, invoicing, payments, and reporting all live in one platform designed for SaaS revenue operations.
You define pricing structures such as per-unit, tiered, volume, prepaid, or hybrid plans, then feed usage data through APIs or batch uploads.
Maxio handles the rest, turning consumption into invoices and recognized revenue without custom pipelines.
Finance teams often drive Maxio adoption when predictability, compliance, and reporting consistency matter as much as pricing flexibility.
Product teams still iterate on pricing, but enforcement typically stays outside the platform.
Usage metering and rating – Capture and rate API calls, seats, events, or custom units.
Flexible pricing models – Support per-unit, tiered, volume, prepaid, and hybrid plans.
Automated invoicing – Translate usage data into invoices with minimal manual reconciliation.
Subscription management – Handle upgrades, downgrades, trials, and proration with usage.
Revenue reporting – Provide GAAP and IFRS-ready reporting tied to usage revenue.
Source: zuora.com
Zuora Billing sits at the center of enterprise order-to-revenue workflows, where subscriptions, one-time charges, and usage all need to reconcile under strict financial controls.
The platform handles high transaction volume, complex customer lifecycles, and frequent contract changes without breaking downstream accounting or payments.
Usage pricing runs alongside recurring billing, with mediation and rating built into the same system that manages quoting, invoicing, and renewals.
Account hierarchies and mid-cycle amendments support long sales cycles and negotiated contracts without manual intervention.
Teams usually adopt Zuora when billing connects to many internal systems and requires audit-ready reporting, global payments, and compliance guardrails.
Product access and usage enforcement typically remain outside the platform, while Zuora focuses on scale, reliability, and finance ownership.
Usage metering and rating – Mediate and rate usage events for usage-based billing and hybrid billing.
Flexible billing models – Configure subscriptions, one-time charges, and multi-attribute pricing for recurring billing.
Enterprise order and account management – Support account hierarchies, amendments, renewals, and multi-entity billing flows.
Payments and tax tooling – Connect payment gateways and support e-invoicing and tax compliance workflows.
CPQ and integrations – Integrate with CRM and CPQ systems to connect quoting to billing execution.
Most usage billing problems come from ownership, not tooling. After comparing features, decide who controls pricing and usage decisions inside your organization. That choice determines how your usage-based billing model operates day to day.
Engineering-owned pricing works when pricing logic ships through code. Usage tracking and enforcement live inside the application. Engineers decide how usage events translate into limits, overages, or blocks for pay-as-you-go features or a tiered pricing model.
In this setup, the usage-based billing system focuses on invoicing, taxes, and accurate billing. Pricing changes follow release cycles. This model fits stable pricing and established existing customers, but it slows iteration when plans, trials, or complex pricing structures change often.
Teams rely on reporting tools to review accurate usage data after the fact and generate invoices at the end of the cycle.
Product and RevOps-owned pricing removes pricing changes from deploys. Plans, limits, credits, and exceptions are updated through configuration. Usage rules stay outside application code.
Teams choose this model when usage-based billing works as part of packaging, sales motion, and experimentation. Flexible billing options make it easier to align pricing with customer value and maintain predictable revenue as usage grows.
Billing integrates with a product-side decision layer, which keeps enforcement and invoicing in sync.
Self-serve usage relies on clear limits, automated upgrades, and pricing that responds to customer behavior without manual intervention.
Sales-led usage introduces overrides, expirations, and custom terms. Tooling needs to support both without branching logic or one-off fixes, especially when pricing spans multiple plans and usage dimensions.
Stripe often acts as the billing backbone, but teams use it differently. Some let Stripe own pricing logic and usage calculations. Others keep Stripe focused on payments and invoices while upstream systems control how usage affects access.
The right billing software depends on whether usage only helps generate invoices or actively controls product behavior during the cycle.
Usage billing works when billing matches what your product allows and measures.
Some teams only need accurate invoices from usage at the end of the cycle. Some need usage to drive limits, access, and upgrades while customers are still in the product.
The right usage billing software depends on where that gap appears in your stack and who owns pricing decisions. Billing-first tools work when usage only impacts invoices after the cycle closes. Product-side systems become necessary when usage needs to control behavior in real time.
Schematic fits teams that want usage, entitlements, and billing state to stay aligned within the product while Stripe handles invoicing and payments. Engineering sets it up once. Product and RevOps manage pricing without shipping code.
If usage needs to drive product decisions, not just invoices, start with Schematic for free.
There is no single best billing software. The right option depends on how pricing affects your product. Billing-first tools work when usage only generates invoices. Product-aware systems work when usage needs to control limits or entitlements. Teams should choose based on ownership and required usage-based billing capabilities.
An example of usage-based billing is charging customers based on the number of API calls they make in a month and generating an invoice from the recorded usage. For example, a SaaS product might bill $0.01 per API call, track each request during the billing cycle, and automatically calculate the total charge from actual usage at the end of the month.
Yes, you can bill customers based on usage by capturing usage events from your product and converting them into billable units. Most teams send usage data into a billing system like Stripe to generate invoices. When usage also controls limits, trials, or upgrades, a product-side layer helps keep billing and access aligned and reduce friction that hurts customer satisfaction.
Consumption-based billing tools fall into two groups. Billing platforms focus on metering and invoices. Product-side systems focus on enforcing usage and entitlements. Schematic fits teams that need usage to affect product behavior, while Stripe handles billing, which can help improve customer satisfaction.
