--- title: "3 Best Orb Alternatives in 2026 (Compared)" description: "Looking for an Orb alternative? Compare the best Usage-Based Billing & Metering alternatives to Orb by pricing, free tiers, and features — find the right fit for your startup." source: https://appstackbuilder.com/tool-alternatives/orb retrieved: 2026-10-08 --- Usage-Based Billing & Metering # The 3 Best Orb Alternatives in 2026 Looking for an alternative to [Orb](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/orb)? Below we compare the best usage-based billing & metering alternatives by pricing, free tiers, and what each is best for — so you can pick the right fit for your budget and stack. Category Usage-Based Billing & Metering Orb pricing Pay-as-you-go Free tier No Alternatives 3 compared ## Why look for a Orb alternative? Orb is a solid usage-based billing & metering choice, but it isn't the right fit for everyone. The most common reasons teams evaluate alternatives: * −No self-serve plan or public prices * −Overkill for simple subscription billing * −Now owned by a payments company (Adyen) ## Orb vs Alternatives — Quick Comparison | Tool | Pricing | Free tier | Rating | Best for | | ------------------------------- | ------------------------ | --------- | ------ | ----------------------------------------------------- | | [Orb](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/orb)You searched | Usage-based | — | 4.6 | Usage-Based Billing & Metering — billing, usage-based | | 1.[Lago](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/lago) | Free · paid from $599/mo | ✓ | 4.6 | Usage-Based Billing & Metering — billing, usage-based | | 2.[Flexprice](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/flexprice) | Free · paid from $500/mo | ✓ | 4.5 | Usage-Based Billing & Metering — billing, usage-based | | 3.[Metronome](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/metronome) | Usage-based | — | 4.6 | Usage-Based Billing & Metering — billing, usage-based | ## Top Orb Alternatives, Explained ![Lago](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=getlago.com&sz=128) ### 1. Lago Free tier4.6· Free · paid from $599/mo Lago is the most-starred open-source billing engine (10K+ GitHub stars, AGPL-3.0). It ingests usage events, aggregates them into billable metrics, and handles plans, prepaid credits, entitlements, coupons, invoicing and a customer portal, then hands payment to Stripe, Adyen or GoCardless. You can self-host the open-source edition for free. Lago Cloud's Starter tier is free until $250K of cumulative invoiced revenue, then 0.75%. 2026 sources list a Performance plan at $599/month. Business and Enterprise (premium features, SSO, self-hosted support) are quote-only. * ✓Open source and self-hostable * ✓Handles hybrid subscription + usage pricing * ✓Works with several payment providers, not just Stripe [Lago pricing & review ](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/lago)[Orb vs Lago ](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/lago-vs-orb) ![Flexprice](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=flexprice.io&sz=128) ### 2. Flexprice Free tier4.5· Free · paid from $500/mo Flexprice is a developer-first, AGPL-licensed billing platform (6K+ GitHub stars) aimed at AI and API companies. It meters events, manages wallets and prepaid credits, supports usage, credit, seat and hybrid pricing, and generates invoices. Unusually for this category it publishes prices: Free covers 100K events a month (up to $100K cumulative billing), Build is $500/month for 1M events and Scale $1,000/month for 5M, with 20% off yearly. The open-source edition is free to self-host, and Mission Critical adds VPC or on-premise deployment. * ✓Open source with a free hosted tier * ✓Published prices, which is rare in billing * ✓Built for credit and wallet models common in AI products [Flexprice pricing & review ](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/flexprice)[Orb vs Flexprice ](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/flexprice-vs-orb) ![Metronome](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=metronome.com&sz=128) ### 3. Metronome 4.6· Usage-based Metronome meters usage in real time and turns it into invoices for usage, seat, subscription and hybrid pricing, including enterprise contracts with commits, credits and overrides. It is built for very high event volume, which is why AI and infrastructure companies use it. Stripe completed its roughly $1B acquisition in January 2026 and Metronome still sells as its own product. The Startup plan is 0.8% of billed volume plus $0.04 per 1,000 ingested events. Custom adds Salesforce, NetSuite and cloud-marketplace invoicing, warehouse exports and enhanced SLAs. * ✓Handles very high event volume * ✓Enterprise contracts with commits and credits * ✓Tight Stripe integration now that Stripe owns it [Metronome pricing & review ](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/metronome)[Orb vs Metronome ](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/metronome-vs-orb) ## Frequently Asked Questions What are the best alternatives to Orb in 2026?⌄ The best Orb alternatives in 2026 are Lago, Flexprice, Metronome. Each is a usage-based billing & metering option you can compare on pricing, free tiers, and features in the table above. Is there a free alternative to Orb?⌄ Yes — Lago, Flexprice offer free tiers, making them strong free Orb alternatives for bootstrapped startups. Why look for a Orb alternative?⌄ A common reason teams switch is no self-serve plan or public prices. Beyond that, people compare usage-based billing & metering tools on pricing, specific feature gaps, ease of use, and whether an open-source or free-tier option exists — so they can pick the best fit for their stack and budget. What is the cheapest Orb alternative?⌄ Lago is among the most affordable Orb alternatives — free · paid from $599/mo. Check the comparison table above for the full pricing breakdown. Which Orb alternative is rated highest?⌄ Lago is the highest-rated Orb alternative in our catalog at 4.6 out of 5, making it a strong pick if you want a well-reviewed option. ## Find your perfect usage-based billing & metering tool Skip the research. Get a free AI-powered tech stack matched to your budget, app type, and team size in seconds. [Build my stack free ](https://appstackbuilder.com/)