The 5 best subscription billing platforms in 2025

The best subscription billing platforms at a glance

• Orb: Real‑time, raw‑event usage billing with no‑code pricing, pricing simulation, and native invoicing and reporting for finance, product, and engineering. Built for scale and price iteration.
• Chargebee: Subscription billing with usage‑based support (usage ingestion, metered features) and no‑code pricing tests via Pricing Table. Strong global tax, currencies, and finance integrations.
• Recurly: Subscription billing with usage‑based add‑ons via Usage API and fast plan setup. Solid dashboards and exports for subscription metrics
• Metronome: Metering point solution for engineering teams that want to build their own billing system and maintain control over every component.
• Maxio: Finance‑oriented platform with usage metering from raw events, multi‑attribute meters, and GAAP reporting workflows, plus SaaS KPI dashboards.

How we chose the best subscription billing platforms

We picked these subscription billing platforms because they solve real problems for SaaS and product-led businesses. Each tool listed helps automate recurring billing, simplify pricing, and support long-term growth. 

We focused on tools that go beyond sending invoices. We looked for platforms that connect billing to product usage, customer retention, and financial reporting. Here are the four key features we prioritized.

Flexible pricing models

Each platform needed to support more than simple monthly plans. We looked for tools that handle usage-based billing, tiered pricing, hybrid models, and prepaid credits. This flexibility is crucial for growing SaaS and GenAI companies.

Real-time data and invoicing

We focused on platforms that offer real-time billing, automated billing retries, and subscription-based billing. Companies need accurate, immediate billing to reduce errors, improve cash flow, and support evolving pricing strategies.

Integrations and APIs

Billing doesn’t work in isolation. We looked for API billing solutions that connect with CRMs, ERPs, data warehouses, and payment gateways. A good subscription billing platform should integrate cleanly into your stack.

Support for scaling operations

We chose tools that support automated billing solutions at scale. These tools simplify billing for both startups and enterprises, and they can adapt to support both 10 and 10,000 customers with ease.

We also considered these other important factors

• Detailed SaaS metrics and reporting: The best subscription billing management platforms give you insights into ARR, MRR, churn, and LTV, without needing a separate analytics tool.
• Ease of implementation and use: We looked for developer‑friendly APIs and UIs that let non‑technical teams adjust pricing and billing.
• Custom invoicing options: Invoice customization helps you match customer expectations and billing rules. That’s especially important for B2B SaaS and enterprise contracts.
• Proration and contract changes: We looked for recurring billing solutions that can handle mid-cycle changes, upgrades, downgrades, and trials without manual work.
• Revenue workflows: We looked for accurate invoices, exports, and integrations that support GAAP revenue processes in your ERP.
• Who offers the best real-time billing for subscription services? We gave extra weight to platforms that answer this directly. Tools like Orb process raw usage data in real time and support automated recurring billing for teams that move fast.
• Recurring payment solutions with flexibility: Each option we picked supports different types of recurring payments: credit card, ACH, invoicing, and custom cycles, not just fixed monthly charges.

Top subscription billing solutions in 2025

1. Orb: Best for flexible pricing and speed

Orb is a true usage-based billing solution designed for SaaS and AI companies that need more than traditional subscription billing systems. 

Unlike older platforms that batch process invoices or require engineering work to change pricing, Orb handles raw usage events in real time. It’s a true usage-based billing solution built for scale, experimentation, and real-time data accuracy.

Features

• Flexible pricing models: Supports tiered, usage-based, hybrid, volume discount, and many other pricing structures, allowing businesses to tailor billing to their specific needs.
• Real-time data processing: Ingests and processes raw usage data in real time for accurate and timely invoicing.
• Automated billing processes: Automates the entire billing cycle, from usage tracking to invoice generation and payment collection.
• Robust analytics: Provides detailed revenue analytics, enabling businesses to gain insights into customer behavior and optimize pricing strategies.
• Integrations galore: Offers native integrations with CRMs, ERPs, and data warehouses, facilitating seamless data flow across systems.

Ideal users

Orb is ideal for high-growth SaaS and AI startups, enterprise teams with complex pricing models, and companies shifting from static subscription plans to dynamic billing tied to real usage.

It’s not a fit for businesses that only need fixed-price, flat-fee billing.

Pricing: Custom pricing based on usage scale and support needs. Check out Orb’s pricing site to learn more.

The verdict

Orb is the best pick for companies that want agile, real-time usage-based billing with audit-grade accuracy. It replaces rigid subscription billing systems and lets teams test, adapt, and optimize monetization without code changes.

2. Chargebee: Best for global subscription billing at scale

Chargebee is a subscription billing platform with usage‑based support. You can ingest usage in real time, define metered features (including aggregation and filters), link pricing, and test pricing no‑code via Pricing Table + Price Overrides. It also offers real‑time dashboards and automated reconciliation into accounting.

Features

• Multi‑currency and tax support: Handle multi‑currency billing and automate tax.
• Usage‑based billing: Ingest usage via API/UI, define metered features, and link pricing for usage charges.
• Real‑time analytics: RevenueStory dashboards cover churn, retention, MRR, and executive views.
• Reconciliation workflows: Plugins and workflows streamline QuickBooks/Xero reconciliation.

Ideal users

Chargebee is good for mid-market and enterprise teams running multiple global subscription products. If you’re billing based on seats or tiers and need strong financial reporting, Chargebee fits. It’s not the best for SaaS firms testing complex usage pricing.

Pricing: Chargebee pricing offers several tiers based on revenue billed per month.

The verdict

Chargebee fits global finance teams that need subscription + usage in one place. If you need pricing simulation and frequent pricing iteration without touching code, Orb is a better option. 

3. Recurly: Best for fast implementation and standard plans

Recurly is a subscription billing solution optimized for simple recurring billing and fast setup. Recurly supports usage‑based billing via its Usage API and recommends real‑time logging for clean invoices. 

For multi‑dimensional pricing, simulations, or raw‑event backfills, teams often supplement their needs with other tools since Recurly's analytics have limitations.

Features

• Flexible plan management: Allows for easy configuration and management of subscription plans, including trials, discounts, and promotions.
• Automated revenue recognition: Confirms compliance with accounting standards by automating revenue recognition processes.
• Dashboards and reports: Built‑in dashboards and exports for customers, subscriptions, revenue, and forecasting.
• Global payment processing: Supports multiple payment methods and currencies, facilitating international billing.

Ideal users

Recurly is best for early-stage startups with simple recurring revenue models that want to launch fast. It’s not suitable for companies with advanced usage metering, hybrid pricing, or product-led growth strategies.

Pricing: Recurly pricing is based on transaction volume, with custom quotes for larger businesses.

The verdict

Recurly is quick to launch and covers subscription and usage. For raw‑event ingestion, pricing simulation, no-code pricing changes, and cross‑functional revenue tooling, Orb is the better fit.

4. Metronome: Best for engineering-heavy billing teams

Metronome is a metering point solution that includes pricing, billing, and reporting. 

Engineering teams can implement metering to develop their own usage-based billing system and either leverage Metronome’s additional billing tools or integrate their preferred tools.

Features

• Pricing levers and contracts: Supports credits (prepaid/postpaid), minimums, overages, and contract terms.
• Real‑time invoices: Invoices update to reflect real-time spend and can be changed as long as they’re not finalized.
• Dashboards: Embeddable customer dashboards and in‑product spend visibility.

Ideal users

Metronome fits teams that want hands‑on control of pricing and billing. If you want raw‑event storage, pricing simulation, built-in invoicing, and lower lift for price iteration, consider Orb instead.

Metronome is not for companies that want no-code billing tools, finance automation, or detailed reporting on usage. Orb provides those.

Pricing: Custom pricing based on scale.

The verdict

Metronome delivers tools for metering, pricing, billing, and reporting. However, choose Orb when your priority is raw‑event accuracy, the ability to backfill and backdate event data, pricing simulation, granular reporting, or empowering finance and product to iterate on pricing without engineering.

5. Maxio: Best for B2B SaaS with standard usage tracking

Maxio supports usage‑based billing with real‑time event ingestion (“metering”) and multi‑attribute meters that roll into invoices. It also provides dashboards and finance workflows tuned for SaaS. 

Features

• Usage metering: Ingest raw events in real time and compute meters that drive charges.
• Multi‑attribute pricing and overages: Configure per‑unit, tiered, volume, and segment pricing; handle overages.
• Dashboards and SaaS KPIs: Role‑based dashboards for ARR, MRR, churn, and more.
• Revenue workflows: Export/reconcile and manage GAAP workflows alongside invoicing

Ideal users

Maxio suits SaaS teams that want a billing platform to manage standard usage tracking and financial compliance. If your pricing is relatively simple and you need GAAP-compliant reporting, it works.

Pricing: Maxio offers custom pricing. Feature access depends on plan level. More info can be found on their official pricing site. 

The verdict 

Maxio suits finance‑led teams that want subscription + usage plus SaaS KPIs in one place. If you need backfills and backdating, pricing simulation, and multi‑dimensional pricing without engineering work, Orb is the better fit. 

Whether you're switching from spreadsheets or upgrading from a legacy subscription billing platform, Orb gives you a scalable foundation for usage-based and hybrid pricing. Explore Orb’s flexible pricing plans and find a tier that works for you

FAQs

What is a subscription billing platform?

A subscription billing platform is software that automates recurring billing, invoicing, and payment processing for subscription-based businesses. It helps manage pricing models, customer subscriptions, and revenue tracking.

How do I choose the best subscription billing platform for my business?

Choose a subscription billing platform based on your pricing complexity, billing frequency, and integration needs. Look for tools that support usage-based billing, real-time invoicing, API access, and recurring payment solutions.

Can subscription billing platforms handle usage-based pricing?

Yes. Some platforms (e.g., Orb) are built on raw‑event ingestion with no‑code pricing and simulations. Others implement usage via pre‑defined metrics and streaming aggregation, which limits backfills, backdating, and iteration.

What integrations should a subscription billing platform have?

A good platform integrates with CRMs, ERPs, payment gateways, and accounting tools. It helps make sure data flows without friction, and it supports automated billing solutions across your finance and product teams.

Orb is the advanced billing platform built for modern SaaS firms

Most subscription billing platforms weren’t built for the way SaaS companies operate today. They can’t keep up with fast-changing pricing, event-based billing, or high-volume usage. 

Orb is different.

Orb gives you full control over pricing experiments, product monetization, and billing workflows; all powered by raw event data and real-time processing. It’s built for teams that want to move fast without sacrificing billing accuracy or financial clarity. Here’s what makes Orb stand out:

• Revenue simulations without writing code: Test how pricing changes affect revenue before you launch them with Orb Simulations. This exclusive feature lets you simulate different price points and model outcomes based on historical usage.
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• Support for complex contract billing: Handle parent-child hierarchies, minimum commitments, and negotiated terms across enterprise accounts. Customize how billing works for each customer without breaking your invoicing workflows.
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• Transparent billing at scale: You can audit every recorded usage event. This means fewer disputes, better internal reporting, and accurate invoices down to the last API call. It’s easy to know how every charge was calculated.
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• Modular, extensible architecture: Use Orb as a full billing solution or plug it into your existing systems. Start with metering or invoicing, and expand into analytics, pricing simulation, and revenue recognition when you’re ready.
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• Built for cross-functional teams: Finance, product, and engineering all use the same source of truth. Orb supports role-based access controls, so each team sees the data they need, without risking billing errors.