Subscription Billing

Iugu vs Lago

The most concrete split between Iugu and Lago is the pricing model: Iugu runs on usage-based pricing, while Lago uses freemium with paid plans from $1. That shapes how predictable your monthly spend is and how much of the cost sits in infrastructure versus per-seat or per-event fees. Beyond the headline, Iugu carries medium lock-in (brazil billing platform) and usage-based pricing; Lago carries low lock-in (open-source billing, self-hostable) and freemium with paid plans from $1. Iugu is a fit when you are brazilian saas, marketplaces, and fintechs needing pix, boleto, and nf-e compliance. Lago is a fit when you are saas. The honest trade-off: Iugu is explicitly not for global-first saas or companies without significant brazilian revenue exposure; Lago is explicitly not for simple projects. On the product side, Iugu is described as Brazilian billing and payments platform for subscriptions, recurring charges, and marketplaces with REST API, and Lago is described as Open-source metering and usage-based billing API supporting flat, tiered, volume, and percentage pricing models.

Quick take

Iugu is for brazilian saas, marketplaces, and fintechs needing pix, boleto, and nf-e compliance; Lago is for saas; decide on pricing model.

Feature comparison

Iugu Iugu Lago Lago
Category Subscription Billing Subscription Billing
Pricing Model usage freemium
Entry Price — $1
Free Tier No Yes
Billing Complexity — —
Developer Experience 3/5 4/5
Pricing Transparency 4/5 4/5
Lock-in Level medium low
Migration Complexity — —
Data Portability — —
Enterprise — Available
GitHub Stars 51 —
License MIT —

When to choose which

Choose Iugu when…

Choose Iugu if its usage pricing model fits your budget shape better than Lago's freemium model, and you are brazilian saas, marketplaces, and fintechs needing pix, boleto, and nf-e compliance.

  • Deep Brazilian payments coverage (boleto, Pix, cards)
  • Handles local tax and NF-e invoicing requirements
  • REST API suits marketplaces and subscription products
  • Split payments support for platform business models

Not for: Global-first SaaS or companies without significant Brazilian revenue exposure.

Choose Lago when…

Choose Lago if you need a free tier to start before committing budget, and your use case matches saas.

  • SaaS with recurring revenue
  • Usage-based pricing models
  • Generous free tier for getting started

Not for: Simple projects

Common use cases

Iugu

  • Brazilian subscription billing and recurring charge with REST API
  • Marketplace split payment and subaccount management for Brazilian platforms
  • Boleto and PIX recurring billing for Brazilian subscription products
  • Automated invoicing and payment reconciliation for Brazilian SaaS

Lago

  • SaaS with recurring revenue
  • Usage-based pricing models
  • Complex plan management

Ready to explore?

Check each tool's dedicated page for deeper reviews, setup notes, and pros/cons.

Explore Iugu → Explore Lago → See all Subscription Billing

Frequently asked questions

Is Iugu cheaper than Lago?

Lago has a free tier; Iugu does not. For small-scale use Lago will be cheaper. At paid scale the pricing models differ and the comparison depends on your volume.

Can I migrate from Iugu to Lago?

Migration from Iugu to Lago is feasible but not trivial: Iugu has medium lock-in (brazil billing platform). Core data can move; integrations and workflow logic need rebuild. Allow for a parallel-run period.

Which has better developer experience?

On our scoring Lago rates 4/5 for developer experience versus 3/5 for Iugu. That suggests Lago feels more polished for everyday developer tasks. We still recommend a short hands-on trial on your stack before standardising.

Is Lago a good alternative to Iugu?

Lago is pitched at saas, which overlaps with Iugu's fit (brazilian saas, marketplaces, and fintechs needing pix, boleto, and nf-e compliance) but is not identical. Note that Lago is explicitly not for simple projects, so it only replaces Iugu if you are outside that exclusion. The lock-in profile differs (medium vs low), which is the main thing to weigh.

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