At a glance — Oct 2026
Updated 2026-10-27 · forward this page: /jtbds/billing#briefScores as of 2026-09-14 (43 days old; Depot marks scores stale after 30 days). The pick is still Depot's current editorial pick; it has not been re-reviewed since. Prices below carry their own dates.
- Depot Pick
- Stripe · 8.76/10 for this job (curated estimate, high confidence)
Stripe remains cash collection default; Orb/Lago/OpenMeter for serious usage meters.
- Runner-up
- Orb · 8.03/10
- When not to use the pick
- Complex AI pricing simulations — Orb; OSS self-host metering — Lago; API gateway entitlements/token meters — OpenMeter; very custom ERP — still usually sync from Stripe.
- Lock-in / migration
- The pick has lower stored lock-in risk than runner-up Orb (6 vs 6.5).
- Sourced price (no comparable unit)
Pick: no sourced price in this job's unit (no_sourced_price).
No cheapest SKU (no_comparable_unit_for_job). No price was invented.
- Free option
- No free resource lists this job. A cheap paid SKU is not a free option.
- Failure modes to watch
- Confirmation skip: Gate those tool names on an approval id recorded before the call. A missing approval is a failure even if the downstream tool returns success.
- Runaway spend: Set a budget and a tool-call cap per task. Alert when spend jumps. Stop the run at the cap instead of summarizing a partial trace as success.
Cite: Agent Provider Depot, Depot Pick for billing: stripe, scores as of 2026-09-14. Agents: GET /api/decide?jtbd=billing
Stripe
Stripe remains cash collection default; Orb/Lago/OpenMeter for serious usage meters.
Pricing (directional): Pay-as-you-go payment processing + Billing subscriptions; Connect for marketplaces; Atlas etc.
Lock-in risk: higher = more lock-in (worse). Overall already inverts this dimension.
Non-negotiable for most commercial agent products. Use Billing meters for token pass-through pricing.
Quote for Subscription & usage billing
Depot Pick stays Stripe. Prices below are sourced SKU rows only (as of 2026-10-27). Input and output are not blended. GET /api/quote?jtbd=billing
Nothing was compared. no comparable sourced unit for this job; chat input $/1M and other units were not borrowed pickIsPriceWinner is null.
Sourced price unavailable for the Depot Pick. No row in the pricing index.
10 of 10 candidates have no sourced price row. 10 are excluded from the Matching price comparison (none). no comparable sourced unit for this job; chat input $/1M and other units were not borrowed
Runners-up
Orb
Pick Orb when pricing complexity is the product (credits, tiers, simulations). Stripe meters first; Lago if…
Lago
Depot OSS pick for AI usage metering when you refuse to marry Stripe's meter model. Still collect cash with…
OpenMeter (Kong Konnect Metering)
Best when your agent product is an API gateway problem (entitlements + token meters). Orb for pricing…
Metronome
Strong usage-billing peer when Orb is too sales-opaque and you need SQL metrics + commits. OpenMeter/Kong for…
Autumn
Best DX when you already run Stripe and need synchronous feature gates for AI usage. Metronome/Orb for…
Polar
Depot pick for ai-merchant-of-record. Prefer Stripe when you already have tax/ops staff; OpenMeter/Kong when…
When NOT to use the top pick
Complex AI pricing simulations — Orb; OSS self-host metering — Lago; API gateway entitlements/token meters — OpenMeter; very custom ERP — still usually sync from Stripe.
Full ranking (score table)
Ranked with this JTBD's weights. Scores are curated estimates unless marked otherwise. Agents: prefer /api/decide then this table for tie-breaks.
| # | Provider | Overall | Fit | $/perf | Latency | DX | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | StripeDepot Pick | 8.8 | 9.6 | 7.8 | 9.4 | 9.6 | 2026-09-14 |
| 2 | Lago | 8.3 | 8.6 | 8.8 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 2026-09-14 |
| 3 | Polar | 8.1 | 8.4 | 8.2 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 2026-09-14 |
| 4 | Paddle | 8.1 | 8.6 | 7.6 | 8.8 | 8.0 | 2026-09-14 |
| 5 | Orb | 8.0 | 9.2 | 6.5 | 9.0 | 8.2 | 2026-09-14 |
| 6 | Metronome | 8.0 | 9.0 | 7.0 | 8.6 | 8.4 | 2026-09-14 |
| 7 | Autumn | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.8 | 7.8 | 9.2 | 2026-09-14 |
| 8 | OpenMeter (Kong Konnect Metering) | 7.9 | 8.4 | 7.8 | 8.4 | 8.2 | 2026-09-14 |
| 9 | Lemon Squeezy | 7.9 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 8.4 | 8.6 | 2026-09-14 |
| 10 | Amberflo | 7.4 | 7.8 | 7.2 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 2026-09-14 |
Score methodology for this job
Stripe remains cash collection default; Orb/Lago/OpenMeter for serious usage meters.
capabilityFit: 25%pricePerformance: 18%latencyReliability: 15%developerDx: 15%privacyPosture: 10%lockInRisk: 7%maturity: 10%