Replace Stripe Billing / Chargebee with Self-Hosted Lago
Open-source metering and usage-based billing engine for AI, API, and SaaS companies Stop paying 0.7%–0.8% of recurring billing volume (~$250+/mo at $35k MRR) ($250/mo for a 10-person team) and run Lago on a $4.50/mo Linux VPS with full data sovereignty.
1-to-100 Seat Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Table
Comparing Stripe Billing / Chargebee (0.7%–0.8% of recurring billing volume (~$250+/mo at $35k MRR)) vs Lago on Hetzner CX22 (4GB RAM / 2 vCPU).
| Team Size | Stripe Billing / Chargebee Cost | Lago VPS | Net Annual Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Seat (Solo) | $250.00/mo ($3,000/yr) | $4.50/mo (CX22) | +$2,946 / year |
| 5 Seats | $250.00/mo ($3,000/yr) | $4.50/mo (CX22) | +$2,946 / year |
| 10 Seats | $250.00/mo ($3,000/yr) | $4.50/mo (CX22) | +$2,946 / year |
| 25 Seats | $250.00/mo ($3,000/yr) | $4.50/mo (CX22) | +$2,946 / year |
| 50 Seats | $250.00/mo ($3,000/yr) | $4.50/mo (CX22) | +$2,946 / year |
| 100 Seats | $250.00/mo ($3,000/yr) | $4.50/mo (CX22) | +$2,946 / year |
Production Docker Compose + Caddy Auto-SSL
Copy and run docker compose up -d on any Ubuntu 24.04 server.
# Production Docker Compose: Lago (Replaces Stripe Billing / Chargebee)
services:
caddy:
image: caddy:2-alpine
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "80:80"
- "443:443"
volumes:
- ./Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile:ro
- caddy_data:/data
networks:
- stack_net
lago:
image: getlago/api:latest
container_name: stack-lago
restart: unless-stopped
environment:
- "LAGO_FRONT_URL=https://billing.${DOMAIN:-yourdomain.com}"
- "DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-strongpassword}@postgres:5432/lago"
- "REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379"
volumes:
- lago_data:/data
networks:
- stack_net
postgres:
image: pgvector/pgvector:pg16
container_name: stack-postgres
restart: unless-stopped
environment:
- "POSTGRES_USER=postgres"
- "POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-strongpassword}"
volumes:
- postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
networks:
- stack_net
redis:
image: redis:7-alpine
container_name: stack-redis
restart: unless-stopped
volumes:
- redis_data:/data
networks:
- stack_net
networks:
stack_net:
driver: bridge
volumes:
caddy_data:
lago_data:
postgres_data:
redis_data:
# Automatic Let's Encrypt HTTPS for Lago
lago.{$DOMAIN:yourdomain.com} {
encode zstd gzip
reverse_proxy lago:3000
}
Why Teams Switch to Lago
- ✓Processes 15,000+ billing events/sec
- ✓Prepaid credits, pay-as-you-go & hybrid plans
- ✓Connects to Stripe, Adyen & GoCardless without the 0.7% tax
getlago/api:latest
Deploy Lago in 60 Seconds
Sized automatically for Lago (1536MB container RAM + OS overhead).
Get All 16 Pre-Built Production Stacks + Encrypted S3 Backups
Includes pre-tuned docker-compose.yml, Caddy Auto-SSL, AES-256 encrypted nightly S3/R2 Postgres backups, and Ubuntu 24.04 UFW/Fail2ban hardening scripts.