Subscription billing software · 12 alternatives

Recurly alternatives: 12 compared

Editor Sebastiaan Smits · Published October 23, 2026 · Updated October 23, 2026

Teams look past Recurly when a fee of 0.9% on every dollar billed outgrows the entry plan, when revenue recognition, retention tooling and exports are sold as separate or higher-tier items, or when the business is B2B contracts rather than consumer subscriptions. Most go to Chargebee or Maxio for a like-for-like platform, and to Stripe Billing for a processor-led setup.

Short answer: The closest replacements for Recurly in our subscription billing software ranking are Chargebee, Maxio and Stripe Billing. Choose Chargebee if you want a similar percentage model with a cheaper rate at higher volume. All 12 alternatives below are ranked products from Best Subscription Billing Software in 2026, and each says where it differs from Recurly and when Recurly is still the better choice.

Visibility in our rankings can be paid for. Payment moves a vendor's position within the shortlist; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review or of this page. The first three alternatives go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category, wherever the category has them; the established names follow in their ranked order. How it works: placement disclosure · editorial process.

Recurly at a glance

Headquarters: United States
Pricing model: Percentage of billing
Pricing: Starter at $249 a month plus 0.9% of billing volume, with the first $40,000 of monthly billings included; All-Access is billed annually at under 1% of volume with a $1 million minimum.
Free option: Free trial
Built for: Consumer subscriptions and media
Wrong for: B2B SaaS companies with annual contracts, purchase orders, invoicing on terms and heavy revenue recognition should shortlist Maxio, Chargebee or Ordway instead.
Place in our ranking: #5 of 13
Website: recurly.com

Facts from our subscription billing software ranking, last checked October 23, 2026.

Why buyers look past Recurly

The fee follows every dollar billed

Starter costs $249 a month plus 0.9% of billing volume, with the first $40,000 of monthly billings included. At $100,000 of monthly billings that is $789 a month. All-Access drops below 1% only above a $1 million volume minimum, billed annually.
Useful parts are priced apart

The pricing page sells RevRec from $850 a month and Engage, the retention product, from $1,600 a month, both billed annually. The Starter plan has one dunning campaign and static churn-prevention tools, and intelligent churn prevention begins on All-Access.
Data tooling sits on higher plans

The docs say Automated Exports, the nightly warehouse feed, are not included in Starter or Pro. Export files stay retrievable through the API for 60 days. A team that wants its data in a warehouse may have to change plan first.

12 alternatives at a glance

Closest replacement first. The last column is our place in the full 13-product ranking.

#	Alternative	Headquarters	Pricing	Key difference	Switch if	Our rank
1	Chargebee	United States	Percentage of billing; free trial	Subscription billing and revenue platform for SaaS	you want a similar percentage model with a cheaper rate at higher volume	#4
2	Maxio	United States	Tiered monthly; none	B2B SaaS billing with revenue recognition and metrics	you bill B2B contracts and want a fee that does not rise with every invoice	#1
3	Stripe Billing	United States	Percentage of billing; none	Stripe's recurring billing layer on top of Stripe Payments	you already process payments on Stripe and want billing from the same vendor	#6
4	Zuora	United States	Quote only; none	Enterprise subscription billing, revenue and quoting suite	you are an enterprise with contract complexity that Recurly's B2B tooling does not cover	#7
5	Zoho Billing	India	Flat monthly; free trial	Affordable recurring billing inside the Zoho suite	you bill under $1 million a year and want a fixed low fee	#2
6	Ordway	United States	Quote only; none	Billing and revenue automation for B2B finance teams	your finance team wants billing, receivables and revenue recognition in one B2B system	#3
7	Paddle	United Kingdom	Per transaction; none	Merchant of record for software and digital products	you sell software to many countries and want someone else to carry sales tax and VAT	#8
8	FastSpring	United States	Per transaction; free trial	Merchant of record for software, SaaS and games	you sell downloadable software, SaaS or games and want a seller of record	#11
9	Recharge	United States	Flat monthly + transaction fee; free trial	Subscription app for Shopify ecommerce brands	your store runs on Shopify and subscriptions are the main way you sell	#10
10	ChargeOver	United States	Per customer tier / month; free trial	Recurring invoicing and payments for B2B service firms	you invoice businesses and want a fee set by plan rather than by volume	#13
11	Orb	United States	Quote only; none	Usage-based billing engine for AI and infrastructure products	you charge for metered usage or credits and have engineers to feed it events	#9
12	Younium	Sweden	Quote only; none	B2B subscription management for European SaaS	your sales team writes the contracts and finance wants one system from quote to revenue	#12

What each alternative does differently

1. Chargebee

Subscription billing and revenue platform for SaaS · United States

The closest like-for-like, with a choice on Flow: no base fee at 0.80%, or $99 a month plus 0.65%, which the page puts at breakeven near $66,000 of monthly invoices. It lists 40+ gateway integrations. CPQ and RevRec appear as separate product lines.

Switch from Recurly if you want a similar percentage model with a cheaper rate at higher volume.

Pricing: Flow plan with no base fee and 0.80% of invoiced volume, or $99 a month plus 0.65%; Enterprise is quoted, and RevRec and full CPQ are priced separately. (free trial)

Full review: #4 of 13 in our ranking · Visit Chargebee →

2. Maxio

B2B SaaS billing with revenue recognition and metrics · United States

Prices by a flat tier instead of a percentage: Grow is $599 a month up to $100,000 of monthly billings. It lists revenue recognition, CPQ, A/R and customer hierarchies, which suits contract billing better than high-volume consumer charges, where Recurly is stronger.

Switch from Recurly if you bill B2B contracts and want a fee that does not rise with every invoice.

Pricing: Grow plan at $599 a month for up to $100,000 in monthly billings on an annual agreement, with unlimited users; the Scale plan above that is quoted. (none)

Full review: #1 of 13 in our ranking · Visit Maxio →

3. Stripe Billing

Stripe's recurring billing layer on top of Stripe Payments · United States

Billing built into the processor. Pay-as-you-go is 0.7% of billing volume with no recurring fee, and the page says this covers transactions processed on and off Stripe. Its migration guide covers moving saved payment details from another processor, which helps if cards must follow you.

Switch from Recurly if you already process payments on Stripe and want billing from the same vendor.

Pricing: Pay-as-you-go at 0.7% of billing volume with no monthly fee, plus Stripe payment processing fees; annual contracts available at volume. (none)

Full review: #6 of 13 in our ranking · Visit Stripe Billing →

4. Zuora

Enterprise subscription billing, revenue and quoting suite · United States

Aimed at the enterprise and sold on a custom annual quote, usually through a partner-led implementation. It has no published entry plan like Recurly's $249 Starter, so a small team cannot price it without a sales call. Suits complex contracts and multiple entities.

Switch from Recurly if you are an enterprise with contract complexity that Recurly's B2B tooling does not cover.

Pricing: Annual subscription on a custom quote at enterprise levels, typically with a partner-led implementation. (none)

Full review: #7 of 13 in our ranking · Visit Zuora →

5. Zoho Billing

Affordable recurring billing inside the Zoho suite · India

A flat monthly fee per organization instead of a share of billings: Standard is $39 and Premium $79 on annual billing. Subscriptions, usage pricing, proration, hosted payment pages and dunning start on Premium. Standard and Premium are capped at 100,000 invoices and $1 million billed a year.

Switch from Recurly if you bill under $1 million a year and want a fixed low fee.

Pricing: Published plans from $39 a month billed annually for Standard (quotes and invoices) and $79 for Premium, which adds subscription billing, usage pricing, hosted payment pages and dunning; Enterprise is quoted; 14-day free trial. (free trial)

Full review: #2 of 13 in our ranking · Visit Zoho Billing →

6. Ordway

Billing and revenue automation for B2B finance teams · United States

Quote-only and finance-led. Its site pairs billing with accounting functions: ASC 606 and IFRS 15 deferred revenue, accounts receivable with aging and cash application, and usage billing with rollovers, overages and prepaid credit drawdowns. Nothing is aimed at retention or consumer offers.

Switch from Recurly if your finance team wants billing, receivables and revenue recognition in one B2B system.

Pricing: Tiered subscription quoted by billing volume and modules. (none)

Full review: #3 of 13 in our ranking · Visit Ordway →

7. Paddle

Merchant of record for software and digital products · United Kingdom

A merchant of record, so Paddle is the seller of record and handles tax, chargebacks and buyer support. The price is 5% plus 50 cents per checkout transaction, with no monthly fee. Recurly leaves you as the seller, so the liability stays with you.

Switch from Recurly if you sell software to many countries and want someone else to carry sales tax and VAT.

Pricing: Published at 5% plus 50 cents per checkout transaction with no monthly fee, covering payments, tax and billing; products under $10 and invoiced sales need custom pricing. (none)

Full review: #8 of 13 in our ranking · Visit Paddle →

8. FastSpring

Merchant of record for software, SaaS and games · United States

Also a merchant of record, run by Bright Market, LLC under the FastSpring name. It processes payments, collects and remits sales tax and VAT, and watches for fraud. It publishes no rate, only a volume form, so cost cannot be compared before contact.

Switch from Recurly if you sell downloadable software, SaaS or games and want a seller of record.

Pricing: Percentage of each transaction covering payments, tax and fraud handling; exact rates are quoted. (free trial)

Full review: #11 of 13 in our ranking · Visit FastSpring →

9. Recharge

Subscription app for Shopify ecommerce brands · United States

Built for Shopify stores that sell by subscription, with a product-page widget and a customer portal. Starter is $99 a month with processing fees of 1.49% plus 19 cents, and Plus is $499. Recurly has a Shopify product too, but is not limited to it.

Switch from Recurly if your store runs on Shopify and subscriptions are the main way you sell.

Pricing: Published monthly plans starting at $99 per month for the Starter tier, plus transaction fees; custom pricing for high volume. (free trial)

Full review: #10 of 13 in our ranking · Visit Recharge →

10. ChargeOver

Recurring invoicing and payments for B2B service firms · United States

Starts at $229 a month and says plans are not based on a percentage of invoiced revenue, with unlimited invoices and no annual contract. It integrates with QuickBooks, Xero, HubSpot and Salesforce. We found no retention-offer tooling comparable to Recurly's on the pricing page.

Switch from Recurly if you invoice businesses and want a fee set by plan rather than by volume.

Pricing: Published monthly plans priced by the number of paying customers billed, with no percentage-of-revenue fee and no annual contract; gateway processing charges are separate. (free trial)

Full review: #13 of 13 in our ranking · Visit ChargeOver →

11. Orb

Usage-based billing engine for AI and infrastructure products · United States

Designed for usage pricing. Events arrive by API or from S3 and GCS files, and billable metrics are defined in SQL. It sells prepaid credits and credit pools, with a Business plan and a quoted Enterprise plan. It is not built around consumer offers or gift subscriptions.

Switch from Recurly if you charge for metered usage or credits and have engineers to feed it events.

Pricing: Annual contract on a quote, scaled by billing volume and event throughput. (none)

Full review: #9 of 13 in our ranking · Visit Orb →

12. Younium

B2B subscription management for European SaaS · Sweden

Swedish and demo-led, covering the path from quote to revenue: CPQ, billing automation, accounts receivable, revenue recognition and multi-entity support. It lists AI agents and an MCP server. No price is shown, and consumer retention tooling is not what the site leads with.

Switch from Recurly if your sales team writes the contracts and finance wants one system from quote to revenue.

Pricing: Subscription on a quote, based on company size and modules. (none)

Full review: #12 of 13 in our ranking · Visit Younium →

When Recurly is still the right choice

Recurly is still the right choice when failed payments are the main cost and the base is consumers. Its retry tooling, 20+ gateways with failover and routing, and a 90-day free trial on Starter make it cheap to test. Below $40,000 of monthly billings the percentage fee is zero, so the $249 plan is the whole bill.

What to expect when you switch from Recurly

Export before the contract ends

The terms say Recurly keeps a copy of billing data for 30 days after termination, and that you are responsible for exporting it first. Professional service fees may apply to retrieve data later. The admin console and API cover accounts, subscriptions, invoices, transactions and billing info.
Saved cards need PCI proof

Recurly may withhold billing data until you or your receiving party shows PCI compliance in writing. A processor such as Stripe runs the transfer itself: your old provider encrypts the file and uploads it by SFTP. Start this early, because it involves two companies.
Run both systems for one cycle

Stripe's guide warns that existing subscriptions must be cancelled as soon as the new ones are active, or customers are billed twice. Keep Recurly live for new sign-ups until the import is checked, and match open invoices against the new platform before the cutover date.

Questions and answers

How long do I keep my data after ending Recurly?

The terms say Recurly retains a copy of billing data for 30 days after termination or expiry. You are responsible for exporting it before then, and later retrieval may carry professional service fees. Export while the account is live.

Can I take saved cards with me?

Yes, but not on demand. The terms let Recurly refuse to release data unless PCI compliance is shown to its satisfaction and certified in writing. Stripe's guide describes how its migration team receives an encrypted file from the old provider.

How much notice does Recurly need?

Under the order-form terms the agreement renews automatically unless either party gives written notice of non-renewal at least 30 days before the term ends. The self-serve terms allow either party to end it on 30 days' notice, and prepaid fees are non-refundable.

What does Recurly cost at $100,000 of monthly billings?

About $789 a month on Starter: $249 plus 0.9% of the $60,000 above the first $40,000. Chargebee's Flow shows $749 on its $99 plus 0.65% option. Maxio's Grow is $599 flat up to $100,000. Check rates for your volume.

Can I send Recurly data to a warehouse?

Only on a higher plan. The docs say Automated Exports, the nightly warehouse feed, are not in Starter or Pro, and files stay available through the API for 60 days. Manual exports from the admin console are available on every plan.

Is there a free Recurly plan?

No. The pricing page shows a 90-day free trial of Starter and a free sandbox, and no permanent free plan. Under $40,000 of monthly billings you pay the $249 base only.

Sources

Prices, plan limits and product facts about Recurly on this page were checked against the vendors' own pages on October 23, 2026. Vendors change both without notice, so treat the figures as of that date.

Recurly pricing: Starter, All-Access, RevRec, Engage prices; $40,000 included; 90-day trial; dunning and churn tools.
Recurly terms of service: 30-day data retention; PCI proof for data release; renewal and termination notice.
Recurly docs: data exports: Admin console and API exports.
Recurly docs: automated exports: Not in Starter or Pro; 60-day file availability.
Recurly docs: customer data imports: PCI-compliant migration services into Recurly.
Recurly docs: gateway configuration: Multiple gateways, custom routing and failover.
Chargebee pricing: Flow rates; breakeven; 40+ gateways; CPQ and RevRec lines.
Maxio pricing: Grow $599; $100k limit; features listed.
Stripe Billing pricing: Pay-as-you-go 0.7%, on and off Stripe.
Stripe: import payment data: Card migration process; double-billing warning.
Zoho Billing pricing: Standard and Premium prices; invoice and revenue caps; features by plan.
Paddle pricing: 5% plus 50 cents; merchant of record.
FastSpring: Merchant of record services; Bright Market, LLC; quoted rate.
Recharge pricing: Starter $99, Plus $499, processing fee.
ChargeOver pricing: From $229; not percentage-based; integrations.
Ordway: Product scope; revenue recognition, receivables, usage billing.
Orb pricing: Business and Enterprise plans; event ingestion; credits.
Younium: Quote-to-revenue scope; demo-led sales.

Who wrote this

Sebastiaan Smits, Founder, wrote, edited and fact-checked this page. Founder of The Interregnum and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page here; research and drafting are AI-assisted. Last reviewed October 23, 2026. How we review.