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Stripe Billing vs Lago vs Infinitum: Which One for Charging AI Tokens?
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Comparison Billing AI Stripe Infrastructure

Stripe Billing vs Lago vs Infinitum: Which One for Charging AI Tokens?

I
Infi Pulse Tech Team
| | 6 min read

If you’re building an AI agent and need to charge your users per usage, there are 3 main options on the market: Stripe Billing, Lago, and Infinitum Pulse. Each with very different trade-offs.

Let’s compare everything: setup, pricing, features, and which scenario each one shines in.

TL;DR — Comparison Table

+-----------------+---------------+---------------+------------------+
|                 | Stripe        | Lago          | Infinitum Pulse  |
+-----------------+---------------+---------------+------------------+
| Type            | SaaS          | Open-source   | SaaS             |
| Focus           | General       | General       | AI-first         |
| Setup           | ~2 days       | ~1 week       | ~5 minutes       |
| AI middleware   | No            | No            | Yes (Vercel SDK) |
| Self-hosted     | No            | Yes           | No               |
| Pricing         | 0.7%/invoice  | Free (OSS)    | Free (beta)      |
| Crypto payouts  | No            | No            | Yes (USDC/USDT)  |
| Technical bar   | Medium        | High          | Low              |
+-----------------+---------------+---------------+------------------+

Stripe Billing

What it is

Stripe Billing is Stripe’s recurring and usage-based invoicing module. It’s the most popular and mature option on the market.

How it works for AI

// 1. Create a meter in Stripe
// (via dashboard or API)

// 2. Report usage manually
import Stripe from 'stripe'
const stripe = new Stripe(process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY!)

// After each LLM call:
await stripe.billing.meterEvents.create({
  event_name: 'ai_tokens',
  payload: {
    value: String(totalTokens),
    stripe_customer_id: 'cus_xxx',
  },
})

Pros

  • Complete ecosystem: payments, subscriptions, invoicing, all together
  • Excellent documentation: best in the market
  • Compliance: PCI DSS, SOC 2, GDPR out of the box
  • Robust dashboard: analytics, revenue recognition, tax
  • Integrates with everything: 700+ integrations

Cons

  • No AI middleware: you need to instrument each call manually
  • Expensive at volume: 0.7% per invoice + 2.9% + $0.30 per payment
  • No crypto support: fiat only (card, bank transfer)
  • Complexity: metering API is powerful but verbose
  • Overkill: if you only need to charge for tokens, there’s a lot of overhead

When to use

  • You already use Stripe for other payments
  • Need enterprise compliance (SOC 2, etc)
  • High billing volume (>$100K/month)
  • Customers pay via credit card

Real cost for AI billing

100 customers, $50/month average = $5,000/month
Stripe: 0.7% invoice + 2.9% + $0.30 payment
= $35 + $145 + $30 = $210/month
= 4.2% of revenue

Lago

What it is

Lago is an open-source usage-based billing platform. You can self-host or use the cloud version.

How it works for AI

// 1. Define billable metrics in Lago
// (via dashboard)

// 2. Send events via API
await fetch('https://api.getlago.com/api/v1/events', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': `Bearer ${LAGO_API_KEY}`,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    event: {
      transaction_id: crypto.randomUUID(),
      external_subscription_id: 'sub_xxx',
      code: 'ai_tokens',
      properties: {
        tokens: totalTokens,
      },
    },
  }),
})

Pros

  • Open-source: open code, no vendor lock-in
  • Self-hosted: total control over data
  • Flexible: highly customizable pricing models
  • No transaction fee: zero cost if self-hosted
  • Good for compliance: data stays in your infra

Cons

  • No AI middleware: 100% manual instrumentation
  • Complex setup: need to run infra (Postgres, Redis, workers)
  • No payment processing: only generates invoices, doesn’t process payments
  • Maintenance: updates, security patches, scaling on you
  • No crypto: separate payment gateway integration
  • Learning curve: docs are ok, but less polished than Stripe

When to use

  • You have a DevOps team
  • Need total control over data
  • Want to avoid vendor lock-in
  • Very high volume (millions of events/day)
  • Already have a payment gateway configured

Real cost for AI billing

Self-hosted:
- AWS EC2 (t3.medium): ~$30/month
- RDS Postgres: ~$25/month
- Redis: ~$15/month
- Your maintenance time: ??? hours/month
= ~$70/month + eng time

Cloud:
- Starter plan: $350/month up to 10K invoices

Infinitum Pulse

What it is

Infinitum Pulse is a billing platform focused on AI. Unlike the others, it has native integrations with the most popular AI SDKs.

How it works for AI

import { Pulse } from '@beinfi/pulse-sdk'
import { pulseMiddleware } from '@beinfi/pulse-sdk/ai'
import { wrapLanguageModel } from 'ai'
import { openai } from '@ai-sdk/openai'

const pulse = new Pulse(process.env.PULSE_API_KEY!)

// Done. That's it.
const model = wrapLanguageModel({
  model: openai('gpt-4o'),
  middleware: pulseMiddleware({
    pulse,
    customerId: user.id,
    meters: {
      input: 'input_tokens',
      output: 'output_tokens',
    },
  }),
})

Pros

  • AI-first: native middleware for Vercel AI SDK
  • 5-minute setup: 2 lines of code to get started
  • Zero latency: fire-and-forget tracking
  • Automated billing: invoices generated without intervention
  • Crypto payouts: receive in USDC, USDT, or PIX
  • Multi-model: different prices per AI model

Cons

  • New to market: less mature than Stripe
  • No self-hosting: SaaS only (for now)
  • Smaller ecosystem: fewer integrations than Stripe
  • Crypto/PIX only: no credit card (for now)
  • Beta: pricing may change

When to use

  • You use Vercel AI SDK (or plan to)
  • Want to start monetizing quickly
  • Prefer receiving in crypto
  • Small team without dedicated DevOps
  • Want automated billing without setting up infra

Real cost for AI billing

Beta: Free
Post-beta (estimated): ~1% per invoice
No payment processing fee for crypto

Comparison by Scenario

”I’m a solo dev with an AI chatbot”

Recommendation: Infinitum Pulse

Why: 5-minute setup, no infra to maintain, automated billing. You focus on the product.

”I have a SaaS startup with AI features”

Recommendation: Stripe Billing

Why: If you already have Stripe, it makes sense to use their meter. Complete ecosystem, compliance ready.

”I have high volume and an eng team”

Recommendation: Lago (self-hosted)

Why: Zero billing cost, total control, infinite scale. But be prepared to maintain infra.

”I want to receive in crypto globally”

Recommendation: Infinitum Pulse

Why: Only option with native crypto payouts. Instant settlement, no chargebacks.

Migration: What If I Change My Mind?

From Stripe to Infinitum

Relatively simple. Export your customers and configure the middleware. Usage history doesn’t migrate.

From Lago to Infinitum

Similar. The hardest part is migrating pricing definitions and historical events.

From Infinitum to Stripe

Possible at any time. The SDK is decoupled — just swap the middleware and configure meters in Stripe.

Conclusion

There’s no single answer. It depends on your scenario:

  • Stripe: best ecosystem, more expensive, more complex
  • Lago: maximum control, needs DevOps, free
  • Infinitum: fastest for AI, crypto-native, new

If you’re starting an AI agent project now and want to monetize quickly, Infinitum Pulse is the lowest-friction option. If you already have Stripe, add metering there. If you need total control, go with Lago.

The important thing is: don’t leave it for later. Set up billing from day 1.

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