Recurly vs Chargebee
Both are billing platforms where the metrics arrive as part of the billing system, so neither is a standalone analytics tool. Recurly starts with a flat monthly fee, and the analytics sit on its quoted All-Access plan. Chargebee starts with a percentage of invoicing volume and lists revenue analytics on its Flow plan. The practical question is which meter you prefer: a base fee plus a small share of billings, or a share of every invoice that you can choose to pair with a fixed fee.
Sebastiaan SmitsFounderVendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
Choose Recurly ifyou want a stated entry price, a 90-day trial, and churn tools such as dunning to start with. You can live with analytics and exports being a conversation with sales.
Choose Chargebee ifyou want usage, pricing and revenue analytics listed on a published plan, and exports to Snowflake, S3 or GCS on the higher tier. You accept that fees follow your invoicing volume.
Recurly and Chargebee side by side
| Recurly | Chargebee | |
|---|---|---|
| Our subscription analytics software rank | #9 of 11 | #10 of 11 |
| Established in | United States | United States |
| List price, 6 November 2026 | Starter at $249 a month plus 0.9% of billing volume, 90-day trial; All-Access quoted from $1M volume | Volume-based: Flow at 0.80% with no monthly fee or 0.65% plus $99; Enterprise on quote |
| Free tier | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | — | — |
| Built for | Consumer and prosumer subscriptions where churn recovery drives revenue | A subscription business with proration and dunning to manage |
| Not for | Metered infrastructure pricing with millions of events | A company sending occasional invoices |
Both are reviewed in full in our subscription analytics software ranking: Recurly and Chargebee.
Where they differ
Recurly 2 · Chargebee 2 · open 2- 01
The $66K break-even on Chargebee's Flow
Chargebee's Flow plan shows two fee options against monthly invoicing volume: $0 plus 0.80 percent, or $99 plus 0.65 percent, with a $66K break-even. The page does not say which option applies to whom. It lists 100M usage events per month and 40+ payment gateways. Recurly's Starter is a different shape: $249 per month plus 0.9 percent of billing volume, with the first $40K of billings each month included.
Depends on the buyer
- 02
Trial length and sandbox access
Recurly's Starter plan carries a 90-day free trial, stated in the button text. Its All-Access plan offers a free sandbox, with no length given. Chargebee shows Start Free Trial and Get a Demo buttons, and Flow and Starter link to trial signup, but the page does not state a trial length. If you want to know how long you can test before paying, Recurly gives the clearer answer on the pages we read.
Edge: Recurly
- 03
Where the analytics sit
On Recurly, analytics, insights, custom reporting and automated exports are listed under All-Access, which needs $1M of billing volume and a quote. Engage, with advanced analytics, starts from $1,600 a month billed annually. Chargebee lists usage, pricing and revenue analytics already on Flow, plus SaaS metrics, A/R aging, tax reports and a report builder. For a smaller business wanting metrics without a quote, Chargebee is more open.
Edge: Chargebee
- 04
Pushing data to a warehouse
Chargebee's pricing page says data can be exported to GCS, Amazon S3 and Snowflake, and places that under the quoted Enterprise plan together with multi-entity management and higher limits. Recurly lists automated exports under All-Access, also quoted, without naming destinations. Chargebee is the more specific of the two about where data can go. Neither page shows a self-service export on the lowest paid plan.
Edge: Chargebee
- 05
Dunning and churn recovery
Recurly's Starter plan lists static churn-prevention tools and 1 dunning campaign, while All-Access lists multiple dunning campaigns and single sign-on. Its Engage add-on, from $1,600 a month, covers a churn propensity model and cancel save. The Chargebee pages we read do not describe dunning limits by plan. Recurly is therefore the clearer choice when churn recovery is the main reason to buy.
Edge: Recurly
- 06
Company base and what the pages leave out
Recurly, Inc. says it is based in San Francisco, with offices in Boulder, New Orleans and London, and was founded in 2009. Chargebee Inc. lists offices in North Bethesda, Lehi and Amsterdam, but states no headquarters. Neither page we read names a SOC 2, PCI DSS or ISO 27001 certification, and neither says where data is hosted. Both link to a security page that you should read before buying.
Depends on the buyer
When neither fits
If you only want subscription metrics and not a billing system, neither is the lightest option. ChartMogul is built for reporting on top of an existing billing tool, and Stripe Billing may be enough if Stripe already handles your payments.
Recurly or Chargebee: questions
3 answersDoes Recurly's 90-day trial cover the analytics features?
The trial is attached to the Starter plan on the pricing page. Analytics, custom reporting and automated exports are listed under All-Access, which is quoted. The pages we read do not say whether the trial includes those features.
Is Chargebee's cheaper fee option the one with no monthly charge?
Flow shows $0 plus 0.80 percent and $99 plus 0.65 percent, with a $66K break-even. The page does not say which applies to a given customer. Ask sales to confirm before you model your costs.
Is there a fixed published price for high billing volumes at either vendor?
Recurly's All-Access is priced as low as under 1 percent of billing volume with a $1M minimum, and you request pricing. Chargebee's Enterprise plan is contact-sales only. Neither shows a fixed figure for large volumes.
Sources
Checked 6 November 2026- Recurly pricing page: Starter fee and included $40K, the 90-day trial, All-Access minimum and listed features, Engage and RevRec starting prices.
- Recurly terms: Contracting entity Recurly, Inc. under California law.
- Recurly about page: San Francisco base, offices in Boulder, New Orleans and London, founded 2009.
- Chargebee pricing page: Flow fee options and break-even, usage events, analytics and reports lists, Enterprise exports and trial buttons.
- Chargebee terms: Legal entity named Chargebee Inc and no certification named.
- Chargebee contact page: Offices in North Bethesda, Lehi and Amsterdam with no headquarters statement.