Open-source billing · comparison
Lago vs FeeGuard: open-source billing vs open math, run daily
Searching for a Lago alternative usually means one thing: the job you hired Lago for is getting done, and the job nobody owns — money silently leaving through Stripe Connect refunds, fees, disputes and conversions — is not. Here is the honest, side-by-side picture, including where Lago genuinely wins.
What Lago does
an open-source metering and billing alternative for product teams wanting ownership. Source: https://www.getlago.com.
That is real capability in its lane — and the lanes below show precisely where it ends.
Side by side: FeeGuard vs Lago
Eight capabilities a Connect platform needs. No empty cells — every row states what each product actually does.
| Capability | FeeGuard | Lago |
|---|---|---|
| Unreversed-transfer detection | Yes — computed on every `charge.refunded` event: proportional expectation, rounding tolerance, ratio clamping | No — billing OSS. |
| Application-fee leak detection | Yes — application fees tested against reversals via Net Platform Margin; zero- and three-decimal currencies handled | No — fees untouched. |
| Dispute-loss clawback support | Yes — recoverable figure computed on `dispute.closed` (transfer remainder, fee excluded); early warning on `created`; gated automation | No — disputes outside. |
| Cross-border FX monitoring | Yes — realised rates measured against same-day currency-pair baselines; directional loss flagging beyond 0.8% | No — fX unmeasured. |
| Runs on your live Stripe Connect account today | Yes — read-only restricted key, roughly ten minutes to first findings, revocable anytime | Depends |
| Performs recovery actions | One-click manual reversals (free tier); risk-gated automation with idempotency keys on Monitor Pro | Varies |
| Evidence & audit trail | Append-only trail on every action; finding-level evidence ids exportable as CSV | Varies |
| Pricing model | Detection free forever · success fee 20% of first $50k recovered, 15% above · no results, no fee | Open source / cloud |
Where Lago genuinely wins
- — Genuine open-source ethos and self-host freedom.
- — Community-driven velocity.
Why platforms choose FeeGuard over Lago
- Purpose-built for the leak. All four silent-loss vectors — unreversed transfers, kept fees, uncovered dispute losses, FX drag — are native detectors, not features imagined onto another product.
- Free before you pay anyone. Detection and the 90-day lookback cost nothing — measure your stranded dollars before committing to any vendor, including us.
- Ten-minute, read-only setup. One restricted key you create and revoke; no migration, no seller re-onboarding, no payment-path changes.
- Pay-for-results recovery. 20% of the first $50k recovered, 15% above — versus subscriptions, retainers and per-alert fees that bill regardless of outcomes.
- Evidence-grade trail. Append-only logs with finding-level arithmetic — ready for controllers, auditors and diligence teams.
Bottom line
We share the philosophy — formulas published ([CHECKLIST-7] lives) — and differ on who runs them hourly. If your problem lives in open-source billing, Lago deserves its reputation. If your problem is a platform balance lower than your ledger predicts — refunds succeeding while transfers never come home — that problem has exactly one purpose-built answer, and you are reading it. Run the free audit; the number settles the debate faster than any comparison page can.
Common questions
Philosophy match?
Strongly — transparency first. The divergence is operational execution, not values.
Is FeeGuard a better choice than Lago?
For open-source billing, Lago is the specialist and we say so plainly. For detecting and recovering silent Stripe Connect losses — the four vectors above — FeeGuard is purpose-built and Lago does not perform that function. Most platforms comparing the two are feeling the second problem.
Can we run Lago and FeeGuard together?
Yes, commonly. They operate on different objects and different events; neither conflicts with the other’s workflow.
What does switching cost us?
Nothing upfront: read-only key, ten-minute setup, free detection. Recovery carries a success fee only on confirmed dollars — so trying FeeGuard risks no budget at all.