# Crater vs Stripe Billing

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Stripe Billing

| Attribute | Crater | Stripe Billing |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 49.5 (74% (medium)) | 70.9 (70% (medium)) |
| adoption.github_stars | 8,340 | - |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | Open-source web and mobile app that helps track expenses, payments, and create professional invoices and estimates. | A platform for handling subscription billing and recurring payment workflows. It enables businesses to set up automated billing operations, support different pricing models from usage-based to volume-tiered plans, and manage the entire subscription lifecycle with features like customer self-service and payment recovery. |
| features.capabilities | `{"api_first":true,"invoicing":true,"self_hostable":true}` | `{"dunning":"smart","analytics":true,"api_first":true,"invoicing":true,"self_hostable":false,"pricing_models":"Subscription, usage-based, and volume-tiered pricing with multidimensional rates","usage_metering":"real_time","catalog_management":true,"subscription_billing":true}` |
| integrations.count | 3 | 10 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Plaid"},{"name":"QuickBooks"},{"name":"Xero"}]` | `[{"name":"Stripe Payments"},{"name":"Stripe Checkout"},{"name":"Stripe Connect"},{"name":"Stripe Treasury"},{"name":"Stripe Issuing"},{"name":"Stripe Terminal"},{"name":"Stripe Radar"},{"name":"Metronome"},{"name":"Fifth Third Bank"},{"name":"Wells Fargo"}]` |
| language.primary | PHP | - |
| license.spdx | AGPL-3.0 | - |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":["GB"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":["GB"],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"ios":true,"web":true,"android":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Open Source","features":["Expense tracking","Payment tracking","Invoice creation","Estimate creation"],"description":"Self-hosted open-source invoicing solution","contactSales":false}],"summary":"Free, open-source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://craterapp.com/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T20:46:46.690Z"}` | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Pay as you go","summary":"0.7% of billing volume","features":["Recurring billing and subscriptions","Automatic reminders","Smart Retries","Recovery and retention automations","Customer portal","Invoice auto-reconciliation","Quotes","Multi-phase subscription schedules"],"components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"GBP"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.007,"currency":"GBP"}],"description":"Usage-based pricing without fixed fees or commitments","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Volume tier 1","summary":"£450/month + 0.67% overage, up to £70k/month billing volume (save 8%)","features":["Recurring billing and subscriptions","Automatic reminders","Smart Retries","Recovery and retention automations","Customer portal","Invoice auto-reconciliation","Quotes","Multi-phase subscription schedules"],"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":450,"period":"month","currency":"GBP"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"GBP"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.0067,"currency":"GBP"}],"description":"Fixed monthly cost with volume-based tiering, 1-year commitment","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"billing_volume_monthly":"£70,000"}},{"free":false,"name":"Volume tier 2","summary":"£1,050/month + 0.67% overage, up to £175k/month billing volume (save 14%)","features":["Recurring billing and subscriptions","Automatic reminders","Smart Retries","Recovery and retention automations","Customer portal","Invoice auto-reconciliation","Quotes","Multi-phase subscription schedules"],"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":1050,"period":"month","currency":"GBP"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"GBP"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.0067,"currency":"GBP"}],"description":"Higher volume tier with fixed cost and overage pricing, 1-year commitment","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"billing_volume_monthly":"£175,000"}},{"free":false,"name":"Volume tier 3","summary":"£2,050/month + 0.67% overage, up to £350k/month billing volume (save 16%)","features":["Recurring billing and subscriptions","Automatic reminders","Smart Retries","Recovery and retention automations","Customer portal","Invoice auto-reconciliation","Quotes","Multi-phase subscription schedules"],"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":2050,"period":"month","currency":"GBP"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"GBP"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.0067,"currency":"GBP"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"billing_volume_monthly":"£350,000"}},{"free":false,"name":"Volume tier 4","summary":"£4,000/month + 0.67% overage, up to £700k/month billing volume (save 18%)","features":["Recurring billing and subscriptions","Automatic reminders","Smart Retries","Recovery and retention automations","Customer portal","Invoice auto-reconciliation","Quotes","Multi-phase subscription schedules"],"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":4000,"period":"month","currency":"GBP"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"GBP"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.0067,"currency":"GBP"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"billing_volume_monthly":"£700,000"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing for £700k+ monthly billing volume","features":["Recurring billing and subscriptions","Automatic reminders","Smart Retries","Recovery and retention automations","Customer portal","Invoice auto-reconciliation","Quotes","Multi-phase subscription schedules"],"commitment":"annual","description":"Custom pricing for high-volume billing operations","contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"billing_volume_monthly":"£700,000+"}}],"summary":"From £450/month or 0.7% usage-based. Includes recurring billing, automated retries, customer portal, and invoicing.","currency":"GBP","freeTier":false,"sourceUrl":"https://stripe.com/gb/billing/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T13:48:12.896Z","startingPrice":{"amount":0.0067,"period":"month","currency":"GBP"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | no |
| pricing.model | open_source | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | low |
| pricing.transparent | - | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 2 | - |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/crater-invoice-inc/crater/releases/tag/6.0.6","date":"2022-03-06T07:25:43Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/crater-invoice-inc/crater/releases/tag/6.0.5","date":"2022-03-03T14:47:32Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/crater-invoice-inc/crater/releases/tag/6.0.4","date":"2022-02-17T08:37:19Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/crater-invoice-inc/crater/releases/tag/6.0.3","date":"2022-02-16T07:25:57Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/crater-invoice-inc/crater/releases/tag/6.0.2","date":"2022-01-13T14:18:05Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/crater-invoice-inc/crater/releases/tag/6.0.1","date":"2022-01-12T15:41:21Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/crater-invoice-inc/crater/releases/tag/6.0.0","date":"2022-01-11T11:22:27Z","type":"stable","version":"6.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/crater-invoice-inc/crater/releases/tag/5.0.6","date":"2021-12-10T12:33:51Z","type":"stable","version":"5.0.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/crater-invoice-inc/crater/releases/tag/5.0.5","date":"2021-12-09T08:16:43Z","type":"stable","version":"5.0.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/crater-invoice-inc/crater/releases/tag/5.0.4","date":"2021-12-06T14:46:19Z","type":"stable","version":"5.0.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/crater-invoice-inc/crater/releases/tag/5.0.3","date":"2021-12-03T15:58:23Z","type":"stable","version":"5.0.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/crater-invoice-inc/crater/releases/tag/5.0.2","date":"2021-12-02T14:06:52Z","type":"stable","version":"5.0.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/crater-invoice-inc/crater/releases/tag/5.0.1","date":"2021-12-01T15:44:53Z","type":"stable","version":"5.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/crater-invoice-inc/crater/releases/tag/5.0.0","date":"2021-11-30T13:33:23Z","type":"stable","version":"5.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/crater-invoice-inc/crater/releases/tag/4.2.0","date":"2021-06-24T08:57:19Z","type":"stable","version":"4.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/crater-invoice-inc/crater/releases/tag/4.1.0","date":"2021-05-06T09:01:16Z","type":"stable","version":"4.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/crater-invoice-inc/crater/releases/tag/4.0.4","date":"2021-01-22T09:21:03Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/crater-invoice-inc/crater/releases/tag/4.0.3","date":"2020-12-31T10:26:25Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/crater-invoice-inc/crater/releases/tag/4.0.2","date":"2020-12-23T06:51:39Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/crater-invoice-inc/crater/releases/tag/4.0.1","date":"2020-12-09T09:21:39Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.1"}]` | - |
| reliability.sla_pct | - | 99.999 |
| reliability.status_page | yes | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.gdpr | - | yes |
| security.iso27001 | - | yes |
| security.pci | - | yes |
| security.soc2 | yes | yes |

## Capabilities (Billing & Invoicing Software)

| Capability | Crater | Stripe Billing |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Subscription billing | - | ✓ |
| Usage metering | - | Real-time |
| Pricing models | - | Subscription, usage-based, and volume-tiered pricing with multidimensional rates |
| Invoicing & AR | ✓ | ✓ |
| Catalog management | - | ✓ |
| **Commerce** |  |  |
| Merchant of record | - | - |
| **Finance** |  |  |
| Revenue recognition | - | - |
| Tax handling | - | - |
| **Collections** |  |  |
| Dunning | - | Smart |
| **Integrations** |  |  |
| GL / ERP sync | - | - |
| **Ecosystem** |  |  |
| API-first / developer-first | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Self-hostable | ✓ | ✗ |
| **Insight** |  |  |
| Revenue analytics | - | ✓ |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T17:36:04.655Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*