Billsby

Billsby is subscription-management software for recurring charges, invoicing and customer-lifecycle work. It suits startups that need flexible pricing and usage-based billing while keeping checkout and account controls on their own website. The trade-off is a separate payment gateway plus monthly and revenue-linked fees.

Overview

Billsby models subscriptions as products, plans and billing cycles, giving businesses a structured way to define offerings, prices and billing frequency. It supports flat-fee, per-unit, volume, tiered and ranged pricing, so it can represent both straightforward subscriptions and more complex commercial models.

Usage billing includes metered allowances, real-time usage updates through the API and manual usage adjustments. That combination works for consumption-based services, provided the business can maintain accurate usage data. Tax automation, multi-currency billing and a customer billing portal are also supported.

Billsby sits on top of payment gateways rather than processing payments itself. Gateway selection and setup are therefore an additional part of implementation, not something Billsby replaces.

Key features

Checkout, accounts and collections

Website checkout and account-management modals can be embedded with as little as two lines of code, giving customers a direct route to subscribe and manage billing. Declined or failed payments enter dunning flows designed to resolve payment problems and recover customers.

Integrations and security

Zapier connections cover more than 5,000 applications, alongside accounting integrations, Webex, Billsby Pages and website builders. Billsby states that it meets EU GDPR, UK GDPR and applicable CCPA obligations, while card data is tokenized in the Billsby Vault powered by Spreedly. Its infrastructure uses Google Cloud, with daily database backups in two regions within the same continent.

API documentation, email support and live chat support from 04:00–21:00 EST are listed support channels. Full API access is reserved for Pro.

Pricing

Core is the practical entry point for a small team with one gateway and one tax region. Its five-user ceiling and revenue surcharge make it less suitable as operations or turnover expand. Pro costs more but removes gateway and tax-region limits, raises the user allowance to 25 and adds ACH, reporting and complete API access, making it the stronger fit for multi-region or integration-heavy businesses. Free is useful for preparation and testing without a published charge, while Custom is aimed at bespoke requirements; neither has a published price.

Platforms

Billsby is offered through web and API access. Its London headquarters may matter to organizations considering a UK-based vendor.

Who it's for

Billsby is best for startups building recurring-revenue products that need several pricing methods, metered billing and embedded customer self-service. It is less appropriate for a business seeking an all-in-one payment processor, since a separate gateway is required, or for teams whose needs fit a simpler fixed-price billing service.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Broad pricing support: flat, unit, volume, tiered and ranged models cover varied subscription designs.
• Flexible usage billing: API updates and manual adjustments accommodate both automated meters and corrections.
• Embedded self-service: checkout and account modals can be added to a website with minimal code.
• Operational safeguards: dunning, tax automation, multi-currency support and a billing portal address recurring-billing administration.

Cons

• Gateway dependency: payment processing requires a separate gateway and its own setup.
• Revenue-linked charges: Core and Pro add percentage fees above their monthly revenue thresholds.
• Core limits: five users, one gateway and one tax region can constrain growing or international teams.

Alternatives

For a wider shortlist, see Subscription Billing Software and Dunning Management Software.

• Kill Bill is the better choice when self-hosted, open-source infrastructure control matters.
• Lago suits teams wanting an AGPLv3 open-source option, including self-hosting.
• PayWhirl is worth considering for a free entry plan with transaction-based pricing.
• UniBee fits buyers seeking an open-source or hosted freemium route.
• Churn Buster is focused on recovery analytics and dunning or cancellation flows.
• FOSSBilling is a free, open-source alternative for self-hosted deployments.
• GetPaidHQ offers free MIT-licensed self-hosting with fixed, usage-based and hybrid pricing.
• Pabbly Subscriptions is an option for a free tier capped at 50 customers and a low-priced Standard plan.

Verdict

Choose Billsby if you are a startup that needs adaptable subscription pricing, usage billing and website-based customer self-service in one system. Look elsewhere if avoiding revenue-based charges, minimizing setup around payment gateways or running open-source self-hosted software is the priority.