Flexprice is an open-source monetization platform that meters usage in real time and generates invoices at end of cycle. Credyt is real-time billing infrastructure where customers prepay into wallets and usage debits immediately. This article compares their billing architectures, pricing, and when each fits.
At a glance
Flexprice: An open-source (AGPLv3) monetization platform targeting SaaS and AI teams evaluating usage-based billing for the first time. Subscriptions, credit wallets, and invoicing are supported as separate billing tracks. Wallet and advanced credit features sit in the paid cloud tiers: Starter at $500/month, Premium at $1,000/month. Available as managed cloud or self-hosted (Docker Compose, AWS ECS/EKS). Founded 2023; v2.1.3 shipped April 2026; 3.6k GitHub stars (github.com/flexprice/flexprice, accessed April 2026).
Credyt: Real-time billing infrastructure for AI products. Platforms check wallet state before usage occurs and debit immediately when the usage event is submitted. Every customer gets a multi-asset wallet; hybrid billing bundles subscription fees with refreshing credit entitlements out of the box. Proprietary and cloud-hosted, at $90/month for 100 active customers.
Both handle usage-based billing. They differ on when billing happens, whether subscriptions bundle credit entitlements natively, and how much customers can self-manage.
What Flexprice does
Flexprice meters usage events in real time using a ClickHouse-backed analytics layer and generates invoices at cycle end. Teams configure subscription plans, usage-based charges, credit wallets, coupons, and tax rules through a no-code dashboard. Non-engineers can adjust pricing without engineering involvement. The AGPLv3 codebase covers core metering and invoicing; wallet top-ups and advanced features require the paid cloud tiers. Self-hosting is available via Docker Compose for smaller deployments or AWS ECS/EKS for production-scale infrastructure.
Flexprice integrates with Stripe, Razorpay, Paddle, and Chargebee. Its wallet system includes auto top-up and low-balance alerts, configured at the merchant level on behalf of customers.
Where Credyt differs
Credyt provides the Wallet APIs that let platforms check balance before the work starts. The platform queries Credyt before allowing an action; if balance is sufficient, the action proceeds and Credyt debits immediately when the usage event arrives. Flexprice can debit wallets in real time via Direct Mode, but documents no pre-authorization gate. Balance monitoring happens through low-balance alerts and merchant-configured auto top-up. Flexprice discovers a depleted balance after the fact; Credyt gates before the cost is incurred.
For real-time economic control in AI products where each inference request costs $0.10 to $0.50, that timing difference matters.
Credyt's hybrid billing is a first-class primitive: set a recurring subscription fee, attach a credit entitlement, configure the refresh schedule, and set overage pricing in a single billing configuration. Flexprice supports subscriptions and credit wallets as separate tracks. A $20/month plan that bundles 1,000 refreshing credits is not a native Flexprice pattern. Building it requires custom logic to connect the two systems.
Credyt's billing portal is self-service: customers add funds, configure auto top-up thresholds, and manage payment methods without contacting support. Flexprice's portal is read-only. Customers view balances, invoices, and usage history, but top-ups and threshold settings are configured on the merchant side.
Technical comparison
| Dimension | Credyt | Flexprice |
|---|---|---|
| Billing model | Hybrid: subscription + wallet debit + overages | Hybrid: wallet Direct Mode or end-of-cycle invoice |
| Hybrid pricing (subscription + bundled credits) | Supported. Recurring fee bundles a refreshing credit entitlement; overages charged automatically | Not supported. Subscriptions and credit wallets are separate tracks; bundled entitlement refresh requires custom logic |
| Usage authorization | Pre-usage | Post-usage |
| Wallet architecture | First-class primitive | First-class primitive |
| Multi-asset support | Native: USD, tokens, GPU hours, custom units with independent pricing per asset | USD-with-labels: credits map to a currency via fixed conversion rate |
| Customer portal | Drop-in: self-service top-up, auto top-up config, payment management | Drop-in: read-only; no self-service payments or threshold config |
| Auto top-up | Customer-controlled or platform-triggered | Platform-configured |
| Profitability analytics | Event-level | Aggregate (Premium tier) |
| Open source | No (proprietary) | Partial: AGPLv3 core |
| Deployment | Cloud only | Cloud or self-host |
How do the prices compare?
At 100 customers, $20 average monthly spend, 1,000 events per customer, and 5 platform seats. That is $2,000 monthly revenue and 100,000 total events:
| Component | Credyt | Flexprice Starter | Flexprice Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform / base fee | $0 | $500 | $1,000 |
| Per-customer fees | $90 | $0 | $0 |
| Seat fees | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Event / data ingestion | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Revenue % | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Payment processing | Pass-through | Pass-through | Pass-through |
| Total monthly | $90 | $500 | $1,000 |
The canonical scenario (100k events/month) fits within both the Starter and Premium event limits. The Free tier also covers the event volume but has a 3-month validity restriction unsuitable for ongoing production. Flexprice does not publicly confirm whether real-time prepaid credit balance, recurring wallet top-ups, and entitlement management are available in the Starter tier; if these features require Premium, the effective comparison cost is $1,000/month. Annual billing reduces these figures by 20% ($400/month Starter, $800/month Premium).
Source: Flexprice pricing. Accessed April 2026.
When to choose Flexprice
- Open source is a hard requirement: audit the codebase, self-host, or fork it. Flexprice's AGPLv3 core covers metering, invoicing, and credit systems.
- Non-technical teams need a no-code dashboard to adjust pricing without engineering involvement.
- Self-hosting matters for data residency or compliance: Docker Compose for development, AWS ECS/EKS for production.
- PSP flexibility: Stripe, Razorpay, Paddle, and Chargebee are all supported out of the box.
- Invoice-based billing fits your operations and you do not need pre-authorization or self-service customer top-ups.
If you're looking for alternatives to Flexprice with a stronger self-service customer portal or native hybrid billing, the sections below cover when Credyt fits those requirements. Also consider Lago if open-source self-hosting is the primary requirement and you want a more established OSS billing community.
When to choose Credyt
- Building an AI product where each request carries real infrastructure cost and you need to authorize before spending, not discover overages after.
- Hybrid pricing matters: a "$20/month includes 1,000 credits" plan where the entitlement refreshes and overages bill automatically, with no custom logic required.
- Per-customer cost visibility in real time: margin per customer, per workload, as it happens.
- Customers expect self-service balance management: top-ups, auto top-up thresholds, and payment methods without contacting support.
- Custom assets are native to your product model: tokens, GPU seconds, or any unit with independent pricing rules under one wallet.
- You want billing in production in days, not months.
How do the architectures differ?
Authorization and billing timing
Flexprice: tracks balance in real time and supports wallet debit via Direct Mode. No pre-authorization gate before usage is documented; balance monitoring relies on low-balance alerts and merchant-configured auto top-up thresholds.
Credyt: platforms query the Wallet API before allowing an action. If balance is sufficient, the action proceeds; Credyt debits immediately when the usage event arrives. The platform controls whether to block on insufficient balance; Credyt provides the real-time state. For AI inference requests costing $0.10 to $0.50 each, the difference between gating before and discovering after determines whether you front costs on empty wallets.
Hybrid pricing: subscription + bundled credits
Flexprice: subscriptions and credit wallets are separate billing tracks. A customer can hold an active subscription and a credit wallet simultaneously, but the subscription fee does not provision or refresh the credit bundle on a schedule.
Credyt: hybrid billing is a first-class primitive. A recurring fee, a credit entitlement, a refresh schedule, and overage pricing are a single configuration. Credyt provisions the entitlement on subscription activation and refreshes it automatically on the configured cadence. A "$20/month includes 1,000 tokens, $0.03 per additional token" plan requires no custom logic.
For AI products adopting tiered plan structures, this is the difference between one configuration and a multi-system workaround. See how to bill in custom units for more on how Credyt handles product-native assets.
Wallet architecture and assets
Flexprice: credits are stored as generic units with a fixed conversion rate to a base currency. Tokens or minutes can be labeled and displayed to customers, but the rate between credits and currency is fixed at the platform level. Changing token pricing means updating the conversion rate.
Credyt: multi-asset wallets hold USD, tokens, GPU hours, and custom units as independent native assets. Each asset carries its own pricing rules. A customer wallet can hold a dollar balance, a token balance, and a GPU credit balance simultaneously. Each is debited independently when relevant usage events arrive.
Customer portal and self-service
Flexprice: a pre-built portal URL embeddable via iframe, generated through an API token. Read-only for customers. They can view balances, invoices, and usage analytics, but cannot initiate payments or configure auto top-up thresholds.
Credyt: a drop-in branded billing portal. Customers add funds via Stripe Checkout, set their own auto top-up threshold and recharge amount, manage saved payment cards, and review usage history, without platform intervention. No frontend engineering required.
Bottom line
Flexprice is built around metering and invoicing, with open-source transparency and deployment flexibility for teams that prioritize code control and self-hosting. Credyt is built around real-time wallet authorization, native hybrid pricing with bundled credit entitlements, and customer self-service. It is designed for AI products where usage generates immediate costs and customers manage their own prepaid balances. For products where each request carries infrastructure cost and customers hold prepaid balances, the pre-authorization gate and the self-service portal are the two functional differences that determine which fits.
Frequently asked questions
Can my customers set their own auto top-up threshold in Flexprice?
No. Flexprice auto top-up is configured at the merchant level. The platform owner sets the threshold and recharge amount on behalf of customers. Customers have no self-service control over their own threshold. In Credyt, customers set and adjust their own thresholds directly in the billing portal.
Can customers top up their own balance through Flexprice's portal?
No. Flexprice's customer portal is read-only. Customers can view balances, invoices, and usage history, but cannot initiate payments or add funds through the portal. In Credyt, customers initiate top-ups via Stripe Checkout directly inside the billing portal.
Does Flexprice support non-dollar assets like tokens natively?
Flexprice supports labeled credit units with a fixed conversion rate to a base currency. Customers can see "tokens" as the display label, but the platform stores credits mapped to a currency amount at a fixed ratio. Credyt supports independent native assets. Tokens are priced and debited as their own unit, with no fixed currency conversion baked in at the platform level.
Can I run "$20/month includes 1,000 credits" pricing in Flexprice?
Not natively. Flexprice supports subscription plans and credit wallets as separate tracks, but the subscription fee does not provision or refresh a credit bundle on a schedule. Building this pattern requires custom logic to link them. Credyt handles this as a single billing configuration: subscription fee, entitlement amount, refresh cadence, and overage rate. No custom wiring needed.
Can I self-host Flexprice? What does the open-source version include?
Yes. Flexprice's AGPLv3 codebase covers core metering, invoicing, and credit systems. Self-hosting runs via Docker Compose (development and small deployments) or AWS ECS/EKS (production). Advanced features (real-time prepaid credit balance, recurring wallet top-ups, and entitlement management) require paid cloud tiers. Credyt is cloud-hosted only; there is no self-hosted option.
I already use Stripe. Do I need to switch for either platform?
No switch required for either. Flexprice integrates with Stripe alongside Razorpay, Paddle, and Chargebee. Connect your existing account and configure webhooks. Credyt has built-in payment processing through Stripe; your existing account links directly. Both platforms pass through Stripe's standard fees without markup.
How does Credyt's pricing compare at 100 customers?
At 100 monthly active customers, Credyt costs $90/month ($1 per Monthly Active Wallet after the first 10 free wallets, no platform fee). Flexprice Starter is $500/month; Premium is $1,000/month. The structures differ by design: Credyt charges per active customer with no base fee; Flexprice charges a flat platform fee with no per-customer cost.
At 10 customers, Credyt is $0/month (all 10 wallets fall within the free tier). At 1,000 customers, Credyt is $990/month (1,000 minus 10 free wallets × $1). For a comparison with a different billing architecture, see Credyt vs Orb.