Managing subscriptions gets hard when pricing meets real users. Free plans, paid tiers, usage limits, credits, and exceptions all need clear rules.
Billing alone cannot handle this. Your product still needs runtime rules that decide who gets access and when.
Subscription management software solves this at the backend. It links subscription models to product logic so access checks happen at runtime. Feature access, usage caps, trials, and add-ons stay consistent as pricing changes.
Below is a list of subscription management tools built for SaaS products. Each one focuses on backend pricing logic and in-product access control, not billing or payment processing.
These are the six best subscription management software:
Schematic + Stripe
Stigg
Maxio
Lago
Orb
Chargebee
A subscription management solution is backend software that decides what customers can access based on their plan and usage.
It acts as the control layer between pricing and your product. You use it to define subscription models, attach entitlements to plans, and enforce limits at runtime.
In a modern subscription business, pricing changes often as trials start and end, credits get added, and add-ons expand access.
A subscription management tool enforces these rules at runtime by evaluating plan state, usage, and overrides before actions occur. This approach works the same way for self-serve signups and sales-led flows.
This setup gives your team the ability to support different pricing structures without hard-coding access rules.
Pricing updates often break products when access rules live in code. Plans change, limits shift, and exceptions pile up.
Without a backend layer, your app falls out of sync with customer subscriptions, which puts recurring revenue streams at risk.
Subscription management fixes this by enforcing rules at runtime. You apply the same logic to self-serve signups and sales-led deals.
This consistency matters when you support usage-based billing SaaS models. Accurate usage tracking tied to entitlements is required to apply limits, overages, and upgrades correctly across plans.
When access stays aligned with pricing, you reduce mismatches between plans and usage and avoid access errors as customers move between tiers.
Teams also gain better revenue management and clearer revenue insights as subscribers and members move between plans.
Over time, this supports subscription growth, helps reduce churn, and improves customer satisfaction across the industry.
Below is a list of the best subscription management software designed for SaaS products. Each tool focuses on backend pricing logic, feature access, and usage limits inside the product.
Schematic is a monetization control plane built on Stripe for SaaS and AI teams that need pricing to work inside the product, not just in billing.
You model your product catalog in one place: plans, entitlements, limits, trials, credits, add-ons, and exceptions.
Then your app checks access at runtime, with flag evaluation times under 50ms, so product behavior stays tied to the customer’s current state.
Schematic fits teams with hybrid pricing and hybrid selling. You can support self-serve signups, sales-led deals, and custom terms without scattering logic across code, Stripe rules, and spreadsheets.
Engineering implements monetization once. Product and RevOps can change packaging, limits, and overrides without turning every pricing change into a release.
Plans and entitlements as a system of record - Define plans, limits, trials, credits, add-ons, and exceptions in one catalog.
In product enforcement at runtime - Gate features and usage based on plan and billing state.
Usage metering for pricing models - Track seats, credits, tokens, API calls, MAUs, and overages.
Stripe sync without webhook glue - Import products and customers and keep billing state aligned.
Overrides and legacy plan support - Grant temporary access, bump limits, and set expirations.
Drop in billing UI when you need it - Use React components for portals, pricing tables, checkout, and plan management.
Schematic works best when you own monetization across engineering, product, and RevOps. It keeps plans, access rules, and usage tracking tied to the same source of truth, even when pricing keeps changing.
Source: stigg.io
Stigg provides a product-side system for managing plans, entitlements, and usage rules inside SaaS applications. Teams use it to define which features and limits apply to each plan, then enforce those rules at runtime.
Stigg supports usage-based pricing and plan-driven access, and typically augments an existing billing stack rather than replacing it.
Many SaaS teams connect Stigg to evaluate entitlements and collect data on feature usage, while product teams work with engineering to adjust limits and packaging as plans change.
It is commonly used in setups that combine self-serve access with sales-led contracts and custom terms.
Feature entitlements tied to plans - Apply access rules based on plan and customer state.
Usage tracking and metering pricing - Capture usage events to support limits and overages.
Plan and pricing configuration - Define plans, limits, and feature availability.
API-first integration - Evaluate entitlements and usage from backend services.
Support for mixed pricing models - Handle flat, seat-based, and usage-based setups.
Source: maxio.com
Maxio is an all-in-one billing and financial reporting platform built for B2B SaaS companies managing subscriptions at scale. It focuses on subscription billing, revenue recognition, invoicing, and financial visibility.
Teams use Maxio to automate signups, upgrades, renewals, and recurring billing workflows so revenue operations stay predictable as customer volume grows.
It supports flexible subscription models, including contract-based pricing, usage-based plans, and customized billing terms without requiring engineering involvement.
Because Maxio reflects subscription state at the billing layer, teams often pair it with product-side tools when access needs to change in real time based on usage, trials, or custom contract terms inside the application.
Subscription billing and invoicing - Automate recurring invoices, proration, upgrades, and renewals.
Usage-based pricing - Meter and rate usage for billing and reporting.
Pricing and quoting - Configure contract pricing and custom plans without code changes.
Payments and collections - Support cards, ACH, direct debit, and dunning workflows.
Self-serve billing portal - Let customers manage subscriptions, payment methods, and changes.
Source: getlago.com
Built as an open source billing layer, Lago focuses on subscription billing and usage-based pricing for SaaS products. Teams rely on it to calculate usage, apply pricing rules, and generate invoices from metered consumption.
Lago supports recurring billing workflows and connects usage data to billing outputs through integrations such as Stripe. Engineering teams integrate Lago to handle automated billing logic, while pricing and RevOps teams configure rules for usage, commitments, and overages.
It is commonly used when teams want transparent billing components and direct control over how usage converts into charges across self-serve and sales-led accounts.
Usage-based pricing calculations - Convert metered usage into billable charges.
Metering and usage aggregation - Process consumption events for billing.
Integration with billing platforms - Sync invoices and charges with Stripe.
Open source setup - Run and extend the system in your own environment.
Support for complex pricing rules - Handle subscriptions combined with usage-based charges, including tiers, overages, and commitments.
Source: withorb.com
Orb focuses on usage-based pricing and billing infrastructure for SaaS products. Teams use Orb to track usage events, define pricing models, and calculate charges based on consumption.
It supports metering pricing workflows where usage data feeds directly into billing logic, often through integrations with Stripe. Orb connects to your event stream to handle pricing calculations and reporting, while teams configure plans, limits, and usage rules.
Orb is typically used by teams that need detailed usage tracking and advanced analytics to understand how consumption maps to revenue across self-serve and sales-led customers.
Usage tracking and metering - Collect and process consumption events.
Pricing model setup - Configure usage-based and consumption-driven plans.
APIs for backend integration - Connect pricing logic to product and billing systems.
Usage reporting and analytics - Analyze usage patterns and billing outcomes.
Billing component integration - Send calculated charges to billing platforms.
Source: chargebee.com
Chargebee focuses on subscription billing and recurring revenue management for SaaS products. Teams use it to manage customer subscriptions, generate invoices, and process recurring payments tied to fixed and usage-based pricing models.
Chargebee supports automated billing, subscription changes, and subscription cancellations, while handling global payments through integrations with major payment gateways.
Supported payment methods include cards, direct debit, PayPal, Apple Pay, and other digital wallets. Chargebee also offers no-code provisioning tied to subscription state, such as trial access and plan changes.
Because these entitlements reflect backend billing status rather than real-time in-product enforcement, teams often pair Chargebee with product-side tools to apply usage limits and feature gating based on live access rules.
Subscription lifecycle management - Create, update, and cancel subscriptions across fixed and usage-based plans.
Recurring billing and invoicing - Automate charges, invoices, and retries.
Payment gateway integrations - Support multiple payment options and regions.
Revenue reporting - Track billing outcomes, cash flow, and trends.
Billing components and APIs - Connect billing data with backend systems.
Choose a subscription management solution based on how pricing works inside your product, not on long feature lists. Start with your plans, entitlements, limits, trials, and add-ons.
The right subscription platform should enforce these rules at runtime across self-serve and sales-led flows.
If you run a product-led subscription business, backend control matters more than billing workflows. Finance-led teams often focus on invoices and reporting.
Product teams focus on access, usage, and exceptions. Your tool should support both without splitting logic across systems.
When managing subscriptions, look for the ability to apply the right amount of access as customers upgrade, downgrade, or receive overrides.
This helps teams support clients without manual fixes. Changes inintegration pricing and packaging should not require code changes or custom deployments.
If you want to move faster and start selling with confidence, backend enforcement should come before surface-level tooling.
When you tie pricing to real product behavior, subscription management stops being a recurring engineering project.
You get clearer rules for who can do what, when limits apply, and how exceptions work, without rewriting logic every time you change a plan.
Schematic keeps your catalog, entitlements, and enforcement connected, so your app evaluates access at runtime instead of relying on scattered billing rules and one-off code paths.
That makes it easier to run hybrid pricing and support both self-serve and sales-led motion without breaking access.
If you want a fast way to validate this setup in your own product, start a free account today.
The best subscription management tool depends on where you need control. For SaaS teams managing pricing and access inside the product, the best tools handle plans, entitlements, usage limits, and exceptions at runtime. Platforms like Schematic focus on this backend control, helping teams support pricing changes while driving steady revenue growth.
For a business, managing subscriptions in one place means centralizing plans, usage rules, and customer state rather than tracking payments alone. The right system can manage subscriptions tied to digital products and digital downloads, while billing tools handle invoices. This split keeps access rules consistent across products.
Subscription services can create issues when access rules are unclear or hard-coded. Poor tooling can lead to accidental overuse, unexpected limits, or technical support overhead. For consumers, this often shows up in shared accounts like a family plan with unclear limits. For SaaS teams, backend enforcement helps prevent these problems by making access rules explicit and auditable.
