Ever since Netflix sparked the subscription economy in 2007, this business model has seen impressive growth with each passing year.
The trend doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon, either.
To say that subscription billing is on the rise would be an understatement.
According to Global Market Insights, the subscription and billing management market was valued at $6 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach a whopping $22.3 billion by 2030.
Image via Global Market Insights
However, running a subscription-based business isn’t easy.
Hence the need for great subscription billing platforms. But with dozens of options for subscription and recurring billing software in the market today, finding the best one for your business can be challenging.
Luckily, we researched for you.
In this post, you’ll find a list of the 5 best subscription billing platforms for you to choose from.
How We Chose the Best Subscription Billing Platforms
We did thorough research and chose the top subscription billing platforms based on a host of criteria. Here are some of the important ones:
- Automation: The best subscription billing platforms offer robust automation to save time, cut down costs, and minimize human error. We’ve picked subscription billing platforms that can efficiently handle recurring payments without human intervention.
- Price: We’ve hand-selected subscription billing software solutions that cater to clients with different budgets, from large organizations to solopreneurs and small businesses. Regardless of your business size, you’ll find something on our list of subscription billing platforms.
- Reviews: Customer testimonials are a surefire way of knowing what people are saying about a particular billing software solution. We’ve looked at popular review sites to understand what clients are saying about each tool’s capabilities. We’ve chosen the most trusted ones.
- Supported payment method: We’ve checked whether these recurring billing software solutions offer various payment processing options. This includes debit cards, credit cards, bank transfers, digital wallets, etc.
5 Best Subscription Billing Platforms You Can Try in 2024
Here’s our list of the top subscription billing platforms for you to choose from. Compare the features, pros, cons, and pricing to choose the one that fits your requirements.
1. Zoho Billing
Image via Zoho Billing
Another great subscription billing software for small businesses and solopreneurs is Zoho Billing.
This cloud-based software solution is designed to manage every aspect of your subscription business.
It features exceptional payment tracking, which ensures timely payments and minimizes overdue balances by addressing payment failures.
What makes Zoho Billing stand out is its automated billing and proration features.
The platform safely stores your customers’credit card information and sends tax-compliance invoices, simplifying your financial operations.
Besides, it gives your customers the flexibility to pay for their subscription services either offline or online.
Key Features
- Multiple payment processing options
- Automatic billing
- Safe checkout with secure PCI-DSS-compliant hosted payment pages and widgets
- Offline payment options
- Multiple customizable invoices
Pros
- Supports multiple currencies and international payments
- Lets you organize and group subscriptions
- Connects with 400+ web apps through Zapier integration
- Has a simple interface to use and set up
- Billing reminder emails before and after billing
Cons
- You need CRM integrations and other Zoho tools like Books or Inventory
- No notification for failed payments
Pricing
- Standard: $20/month
- Professional: $50/month
- Premium: $100/month
- Elite: $300/month
Image via Zoho Billing
Tool Level
- Beginner/Intermediate
Usability
- Easy to use
2. Chargebee
Image via Chargebee
Chargebee ranks high among the best subscription billing software to try in 2024.
The platform is designed to handle the complexity of recurring billing with simplicity. It’s well known for its expertise in managing subscriptions and recurring revenue.
It seamlessly integrates with other SaaS tools, such as accounting software and licensing systems.
With these integrations, you can easily manage subscriptions, handle billing accurately, and more.
With a user interface that’s simple and clutter-free, you can quickly access important information and perform tasks efficiently.
With both free and paid subscription models, Chargebee is accessible to any business, regardless of its size.
Key Features
- Integrates with 29+ payment gateways
- Provides subscription management tools
- Lets you accept payments from over 100 currencies
- Dunning management tools
- Automated follow-ups for payment
- Allows for coupon code creation and redemptions
Pros
- Offers great customer experience
- Multiple payment gateways
- Flexible billing system
- Billing accuracy
- Easy to use with a great user interface
Cons
- Email automation is not very robust. You’ll need to send the same message to all subscribers for a specific action.
- Paid pricing plans are a bit higher
Pricing
Below are Chargebee’s subscription services:
- Starter plan: Free for your first $250,000 cumulative billing and 0.75% on billing thereafter
- Performance plan: $599 per month for up to $100,000 of billing per month and 0.75% on billing thereafter
- Enterprise plan: Custom pricing
Image via Chargebee
Tool Level
- Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced
Usability
- Easy to use
3. Stripe Billing
Image via Stripe Billing
Stripe Billing is another recurring billing software solution that allows you to efficiently collect payments from your subscribers.
The platform has managed to make the complex recurring billing process remarkably simple and accessible.
It comes with pre-built features like a customer portal and pricing table, which makes it easy to process payments even with little to no coding knowledge
This is a game changer for subscription-based businesses of all kinds.
Whether you have a startup or an established business, the ease of setting up and managing subscriptions, tracking recurring revenue, and handling invoices is impressive.
With global payments support, this usage-based billing software solution can handle transactions in 135+ different currencies.
Key Features
- Simple to use and integrate into various platforms
- Automated invoicing
- Dunning management tools
- Comprehensive suite of services that can adapt to your unique business model
- Instant Payouts feature that lets you access your funds as early as 30 minutes after a transaction
Pros
- Accepts international payments in different currencies
- You can easily create new coupon codes
- Easy to offer partial or full refunds
- Allows free trials
Cons
- Does not offer phone support, even in the case of an emergency
- Customer support can be sluggish or unresponsive, making it more challenging to resolve a problem
Pricing
Stripe Billing offers a flexible custom pricing plan, which is priced depending on your desired capabilities. There are no monthly fees, no hidden fees, and no refund costs.
Image via Stripe Billing
Tool Level
- Intermediate
Usability
- Relatively easy to use
4. Recurly
Image via Recurly
Recurly is a great billing platform for subscription-based businesses looking to grow their business. It’s an all-in-one subscription management solution that also offers subscription billing as one of the features.
The platform’s simplicity and automation capabilities make it a top choice for managing subscriptions and recurring revenue.
With its simple and intuitive user interface, you can easily access all the necessary tools you need to manage your subscriptions effectively.
A key feature that makes Recurly stand out is its built-in fraud detection system, which will safeguard your business against any fraudulent transactions.
Key Features
- 20+ prebuilt reports and dashboards
- A free trial option and discount offers
- Flexible pricing models
- Automated and manual billing & invoicing
- Compatible with 10+ payment methods
- Ability to support transactions in 140+ currencies
Pros
- Easily detects fraudulent payments
- Great and responsive customer support
- Easy to view and update customer billing information
- Easy to set up a customer account and invoicing process
Cons
- Sessions time out quickly after short inactivity period
- Tricky to set up, apply, and un-apply coupons for subscribers
Pricing
The Starter plan is free for the first 12 months for new customers, while Professional and Elite plans offer custom pricing:
- Starter: Fee for first 12 months for new customers (up to $40,000 USD per month), then $249/month
- Professional: Custom pricing
- Elite: Custom pricing
Image via Recurly
Tool Level
- Intermediate/Advanced
Usability
- Takes time to get acquainted with the interface
5. Zuora Billing
Image via Zuora Billing
Zuora Billing is one of the top-tier subscription billing platforms for large businesses.
From a user-friendly interface to tax automation and effortless integration with Salesforce and NetSuite, Zuora Billing offers a comprehensive suite of features that makes it a top subscription billing platform.
Its recurring billing feature, which is fully automated, makes it easy to manage your subscriptions and recurring revenue.
Besides, rather than buying one package, Zuora offers you the freedom to only choose specific features that you need.
What’s more, Zuora Billing is incredibly versatile, catering to the various needs of subscription-based businesses.
Key Features
- Pricing is in sync with Zuora CPQ to support direct sales
- Easy revenue recognition
- Recurring billing
- Billing and AR settlement
- Managing subscriptions and amendments
- Product catalog
Pros
- Seamlessly integrates with third-party software solutions like Salesforce
- Its subscription model allows for pricing flexibility and customization
- Offers responsive customer support
- Allows you to send email notifications to your customers before their renewal dates
- Accepts various payment options
Cons
- Can be a bit overwhelming for beginners
- Extremely limited customization capability
Pricing
Zuora’s official website does not display the pricing plans. You can call the company or fill out the “Request a Call” form on the website to discuss pricing with an expert.
Tool Level
- Advanced
Usability
- Can be challenging for beginners and is best suited for those who have used a subscription billing platform before.
FAQs
Q1. What is subscription billing?
A. Subscription billing refers to a payment model where customers pay for goods or services according to a billing or invoicing schedule.
The recurring payments tend to occur monthly, though they can also be quarterly or yearly.
Q2. What is subscription billing software?
A. A subscription billing software solution is a platform that allows you to bill your customers for your products or services on a recurring basis.
Simply put, subscription billing platforms help you efficiently collect payments from your customers through their preferred payment method. This could be credit cards, PayPal, debit cards, checks, cash, etc.
Q3. What types of businesses can benefit from subscription billing software?
A. Subscription billing is a popular business model that’s adopted by different businesses across industries, such as:
- Streaming services like Netflix and Hulu
- SaaS providers like Microsoft (Office 365) and Adobe (Creative Cloud)
- Gaming platforms like PlayStation and Xbox Game Pass
- Online learning platforms like Skillshare and Udemy
Q4. What features should I look for in subscription billing platforms?
A. When choosing a subscription billing platform, the key features to consider include:
- Automated recurring billing: Prefer subscription billing platforms with automated recurring payments. This will save you thousands of hours of manual labor while managing your cash flow efficiently.
- Automated invoicing: Good subscription billing platforms automate your recurring invoices and automatically sync invoice information from your accounting systems.
- Integration with your other platforms: Choose from subscription billing platforms that seamlessly integrate with your existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) systems.
Q5. Are subscription billing platforms secure?
A. We can’t guarantee that all the subscription billing platforms available on the market are secure, but the ones on our list definitely are.
Trustworthy subscription billing platforms like Recurly are equipped with robust security measures to safeguard your customer’s sensitive data. Such platforms ensure secure payment processing.
Before choosing a subscription management platform, always conduct thorough research on it to ensure it complies with data protection regulations.
Final Thoughts
With more brands adopting a subscription-based business model, having a solid subscription billing platform is more crucial now than ever.
As you’ve seen, each subscription billing software solution has its own set of capabilities, strengths, and challenges.
When making a final decision on which platform to use, consider your industry, business size, inventory system, pricing models, and budget.
Ensure the subscription billing platform you choose is tailor-made for your needs. Good luck!
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