# FlexPrice — Open Source Usage-Based Billing Platform

> An open-source billing engine for usage-based pricing with real-time metering, credit management, and payment orchestration via Stripe.

## Install

Save in your project root:

# FlexPrice — Open Source Usage-Based Billing Platform

## Quick Use
```bash
git clone https://github.com/flexprice/flexprice.git
cd flexprice
docker compose up -d
# Access the dashboard at http://localhost:3000
```

## Introduction
FlexPrice is an open-source billing platform built for usage-based and hybrid pricing models. It handles real-time usage metering, credit and wallet management, invoice generation, and payment orchestration through Stripe. Designed for SaaS companies that charge based on consumption rather than flat subscriptions, it provides a no-code dashboard alongside a developer API.

## What FlexPrice Does
- Meters usage events in real-time with sub-second ingestion
- Calculates charges based on configurable pricing tiers and schedules
- Manages customer credits, wallets, and top-up workflows
- Generates invoices and orchestrates payments via Stripe
- Provides a no-code dashboard for pricing configuration and analytics

## Architecture Overview
FlexPrice is built with Go for the backend and uses ClickHouse for high-throughput event storage and aggregation. Usage events flow through Kafka for reliable ingestion, then are aggregated by ClickHouse for real-time billing calculations. PostgreSQL stores customer and pricing configuration data, while Temporal handles long-running billing workflows like invoice generation and payment retries.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Deploy with Docker Compose including all dependencies
- Configure pricing plans through the web dashboard or API
- Connect a Stripe account for payment processing
- Ingest usage events via the REST API or SDK
- Set up webhooks for billing lifecycle events

## Key Features
- Real-time usage metering with ClickHouse-backed aggregation
- Flexible pricing models including per-unit, tiered, and volume pricing
- Built-in credit and wallet system for prepaid balances
- Stripe integration for payment collection and invoicing
- No-code dashboard for business teams to manage pricing

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **Lago** — Ruby-based billing; FlexPrice uses Go and ClickHouse for higher throughput
- **Stripe Billing** — Managed service with vendor lock-in; FlexPrice is self-hosted and open-source
- **Orb** — Cloud-only usage billing; FlexPrice can run on your infrastructure
- **Metronome** — Enterprise usage billing; FlexPrice is open-source with a similar feature set

## FAQ
**Q: What payment providers are supported?**
A: Stripe is the primary integration. Additional providers can be added through the payment adapter interface.

**Q: How does it handle high event volumes?**
A: Usage events are ingested through Kafka and stored in ClickHouse, which handles millions of events per second.

**Q: Can I use it for subscription-only billing?**
A: Yes. FlexPrice supports pure subscription, pure usage, and hybrid billing models.

**Q: Is there a hosted version?**
A: FlexPrice offers a managed cloud option alongside the self-hosted open-source version.

## Sources
- https://github.com/flexprice/flexprice
- https://flexprice.io

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Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/asset-c945e671
Author: AI Open Source