Orb
Usage-based billing built for metered pricing, credits and hybrid AI plans.
why this verdict
Keep paying — OpenAI has not replaced it
OpenAI's version overlaps, but does not finish the finance job, so this one still earns its $720/mo.
- A named launch, not a vibe named, unlinked
- Stripe extending its billing engine to cover usage-based and credit models natively. OpenAI, September 16, 2025 — no announcement link recorded yet.
- How much of the job it covers not the job editorial call
- Parts of it. The job still needs the tool to get finished.
- Is there a free way to do it? yes
- 1 of 3 listed replacements have a usable free tier: Lago.
- What the call is worth $8,640/yr
- $720/mo at the entry paid tier — $8,640 a year per seat.
- Threatened by
- OpenAI
- Since
- September 16, 2025
- List price
- $720/mo
- Per year
- $8,640
The backstory
Orb exists because AI changed how software is priced. Seat licences gave way to tokens, credits and per-action charges, and legacy billing systems were never designed to meter events accurately enough to invoice on them. Orb ingests raw usage, handles credit balances and prepaid draw-downs, and reconciles what was billed against what was consumed. Stripe is moving into the same territory, but AI-native companies have billing complexity that arrives before their finance team does, and that urgency is Orb's whole market.
Escape hatches
Comparable usage-based billing platform
metronome.com open_in_newOpen-source metering and billing engine
getlago.com open_in_newSimpler if your pricing is mostly seat-based
stripe.com open_in_new1 of 3 replacements have a usable free tier.