Recurly pricing – is it worth the cost?

Is Recurly the right billing platform for your business? This post dives into Recurly pricing, plans, and features to help you determine if it's worth the cost. 

We'll explore its capabilities, limitations, and how it stacks up against alternatives like Orb, especially for businesses with complex billing needs or ambitious growth plans.

Read on to learn:

• A breakdown of Recurly's pricing plans and what each includes
• Hidden fees and additional costs to watch out for
• How Recurly compares to alternative solutions like Orb’s billing platform
• A guide on migrating from Recurly to Orb if it's a better fit

Let’s get started by explaining what Recurly is. 

What is Recurly?

Recurly is a subscription management and billing platform designed to help businesses manage recurring revenue.

It offers a suite of tools for automated invoicing, dunning management (recovering failed payments), and recurring payments. These features are essential for businesses that operate on a subscription model.

Core functionality

Recurly automates recurring invoices, saving businesses significant time and effort. The platform also includes dunning management, which helps recover revenue lost due to failed payments. 

Recurly offers various payment gateway integrations, giving businesses flexibility in how they process transactions. 

Beyond billing, Recurly provides key subscription metrics and analytics, giving insights into churn, customer lifetime value, and other important data points. This way, businesses can make data-driven decisions about their subscription strategies. 

Understanding Recurly’s pricing is crucial for businesses evaluating whether the platform aligns with their budget and projected ROI. That’s why, after looking at some quick use cases, we’ll dive into Recurly plans and pricing. 

Ideal use cases

Companies of all sizes that rely on recurring revenue can benefit from Recurly. While it's a good fit for various industries, SaaS businesses often find it particularly valuable. 

Recurly's features are well-suited to the challenges of regular SaaS subscriptions, which often involve tiered pricing, coupons, promotional offers, and occasional plan changes (upgrades and downgrades). 

For businesses experiencing growth, Recurly can help scale subscription operations without needing a proportional increase in administrative overhead. It handles the behind-the-scenes work so businesses can focus on customer acquisition and retention. 

Remember: Exploring the different Recurly pricing plans is a key step in selecting the right fit for your business needs, and that’s what’s coming next.

Recurly pricing plans

Recurly offers tailored pricing plans to accommodate companies at various stages of growth. We’ll now take a closer look at their subscription management offerings and revenue recognition solutions. Let’s start with their subscription management plans.

Subscription management plans

Recurly provides three distinct plans for subscription management: Starter, Professional, and Elite. We’re going to analyze each one in detail below.

Starter plan

Designed for startups and small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) aiming to launch and expand their subscription services. The Starter plan is priced at around $238 per month, with a promotional offer to try it for free for the first three months for new customers.

*Please note: These prices were current at the time of publishing. For the latest prices, please check their official pricing site.

Key features:

• Flexible pricing models: Choose from various pricing structures to match your business needs.
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• Trials and promotions: Implement trial periods and promotional offers to attract new subscribers.
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• Robust subscription management: Manage subscriber accounts efficiently.
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• Language and currency support: Supports over 30 languages and more than 140 currencies, facilitating global reach.
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• Payment gateways and methods: Integrates with over 20 payment gateways, including Adyen and Stripe, and supports more than 10 payment methods such as credit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
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• Automated invoicing: Simplifies billing with automated invoice generation.
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• Reporting and analytics: Access over 20 prebuilt reports and dashboards for insights into your subscription business.
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• Customer support: Offers 24/7 customer support to assist with any issues.

Professional plan

Tailored for midsize companies ready to scale and improve their recurring revenue operations. Pricing details for the Professional plan are available upon request.

This plan includes all Starter features, plus:

• Ramp pricing model: Implement pricing that adjusts over time to encourage long-term subscriptions.
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• Intelligent retries: Reduce payment failures with smart retry strategies.
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• ACH payment method: Offer Automated Clearing House payments for added flexibility.
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• Subscriber wallet: Let subscribers store multiple payment methods for convenience.
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• Custom gateway routing: Direct payments through preferred gateways based on specific criteria.
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• Gateway failover: Guarantee payment continuity by automatically rerouting failed transactions to backup gateways.
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• Manual invoicing: Generate invoices manually when needed.
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• Invoice customization: Tailor invoices to reflect your brand and meet customer needs.
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• Automated exports: Schedule and export data automatically for easier reporting.
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• Salesforce integration: Sync subscription data with Salesforce for better customer relationship management.
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• Advanced analytics: Gain deeper insights with enhanced reporting capabilities.
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• Dedicated customer success manager: Benefit from personalized support to achieve your business goals.

Elite plan

Crafted for large enterprises requiring advanced features and customization. Pricing for the Elite plan is provided upon request.

Includes all Professional features, and:

• Custom pricing models: Develop tailored pricing strategies to meet unique business requirements.
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• Priority support: Get expedited assistance for any issues or inquiries.
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• Dedicated technical account manager: Access specialized technical support for seamless operations.
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• Service Level Agreements (SLAs): Benefit from guaranteed service performance metrics.

Revenue recognition solutions

Recurly offers two levels of revenue recognition solutions to secure compliance with accounting standards like ASC 606 and IFRS 15. Here’s a closer look at each tier.

Revenue recognition — Standard

Ideal for businesses seeking to automate and simplify their revenue reporting.

Key features:

• Automated revenue recognition: Aligns with ASC 606 and IFRS 15 standards to ensure accurate financial reporting.
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• Comprehensive reporting: Provides built-in reports such as the Revenue Waterfall Report, Liability Balances Report, and Transfer Accounting Report for detailed insights.
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• Integration: Fully integrated within Recurly's subscription management platform for a unified experience.
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• Error reduction: Minimizes manual errors through automation, enhancing compliance and accuracy.

Revenue recognition — Advanced

Designed for businesses with intricate revenue streams, this solution ensures precise and compliant revenue recognition.

Key features:

• Automated compliance: Aligns with standards such as ASC 606, IFRS 15/16, ASC 842, and ASC 340-40, ensuring your revenue recognition processes meet regulatory requirements.
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• Real-time revenue insights: Provides immediate visibility into revenue performance, aiding in informed decision-making and accurate forecasting.
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• Simplified financial operations: Automates complex processes, including contract modifications and expense allocations, reducing manual effort and potential errors.
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• Multi-currency and multi-book support: Facilitates global operations by supporting various currencies and accounting books, allowing for accurate financial reporting across different regions.

Hidden fees and additional costs

While Recurly's pricing may appear straightforward, it's important to understand the extra fees that can accumulate as your business scales. These extra costs can greatly impact your overall expenses. Let’s zoom in on what those are.

Transaction fees

Beyond the monthly subscription fee, Recurly imposes per-transaction fees on various payment activities, including successful payments, refunds, voids, authorizations, and declines. 

These fees are charged in addition to the base monthly rate and can accumulate with increased transaction volumes. 

For instance, if your business processes a high number of transactions monthly, these per-transaction fees can substantially increase your operational costs. It's essential to factor in these fees when evaluating the total cost of using Recurly's services.

Chargeback fees:

Chargebacks occur when a customer disputes a transaction, leading to a reversal of the payment. Each chargeback filed can incur a fee of up to $100 per occurrence, even if the customer withdraws their dispute. 

For example, if your business experiences ten chargebacks in a month, you could face up to $1,000 in fees solely from these disputes. 

Besides, a high frequency of chargebacks can lead to further consequences, such as fines or restrictions from payment processors. Therefore, it's vital to implement strategies to minimize chargebacks and avoid these added costs.

Add-on costs

Recurly offers various add-on features to improve subscription management, such as advanced analytics, revenue recognition tools, and integrations with platforms like Salesforce. 

While these add-ons can provide great value, they often come at an additional cost. For instance, integrating Salesforce with Recurly means purchasing a higher-tier plan or paying an extra fee. 

Similarly, using advanced revenue recognition features might necessitate an upgrade to a more expensive plan. It's important to evaluate which add-ons are necessary for your business and factor their costs into your budget.

3 noteworthy limitations of Recurly

It's important to consider certain Recurly limitations that may impact its suitability for your business needs. We’ll look at three specific limitations.

1. Limited reporting and analytics

Recurly's reporting capabilities, particularly for usage-based billing, have been noted as insufficient by some users. This limitation can make it difficult to track usage accurately, analyze and spot trends, and make educated decisions about pricing and billing strategies. 

For instance, users have even mentioned the need to invest in a third-party tool to obtain necessary metrics, indicating that Recurly's built-in reports may not meet all business requirements.

2. Unclear invoices for customers

The clarity of invoices generated by Recurly has been a point of concern. Users have reported that these invoices can be confusing for customers, leading to frustration and an increase in support inquiries.

3. Limited flexibility for complex pricing models

For businesses with complex billing models, Recurly presents issues due to its limited flexibility. If your pricing involves complex calculations, multiple tiers, or various usage dimensions, you might find Recurly's capabilities restrictive. 

Lots of users mentioned experiencing a lack of custom reporting, which can be a notable drawback for firms demanding detailed and customizable billing solutions.

Extra tip: For a closer look at reasons to avoid usage-based billing with Recurly, make sure to read our full article.

Recurly vs. Orb: Which one fits your business needs?

Below is a detailed comparison between Recurly and Orb across several key features:

The verdict:

Orb helps SaaS and GenAI companies unlock their usage data, enabling flexible pricing, smooth billing, and faster growth — all without the constraints of rigid billing systems. 

Its advanced capabilities in handling complex usage-based billing, flexible hybrid pricing models, and extensive customization options make it an ideal choice for businesses seeking a billing solution that’s adaptable to any scenario.

Plus, Orb's transparent pricing structure and tech stack integration capabilities further enhance its appeal to growing companies as a complete billing engine.

How to migrate from Recurly to Orb

Transitioning from Recurly to Orb involves several key steps to guarantee a frictionless migration. Below is a structured guide to assist you through this process.

Step 1: Export subscription and billing data from Recurly

Begin by extracting all necessary customer subscription details and billing history from Recurly. Keep these two mini steps in mind:

• Data extraction: Use Recurly's API to retrieve complete data on customer accounts, active subscriptions, and transaction histories. You want to make sure that all pertinent information is available for migration.
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• Data verification: After extraction, meticulously review the data to confirm its accuracy and completeness. Address any discrepancies or missing information before proceeding.

Step 2: Map pricing structures and billing logic in Orb

Align your existing pricing models and billing logic with Orb's system. Let’s look closer:

• Pricing replication: Recreate your current pricing structures within Orb. Doing so includes setting up subscription tiers, discounts, and any promotional offers.
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• Upgrade to usage-based models: If considering a shift to usage-based billing, Orb offers robust support for such models. This transition can provide more flexibility and align billing with actual customer usage.

Step 3: Integrate Orb with payment processors

Make sure Orb is connected to your preferred payment gateways:

• Supported gateways: Orb integrates with major payment processors like Stripe and PayPal. Set up these integrations to facilitate seamless payment processing.
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• Configuration: Within Orb, configure the payment gateways to handle transactions, refunds, and recurring billing as per your business requirements.

Step 4: Test and migrate customers easily

Conduct thorough testing before fully migrating to ensure a smooth transition:

• System testing: Perform end-to-end tests of the billing processes within Orb. This process includes generating invoices, processing payments, and handling subscription changes.
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• Customer migration: Once testing is complete, proceed with migrating your customers to Orb. Confirm that automated invoice generation and revenue tracking are functioning correctly to maintain continuity in billing operations.

FAQs

Are there better alternatives to Recurly?

Yes, Orb is a leading alternative to Recurly, offering flexible pricing models, seamless billing, and the ability to experiment with different value metrics to optimize revenue capture.

How much does Recurly really cost per month?

Recurly's pricing starts at around $238 per month for the Starter plan, with additional costs for advanced features and a percentage fee per transaction.

Does Recurly charge per transaction?

Yes, Recurly applies a per-transaction fee in addition to the base monthly subscription cost. You pay 1.25% per transaction plus $0.10 on payments made by credit card, PayPal, and Amazon.

Can Recurly handle complex billing models?

Yes, Recurly supports various billing models, including fixed recurring, usage-based, and hybrid pricing, accommodating complex billing scenarios.

Does Recurly work with Stripe or PayPal?

Yes, Recurly integrates with both Stripe and PayPal, facilitating seamless payment processing through these gateways. 

Better subscription billing starts with Orb

We’ve looked at Recurly pricing and its plans. Throughout this piece, you’ve learned that Recurly is a solid option for many subscription-based businesses. 

However, if your business is experiencing rapid growth, or if you anticipate needing highly flexible pricing models and detailed revenue insights, you need more. This is particularly true for SaaS companies aiming for aggressive expansion.

That's where Orb shines.

Orb is a done-for-you billing platform that helps you deal with recurring revenue, but it does so much more than that. It allows you to:

• Adapt with agility: Orb decouples usage data from pricing metrics with Orb Rev Graph, allowing you to experiment with pricing, adapt to change, and fine-tune your monetization strategies without limitations.
  
  Launch new pricing without engineering, test changes using historical data, and support all modern pricing models (usage, subscription, hybrid).

• Bill with precision: Deliver precise, error-free billing by ingesting and processing all raw event data into Orb RevGraph. Say goodbye to revenue leakage and billing inaccuracies. 
  
  Build trust with your customers through transparent and accurate billing. Orb provides a complete audit trail for every calculation and provides real-time usage monitoring.

• Confidently scale: Harness high-scale data ingestion with the Orb API, query it seamlessly with the Orb SQL Editor, and leverage functions like Orb Billing, Orb Invoicing, and Orb Reporting — all built on top of your usage data. 
  
  Orb's modular platform grows with your needs, integrates with your existing financial stack, and provides built-in revenue analytics.

• Partner with experts: Orb acts as a trusted guide for SaaS companies navigating usage-based pricing. Benefit from dedicated implementation support, industry expertise, and ongoing improvements to Orb’s platform as a whole.

Ready to move beyond essential subscription management and unlock your growth potential? Explore our flexible pricing options to find the perfect plan for your business.