Use cases · Subscription & Billing APIs

Best Billing APIs with Tax Compliance

Subscription billing platforms that calculate and remit sales tax, VAT, and GST as part of the billing flow.

Required capability: Tax / VAT handling.

Our pick: Chargebee

Chargebee is a subscription and usage-based billing platform built for SaaS and AI companies, handling the full subscription lifecycle from creation and metering through dunning, revenue recognition (ASC 606/IFRS 15), and CPQ. It offers a free Starter tier up to $250K cumulative billing, with paid plans from $599/month and an enterprise tier priced on request. The REST API ships with SDKs for seven languages, supports webhooks and idempotency, and holds SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR certifications.

Best for: Prototypes and side projects - free to start, no sales call; Regulated or enterprise workloads - compliance attestations and an enterprise plan; AI agents and automation - an agent-ready surface (MCP / llms.txt).

Chargebee profile →

Best for…

Best overall
Chargebee - our default pick: strongest across pricing, trust and breadth
Best free pick
Chargebee - free tier: Starter plan: free for the first $250K cumulative billing, then 0.75% per month on billin…
Best for enterprise
Chargebee - for regulated or large teams: SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, published SLA
Cheapest to start
Kill Bill - from $40 month to start; compare on your real usage, not the entry price
Best for agents
Chargebee - easiest to wire up programmatically: MCP server + llms.txt
Broadest surface
Chargebee - 41 documented actions; breadth isn't quality, but it's the most to build on

Ranked (7)

  • #1 Chargebee

    82 / 100
    • Best overall
    • Best free pick
    • Best for enterprise
    • Best for agents
    • Broadest surface

    Chargebee is a subscription and usage-based billing platform built for SaaS and AI companies, handling the full subscription lifecycle from creation and metering through dunning, revenue recognition (ASC 606/IFRS 15), and CPQ. It offers a free Starter tier up to $250K cumulative billing, with paid plans from $599/month and an enterprise tier priced on request. The REST API ships with SDKs for seven languages, supports webhooks and idempotency, and holds SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR certifications.

    PricingHybrid · from $599 month · free tier
    TrustSOC 2 Type II · HIPAA · GDPR · ISO 27001 · PCI DSS
    Does
    • Usage-based billing
    • Dunning / recovery
    • Revenue recognition
    • Tax / VAT handling
    • Entitlements
    Used byZapier, Typeform, Pret A Manger, Condé Nast

    Chargebee profile →

  • #2 Recurly

    68 / 100

    Recurly is a subscription management and recurring billing platform targeting SaaS, media, and e-commerce businesses that need to automate billing, handle dunning, support usage-based pricing, and manage revenue recognition under ASC-606/IFRS-15. It operates in 195+ countries and offers official SDKs for seven languages alongside a REST API with webhook and idempotency support. Pricing starts at $249 per month plus 0.9% of billing volume on the Starter plan, with a 90-day free trial available; an All-Access plan requires a $1M annual billing minimum. The platform holds SOC 2 Type II, PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR certifications.

    PricingHybrid · from $249 month · free tier
    TrustSOC 2 Type II · HIPAA · GDPR · PCI DSS
    Does
    • Usage-based billing
    • Dunning / recovery
    • Revenue recognition
    • Tax / VAT handling
    • Entitlements
    Used bySling, Twitch, BarkBox, FabFitFun
    Avoid ifYou want to try it free before paying

    Recurly profile →

  • #3 Paddle

    59 / 100

    Paddle is a Merchant of Record platform built for SaaS and digital product companies, handling subscription billing, global tax calculation and remittance, failed payment recovery, and B2B invoicing across 300+ markets. Pricing is usage-based, charged as a percentage of billing volume, with published rates and self-serve signup available. The REST API supports webhooks and official SDKs for Node.js, Python, Go, PHP, and JavaScript, and an MCP server is available. Paddle holds SOC 2 Type 2 and PCI DSS certifications and is GDPR compliant.

    PricingUsage · free tier
    TrustSOC 2 Type II · GDPR · PCI DSS
    Does
    • Usage-based billing
    • Dunning / recovery
    • Tax / VAT handling
    • Merchant of record
    Used byFortinet, MacPaw, Laravel, Adaptavist
    Avoid ifYou want to try it free before paying

    Paddle profile →

  • #4 Metronome

    65 / 100

    Metronome is a usage-based and subscription billing infrastructure API built for software companies that need to handle complex pricing models, including hybrid, seat-based, and enterprise contract billing with prepaid commits and cloud marketplace support. It offers a free Starter plan with core features and self-serve signup, with published pricing and an enterprise tier available. The REST API supports Python, Node.js, Ruby, and Go SDKs, includes webhooks and idempotency, and carries SOC 2 Type 2 certification with GDPR compliance. Acquired by Stripe in December 2025, it counts OpenAI, Anthropic, Databricks, and NVIDIA among its customers.

    PricingHybrid · free tier
    TrustSOC 2 Type II · GDPR
    Does
    • Usage-based billing
    • Dunning / recovery
    • Tax / VAT handling
    • Entitlements
    Used byOpenAI, Anthropic, Databricks, Confluent

    Metronome profile →

  • #5 FastSpring

    45 / 100

    FastSpring is a merchant-of-record billing platform for software companies, handling SaaS subscriptions, one-time digital product sales, and usage-based billing across 200+ countries, with FastSpring acting as the seller of record for tax compliance rather than the merchant. Pricing is volume-based but not published, requiring a sales conversation, and there is no minimum transaction requirement. The REST API supports webhooks, a sandbox environment, and SDKs for JavaScript, Ruby, Java, and native desktop stores, with a rate limit of 250 calls per IP per minute. Customers include Adobe, Rovio, and Steinberg, and the platform holds SOC 2 Type II, PCI DSS, and GDPR certifications.

    PricingUsage · free tier
    TrustSOC 2 Type II · GDPR · PCI DSS
    Does
    • Usage-based billing
    • Dunning / recovery
    • Tax / VAT handling
    • Merchant of record
    Used byAdobe, Avid, Capture One, Rovio
    Avoid ifYou need transparent pricing up front

    FastSpring profile →

  • #6 Kill Bill

    66 / 100
    • Cheapest to start

    Kill Bill is an open-source billing and payments infrastructure platform, available free under Apache 2.0 for self-hosted deployments, with managed tiers starting at $40 per month and enterprise plans available via sales. It covers subscription billing with trials and dunning, usage-based metering, invoicing, proration, entitlements, and revenue recognition, making it suited for SaaS, AI token billing, and marketplace platforms. SDKs exist for Java, Ruby, Python, PHP, and Node.js, the REST API supports idempotency and webhooks, and a sandbox is available. Customers including Groupon, CARFAX, and Rakuten reflect a track record with larger organizations, though compliance certifications such as PCI DSS and SOC 2 remain the deploying organization's own responsibility.

    PricingSubscription · from $40 month · free tier
    Does
    • Usage-based billing
    • Dunning / recovery
    • Revenue recognition
    • Tax / VAT handling
    • Entitlements
    Used byGroupon, CARFAX, Rocket Lawyer, HP
    Avoid ifYou have strict compliance requirements

    Kill Bill profile →

  • #7 Zuora Billing

    39 / 100

    Zuora Billing is an enterprise subscription and usage-based billing platform supporting SaaS, hybrid, and metered pricing models including multi-attribute and dynamic pricing, with built-in revenue recognition for ASC 606 and IFRS 15. It targets mid-market and enterprise companies and requires a sales engagement to purchase, with no published pricing or instant self-serve signup. The REST API supports OAuth2, webhooks, and idempotency, with SDKs for Java, Node.js, Python, and C#, and holds SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR certifications.

    PricingSales-led · free tier
    TrustSOC 2 Type II · HIPAA · GDPR · ISO 27001 · PCI DSS
    Does
    • Usage-based billing
    • Dunning / recovery
    • Revenue recognition
    • Tax / VAT handling
    • Entitlements
    Used byBox, Zoom, DocuSign, Siemens
    Avoid ifYou need to start building today without contacting sales

    Zuora Billing profile →

Scope: only APIs with the required capability, picked from published, cited data. The score is one input, not the verdict, and we lead with each one’s trade-off. No reviews yet, no paid placement. See the full Subscription & Billing APIs directory.