Why billing is not just 'Build' or 'Buy'

Open source solutions are reshaping the traditional 'Build vs Buy' decision in the billing space, much like Airbyte has done for the ETL industry, by offering a compelling alternative to traditional closed-source billing solutions like Chargebee and Stripe Billing. Early-stage companies often opt for purchasing a billing system to prioritize growth, whereas more established companies, like those at Series C or D, face the challenge of upgrading their complex home-grown systems while managing engineering resources effectively. These larger companies often find that their intricate pricing models do not fit standard software solutions, leading to the need for substantial engineering teams focused on maintaining and evolving their billing systems, which can be a cumbersome and resource-intensive task. The complexity of billing systems, involving multi-currency, multi-tax, and multi-tenant considerations, often surprises companies and results in long-term projects, as illustrated by Kevin, former VP Engineering at Scaleway, who described his extensive experience in developing a billing system over several years. Open source frameworks, like Lago, provide a flexible and scalable alternative, allowing companies to build systems that can adapt to evolving pricing strategies without the increasing costs associated with traditional platforms, which typically take a share of revenue and may not accommodate the complexity of product-led growth models.