Stripe Usage-Based Billing: What Stripe Handles (and Doesn’t)

Stripe's usage-based billing system efficiently handles billing processes such as usage aggregation, charge calculation, invoice generation, and payment collection, but it does not manage feature access, entitlement enforcement, or product configuration within applications. This limitation necessitates the integration of an entitlements layer, like Stigg, which bridges the gap between the application and Stripe by managing product configurations, usage limits, and feature gating. Stigg serves as the source of truth for pricing configuration, syncing changes with Stripe while also providing an embeddable checkout widget and customer portal to maintain a seamless in-app billing experience. It allows flexibility in changing billing providers without the need to alter application code and ensures that feature access decisions are resolved locally, even if external services become unavailable. The combination of Stripe and an entitlements layer like Stigg is particularly beneficial for teams with complex or evolving pricing models, frequent pricing updates, and the need for real-time usage enforcement or credit system tracking.

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