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The Best Recurly Alternative for Modern Developers

Transparent pricing. Modern typed SDKs. Built-in entitlements. No "contact sales" gatekeeping.

Start Free — See Pricing Upfront

Why Developers Switch from Recurly

Recurly Pain Points

  • Hidden pricing — "contact sales" with no public plan details
  • Legacy API design that feels outdated for modern development
  • Enterprise-focused onboarding that takes weeks to complete
  • Entitlements require custom implementation on top of Recurly

Paylio Advantages

  • Transparent pricing: $0 / $19 / $99 per month, listed publicly
  • Modern typed SDKs with TypeScript, Python, and Go support
  • Free tier with up to 100 subscribers — no sales call required
  • 5-minute integration with guided setup
  • Built-in entitlements — attach features to plans, check via API

Feature Comparison

Feature
Paylio
Recurly
Pricing transparency
Public: $0 / $19 / $99
Hidden — contact sales
API design
Modern REST + typed SDKs
Legacy REST API
Free tier
100 subscribers free
No free tier
Built-in entitlements
Yes, all plans
No — build your own
Setup time
~5 minutes
Weeks (enterprise onboarding)
SDK languages
TypeScript, Python, Go
Ruby, Python, PHP, Java, .NET
Target audience
Startups & indie devs
Enterprise & mid-market
Visual plan builder
Yes
Admin dashboard

Compare the Code

Paylio — Modern SDK

// Typed SDK — TypeScript
const sub = await paylio
  .getSubscription(userId);

// Entitlements included
if (sub.features.apiCalls > 0) {
  processRequest();
}

Recurly — Legacy API

// Recurly client setup
const client = new recurly.Client(
  apiKey
);

// Fetch subscription
const sub = await client
  .getSubscription(subId);

// No entitlements
// Need subscription ID upfront
// Build feature logic yourself
// Handle webhook callbacks

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I choose Paylio over Recurly?

Choose Paylio if you’re a startup or indie developer who wants transparent pricing, a free tier, and fast integration. Paylio is designed for teams that need subscription management with built-in entitlements without enterprise-level complexity or sales-driven pricing.

Is Paylio’s API modern compared to Recurly?

Yes. Paylio provides modern REST endpoints with fully typed SDKs for TypeScript, Python, and Go. The API is designed around a single getSubscription(userId) call that returns subscription status and entitlements together, reducing integration complexity.

How does Paylio’s pricing compare to Recurly?

Recurly does not publish pricing — you need to contact their sales team. Paylio lists pricing publicly: $0/mo for up to 100 subscribers, $19/mo for the Growth plan, and $99/mo for the Scale plan. No per-transaction markups from Paylio.

How do I migrate from Recurly to Paylio?

Create your plans in Paylio’s visual builder, connect your payment gateway (Stripe or Razorpay), and update your integration to use Paylio’s SDK. Existing Recurly subscriptions can run in parallel until they naturally transition.

What about dunning and failed payment recovery?

Paylio provides basic retry logic for failed payments through the underlying payment gateway (Stripe or Razorpay). For advanced AI-powered dunning with custom recovery flows, Recurly offers more sophisticated tooling. Most startups find basic retry sufficient.

Modern Billing. Transparent Pricing. Free to Start.

No "contact sales" required. 100 free subscribers. Built-in entitlements.

Get Started Free