Chargebee
Subscription billing and revenue management for recurring businesses
OpenMeter
Real-time usage metering and billing for AI and DevOps
OpenMeter delivers real‑time usage collection, flexible usage‑based billing, and automatic limit enforcement for AI, API, and DevOps services, with self‑hosted Kubernetes deployment or a cloud SaaS option.
Overview
Who it's for
OpenMeter is built for AI SaaS providers, API platforms, and DevOps tools that need to track consumption at scale. Whether you are a startup launching a pay‑per‑use model or an enterprise looking to add granular cost controls, the platform offers the observability and billing flexibility required.
Core capabilities
The system ingests millions of usage events in real time via Kafka, stores them in ClickHouse, and exposes a REST API with SDKs for JavaScript, Python, and Go. It supports custom pricing rules, usage‑based limits, and integrates directly with Stripe for automated invoicing. Real‑time dashboards give insight into consumption patterns, helping you enforce caps and optimize pricing.
Deployment options
You can run OpenMeter on your own Kubernetes cluster using the provided Helm chart, or start instantly with the managed cloud offering. A quick‑start Docker Compose setup lets you evaluate the product in minutes, while the open‑source Apache‑2.0 license encourages community contributions.
Highlights
Real‑time aggregation of millions of usage events
Flexible usage‑based billing and custom pricing rules
Built‑in usage limits with alerting and enforcement
Kubernetes‑native deployment via Helm chart
Pros
- Apache‑2.0 license encourages community contributions
- Scalable architecture using ClickHouse and Kafka
- Ready‑made SDKs for JavaScript, Python, and Go
- Managed cloud version available for rapid onboarding
Considerations
- Self‑hosted production requires Kubernetes expertise
- Limited out‑of‑the‑box SDKs (no Java, .NET, etc.)
- Operational overhead of managing ClickHouse and Kafka
- Developer setup may involve Nix and direnv for optimal experience
Managed products teams compare with
When teams consider OpenMeter, these hosted platforms usually appear on the same shortlist.
Looking for a hosted option? These are the services engineering teams benchmark against before choosing open source.
Fit guide
Great for
- Startups building AI SaaS with pay‑per‑use pricing
- DevOps platforms needing pod execution time metering
- Companies integrating Stripe for usage‑based invoicing
- Teams preferring a self‑hosted, Kubernetes‑native solution
Not ideal when
- Simple scripts that only need minimal usage tracking
- Organizations without Kubernetes or cloud‑native expertise
- Projects requiring extensive language SDK support beyond JS/Python/Go
- Teams looking for a fully managed SaaS with zero operational overhead
How teams use it
Kubernetes pod execution metering
Track pod runtime, enforce per‑pod usage caps, and generate detailed billing reports.
Stripe‑based usage billing for AI APIs
Collect API call data, calculate token‑based costs, and automatically invoice customers via Stripe.
Log‑driven metering for microservices
Parse service logs, aggregate events, and apply custom pricing tiers in real time.
Cloud‑hosted metering for rapid prototyping
Sign up, start sending usage events, and access real‑time dashboards without managing infrastructure.
Tech snapshot
Go73%
TypeScript22%
TypeSpec4%
PLpgSQL1%
Python1%
Smarty1%
Frequently asked questions
How do I get started with OpenMeter locally?
Clone the repository, navigate to the quickstart folder, and run `docker compose up -d`. The demo UI and API will be available in minutes.
Is there a managed cloud version?
Yes, OpenMeter Cloud offers a free account with instant metering capabilities. See the comparison guide for differences with the self‑hosted version.
What storage and streaming technologies does OpenMeter use?
OpenMeter stores aggregated usage data in ClickHouse and processes incoming events through Kafka.
Can I enforce usage limits and receive alerts?
OpenMeter includes built‑in limit enforcement and can trigger alerts when consumption exceeds defined thresholds.
Under which license is OpenMeter released?
OpenMeter is released under the Apache‑2.0 open source license.
Project at a glance
Active- Stars
- 1,786
- Watchers
- 1,786
- Forks
- 148
LicenseApache-2.0
Repo age2 years old
Last commit19 hours ago
Primary languageGo
Last synced 12 hours ago