Compare Maple
How Maple Compares to Stripe Billing
Stripe Billing is a key offering in revenue management space, though it remains secondary to their core payments business. Maple offers several key capabilities that make it a more versatile solution for any billing model.
Stripe Billing excels in product-led growth (PLG) scenarios, where speed and simplicity are vital for early-stage teams launching payment systems. It enables startups to concentrate on their core products without building complex billing infrastructure. However, it falls short for sales-led businesses that need flexible pricing models and custom contracts.
Points to Consider
Why Teams Choose Stripe Early
Startups value Stripe's quick and seamless payment integration. Its ecosystem perfectly suits PLG pricing models that prioritize frictionless user onboarding. While Stripe's complementary services—like identity verification and fraud detection—add convenience as companies grow, this comes at the cost of deeper functionality.
When Stripe Falls Short
As businesses evolve beyond PLG toward hybrid or sales-led models, they face increasingly complex billing requirements. Stripe Billing often struggles to handle these sophisticated needs, especially when implementing nuanced pricing terms. Common challenges include:
- Multi-year pricing with indexed adjustments
- Backdated invoicing and custom pricing
- Flexible co-terming of contracts and handling mid-subscription changes
- Managing multi-SKU contracts and cascading volume pricing.
These constraints often force sales teams to seek platforms better equipped for negotiated pricing strategies.
Why Teams Transition to Maple
For companies embracing sales-led or hybrid approaches, Maple provides a robust alternative:
- Flexibility: Custom billing configurations, including price ramps, discounts, and usage-based pricing
- Streamlined Sales and Finance Workflows: Integrated quote-building tools simplify the transition from sales to invoicing
- Custom Dunning Workflows: Tailored reminders improve collections while aligning with brand tone
- Scalability: Transparent pricing scales more effectively for growing businesses
- High-Touch Support: End-to-end migration services and ongoing guidance ensure smooth implementation within weeks
Maple has emerged as the preferred solution for companies that outgrow Stripe Billing, especially as they reach millions in revenue. Our notable customers include Float Financial and LeagueApps.
Comparison at a Glance
| Feature | Maple | Stripe Billing |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Flat-fee based on # of subscriptions | Uncapped percentage of revenue |
| Billing Flexibility | Multi-frequency | Single frequency per subscription |
| Payment Processing | Multiple processors | Stripe Payments |
| Sales-led Support | End-to-end CPQ and QTC | Basic quotes |
| Revenue Recovery and Dunning | Proactive and reactive alerting with custom schedules | Basic emails on payment failures |
| Analytics and Financial Reporting | Real-time SaaS metrics and revenue recognition | Lagging SaaS metrics, MRR metrics unclear |
Conclusion
While Stripe remains a top-tier payments solution, its revenue-based fees and inflexibility with custom contracts limit its suitability for complex billing needs. Maple's tailored approach delivers the flexibility and scalability these businesses need.
Interested in exploring Maple? Book a demo to learn more about our capabilities and migration process.