Cred vs Autumn
Autumn adds check and track on top of your Stripe. Cred is the ledger and checkout.
Autumn is a billing and entitlements layer between your app and your Stripe account. Your app calls check before an action and track after it; Autumn keeps the real-time balance, with credit systems, rollovers, balance locks, and auto top-ups. Subscriptions, payment details, and invoices stay in Stripe.[1][2][8]
Stripe-based SaaS and AI startups that want a check/track API for plans and credits on their own Stripe account.
Cred is a credit ledger with payments attached. Your server issues and deducts credits per user and credit type over a REST API; a deduct that would overdraw is rejected in the same call. Users buy packs through hosted Stripe checkout, subscribe for monthly credits, save a card for auto top-up, or pay with x402 stablecoins as an AI agent.
Developer teams selling prepaid credits, tokens, or points inside an app, who want balances, checkout, and spend enforcement without running a billing system.
Last reviewed November 2026 against Autumn's public docs. Sources
Where each one
is the better pick.
Cred and Autumn overlap, but they start from different places.
Where Cred is better
- Escrow holds, swaps between credit types, and referrals on the same ledger
- x402 agent payments
- Payment rails beyond your own Stripe keys: Stripe Connect and crypto
- No monthly plan fee
Side by side.
Capabilities of Cred and Autumn, as documented in November 2026.
| Capability | Cred | Autumn |
|---|---|---|
| Prepaid credit balance per user | ||
| Custom, non-monetary credit types Credit systems pool features into one balance.[3] | ||
| Balance enforced at spend time check returns allowed in real time; lock reserves balance.[2] | ||
| Hosted checkout for buying credit packs Stripe Checkout for new customers, Autumn Checkout to confirm.[5] | ||
| Auto top-up when a balance runs low Purchase limits and a burst cooldown.[4] | ||
| Subscriptions that grant recurring credits | ||
| Credit expiry rules | ||
| Invoicing and revenue recognition Invoices are generated by Stripe.[8] | ||
| Open source / self-host Docs say open source; the core repo wasn't public when checked.[1] | unverified | |
| AI agents pay with x402 | ||
| Pricing model | 1 CRD per API call. Packs from $10 for 1,000 calls, no monthly fee, no share of your revenue; Stripe's processing fees apply to your sales. | Free $0/month up to 8K monthly billing volume; Pro from $375/month; Scale custom. Stripe's 0.7% Billing fee also applies.[6] |
Cred vs Autumn, answered
Does Autumn replace Stripe Billing?
No. Autumn is built on Stripe Billing, so Stripe's Billing fee still applies and Stripe generates invoices. Cred uses Stripe for payments and subscriptions but keeps the credit ledger itself.[6][8]
Which has better credit controls?
Autumn has credit systems, rollovers, expiry, and balance locks. Cred has per-user credit types with atomic deducts, escrow holds, swaps between types, and auto top-up. Choose by which primitives your product needs.[3][7][2]
Is Autumn open source?
Autumn's docs state it is open source and self-hostable; its core repository was not publicly reachable when we checked on November 2, 2026. Its SDKs are MIT licensed.[1]
Related comparisons
Cred vs Schematic
Schematic turns credits into feature flags. Cred keeps them as a ledger.
Cred vs Stigg
Stigg governs entitlements at enterprise scale. Cred is a lean credit ledger.
Cred vs Flexprice
Flexprice is open-core AI billing. Cred is a hosted ledger with checkout.
Cred vs usage-based billing platforms
They invoice usage. We run credit economies.
Cred pricing
1 CRD per API call, no monthly fee.
Getting started
Create a project and issue your first credit in minutes.
Sources · last reviewed November 2026
- 1.Autumn Docs: Welcome
- 2.Autumn Docs: Check
- 3.Autumn Docs: Credit systems
- 4.Autumn Docs: Auto top-ups
- 5.Autumn Docs: Payment flow
- 6.Autumn pricing
- 7.Autumn Docs: Rollovers
- 8.Autumn Docs: Stripe
- 9.Autumn Docs: Prepaid pricing
- 10.Autumn Docs index (llms.txt)
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