Cred vs Metronome
Metronome runs enterprise commits. Cred runs self-serve credit wallets.
Metronome is a usage-based billing and enterprise contracts platform, acquired by Stripe in January 2026. It models prepaid credits as commits, alongside free credits, postpaid minimums, recurring allocations with rollover, and custom pricing units. It supports threshold auto-recharge; access is gated in your app using balance thresholds or webhooks.[7][1][2][3]
Companies at scale, including large AI vendors, mixing self-serve and negotiated contracts with commits and true-ups.
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 Metronome's public docs. Sources
Where each one
is the better pick.
Cred and Metronome overlap, but they start from different places.
Where Cred is better
- Deducts are rejected at spend time instead of gated by thresholds and webhooks
- Hosted checkout for credit packs is generally available, not a preview
- x402 agent payments for buying credits or paying per call
- Starts at $10 with no percentage of billing volume
Side by side.
Capabilities of Cred and Metronome, as documented in November 2026.
| Capability | Cred | Metronome |
|---|---|---|
| Prepaid credit balance per user Prepaid credits are modeled as commits.[1] | ||
| Custom, non-monetary credit types Custom pricing units such as AI credits.[8] | ||
| Balance enforced at spend time Net-balance API; docs say gate access with thresholds or webhooks.[4][3] | ||
| Hosted checkout for buying credit packs Stripe Checkout for commits is in private preview.[5] | ||
| Auto top-up when a balance runs low Threshold billing; failed payments disable recharge.[1] | ||
| Subscriptions that grant recurring credits Recurring credits and commits with rollover.[2] | ||
| Credit expiry rules | ||
| Invoicing and revenue recognition | ||
| Open source / self-host Hosted service; the pricing page lists hosted plans only.[6] | ||
| AI agents pay with x402 Not found in Metronome's docs as of review. | unverified | |
| 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. | Starter: billing volume billed at 0.8% plus $0.04 per 1K ingested events. Custom: contact sales.[6] |
Cred vs Metronome, answered
Did Stripe acquire Metronome?
Yes. Stripe announced it completed the acquisition on January 14, 2026, and plans to integrate Metronome with Stripe Billing.[7]
Is Cred a Metronome alternative?
For self-serve prepaid credits, yes: balances, checkout, auto top-up, and subscriptions without a sales process. For negotiated enterprise commits and true-ups, Metronome is the stronger fit.[2]
Does Metronome block usage when credits run out?
Metronome's zero-overages guide says it does not stop usage from being submitted; you gate access in your app using thresholds or webhooks. Cred rejects a deduct that would overdraw the balance in the same API call.[3]
Related comparisons
Cred vs Orb
Orb meters and invoices usage. Cred enforces the balance on every spend.
Cred vs Stripe Billing
Stripe invoices subscriptions. Cred runs the credit wallet in between.
Cred vs Chargebee
Chargebee runs subscription revenue. Cred runs the credits users spend.
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
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Sources · last reviewed November 2026
- 1.Metronome Docs: Prepaid balance thresholds
- 2.Metronome Docs: Credits and commits
- 3.Metronome Docs: Guarantee zero overages
- 4.Metronome API: Net balance
- 5.Stripe Docs: Checkout for Metronome credit purchases
- 6.Metronome pricing
- 7.Stripe newsroom: Stripe completes Metronome acquisition
- 8.Metronome API: Create a pricing unit
- 9.Metronome Docs: Revenue recognition
- 10.Stripe Docs: How Metronome works with Stripe
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