Autumn review

Autumn is an open-source billing and entitlements engine for software teams. It sits between application code and payment processors such as Stripe, tracking subscriptions, credits, feature access and metered usage. The aim is to replace some of the custom billing infrastructure developers would otherwise need to build and maintain.

Its API is organized around three jobs: attach or manage plans, check whether a customer can use a feature or has remaining balance, and record usage or credit consumption. Autumn supports subscriptions, usage-based billing, credits, seats and custom enterprise deals. Its product material also describes real-time entitlement checks, with fail-open defaults during network disruptions.

Teams can use its REST API, TypeScript/JavaScript and Python SDKs, React components and Convex integration. There is also a CLI, an MCP server and an optional edge cache deployable in a customer’s AWS infrastructure. That makes Autumn most relevant to SaaS and AI product teams that need billing rules and application permissions to stay in sync.

Autumn’s main appeal is putting billing and product access in the same system. A team can define a plan, check a user’s entitlement and record consumption through the described three-call API, rather than wiring each check into separate billing logic. That is a useful fit for products mixing subscriptions with credits, seats or usage charges.

The developer tooling is broad for a billing layer: Autumn lists REST, TypeScript/JavaScript and Python interfaces, React components, Convex integration, a CLI and an MCP server. Teams with high-volume permission checks can also consider the optional edge cache in their AWS infrastructure. The product material says checks default to fail-open during network disruptions, which may suit applications where temporarily preserving access matters more than blocking a request.

The free plan gives teams room to start without a monthly platform charge. According to the pricing page, it includes 8K monthly billing volume, 10,000 customers and entities, and 10M API requests. Pro is listed at $375 per month and raises the billing-volume allowance to 50K, with 20M API requests included and unlimited customers and entities. For teams whose requirements fit those limits, the published tiers make the initial comparison reasonably clear.

The key switching question is whether the free limits cover your live workload. Free includes 8K monthly billing volume, 10,000 customers and entities, and 10M API requests; the pricing material does not define the unit for billing volume. Pro jumps to $375 per month for 50K monthly billing volume and 20M API requests. Additional Pro API usage is $5 per 1M requests. That is a meaningful fixed cost if you exceed Free’s caps but do not need the higher tier’s allowances.

The listed price is not the whole payment cost. The pricing page says Stripe fees still apply: 0.7% and 2.9% + 30¢. Confirm how those charges apply to your payment flow before comparing Autumn with your current setup. Annual billing and discounts are not published, so there is no listed lower annual rate to use in a migration model.

Scale is custom-priced, and its listed benefits include unlimited billing volume, event-volume discounts and dedicated cache infrastructure; the price is not published. Finally, fail-open defaults mean access checks may allow use during a network disruption. That behavior is a product trade-off to review against your own access-control requirements, not an automatic fit for every application.

Autumn’s Free plan costs $0 per month and includes 8K monthly billing volume, 10,000 customers and entities, and 10M API requests. Pro is $375 per month—a steep jump from Free—and includes 50K monthly billing volume, unlimited customers and entities, and 20M API requests. After that, the listed API overage is $5 per 1M requests. Pro also adds usage-event aggregation, data warehouse integration, multiple billing sources, and dedicated Slack support.

Scale has no published price: Autumn quotes it for high-throughput or compliance-focused teams. It includes unlimited billing volume, event-volume discounts, end-to-end implementation, and dedicated cache infrastructure. Annual billing and discounts are not published, so there is no listed annual rate to compare. Stripe fees still apply, listed as 0.7% plus 2.9% and 30¢. Budget for those processor charges as well as Autumn’s subscription; the published pricing does not clarify how the two fee figures apply to a particular transaction.

Autumn is built to sit between your application and payment processor, so switching means more than changing a checkout link. Your team would need to connect the API or SDK, then account for plans, customer entitlements, balances, and usage tracking in application code. The product describes a three-call API, but the published material does not specify a migration service or an automated import path. Treat moving existing subscription and credit state as engineering work to scope before committing.

Autumn is open source, which may give a technical team more control than a closed billing layer, but it does not by itself establish how easy it is to leave. The published information does not say what export tools or formats are available, or how to transfer billing history and current entitlements back to another system. It also contains no Reddit posts or comments, so we cannot substantiate community-reported reasons for leaving. Before switching, ask Autumn about data export, processor portability, and what happens to usage records if you cancel.