Billing and subscription management
Asked as “subscription billing platform”, and as “recurring billing and subscription management tool”, on behalf of a mid-market B2B software company. 23 first choices recorded across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, six models each.
Standing · first-choice share
57%
Clear leader
57Chargebee17Maxio17Stripe Billing09others
57% of first choices, clear leader.
The standing
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, over all six models, for a mid-market B2B software company. Ordered by share.
ProductFirst-choice shareNegative rateLabelsQuadrantSince September 2026
Show the four products at 0%, ordered by negative rate
The floor is 12 points of share, measured: how far the models move a leader on their own when the same questions are asked twice with nothing changed. A larger change is movement; a smaller one can't be told apart from repeat variation, and both are shown. Each index measures its own floor from its own repeat, over its own categories, so the floor differs from one index to the next. How the floor is measured
Bars are the share of first choices, 0 to 100Every product with at least 10 labels here. Every product name links to its product page.
All six head-to-head pages: the top four products, each against each
Recommended versus criticized
Every product with at least 10 labels here, on both axes. The 30% line names a quadrant, not the verdict above: that one needs more than 40%.
Criticized challengerCriticized default
Negative label rate →
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08Accepted challengerEndorsed leader
0%First-choice share → · lines at 30% share and 25% negative70%
Key
01Chargebee57%
Chargebee57%02Stripe Billing17%
Stripe Billing17%03Maxio17%
Maxio17%04Paddle4%
Paddle4%05Metronome0%
Metronome0%06Orb0%
Orb0%07Recurly0%
Recurly0%08Zuora0%
Zuora0%What they warned about
Four of six models held their first choice under the paraphrase. GPT-6 Astra and GPT-5.6 Sol changed. A high negative share on a product with few labels is a warning. A low share on a product with many labels is salience, not sentiment.
Zuora60%
15 of 25 labels negative · 5 of 6 models · 2 hard negative
“Verdict: Avoid completely unless you are a large enterprise with multi-product complexity, a massive budget, and a dedicated billing operations team.” Gemini 3.1 Pro, negative prompt
Paddle27%
6 of 22 labels negative · 5 of 6 models · 1 hard negative
“Skip merchant-of-record options (Paddle, FastSpring) unless you sell self-serve globally” Claude Opus 5, paraphrase prompt
Stripe Billing21%
7 of 33 labels negative · 5 of 6 models
“Stripe Billing: It is described as developer-centric and API-first, so teams without strong engineering support may find it harder to operate” Perplexity Sonar Pro, negative prompt
Chargebee12%
4 of 32 labels negative · 4 of 6 models
“Chargebee for paid feature requirements ... I’d require a written feature-and-cost breakdown before committing” GPT-6 Astra, negative prompt
What they cite
Six of the six models returned a source list in this edition: six return the pages they cited.
Sites the answers cite
32 of 36 answers in this category came back with a source list, from 6 of 6 models: citations where the model returns them, or the search results it consulted. 567 links across 187 sites, every framing counted. Ranked by the number of answers carrying the site or page. None of the 36 answers across every segment cited this index's own page for the category.
vendor site · Chargebee16 answers · 19 citations · 5 models
14 answers · 29 citations · 5 models
vendor site · Solidgate14 answers · 14 citations · 4 models
vendor site · Stripe13 answers · 17 citations · 4 models
vendor site · LedgerUp12 answers · 16 citations · 3 models
12 answers · 14 citations · 3 models
vendor site · Maxio11 answers · 14 citations · 5 models
vendor site · Younium10 answers · 14 citations · 3 models
vendor site · Recurly10 answers · 10 citations · 4 models
9 answers · 16 citations · 3 models
vendor site · Zuora9 answers · 13 citations · 4 models
9 answers · 12 citations · 4 models
Pages the answers cite
The ten pages named in the most answers, by full address. A page here is one the models returned with a recommendation, not one the index endorses.
14 answers · 4 models
9 answers · 2 models
9 answers · 3 models
8 answers · 2 models
8 answers · 3 models
8 answers · 3 models
7 answers · 4 models
7 answers · 3 models
7 answers · 3 models
6 answers · 3 models
Search against answers
Each company's standing in the answers beside its site's footprint in Google search, one row a site: the products the models named on it with their shares, and the share they add up to; monthly searches on Google, and DataForSEO's estimate of AI search demand (modeled from search signals, directional, not a count of queries to any assistant), for the most-searched of the company's and its products' names (the name is in each row's hover text); estimated monthly organic visits to the site; and its best position in Google's top ten for “best subscription billing platform”, “subscription billing platform”. US estimates from DataForSEO and Google's Ads Transparency Center. A small company's site, or a mid-sized company's site for its flagship, is marked company; a product on a large parent's site (Google, Microsoft) has no site figures. A column with no figures for this category is left out, and an empty cell means none were seen, not none exist. Two measurements side by side: neither is read as the cause of the other.
| Company and products | Share | Own site cited | Name searches, Google | AI search demand, est. | Organic visits | Paid search a month, est. | Google ads, last 30 days | Best Google position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chargebee chargebee.com | 57% | 198 | 5,400 | 140 | 69,891 | $1,889 | 82 | 7 |
| Stripe Billing stripe.com | 17% | 170 | 1,900 | 599 | 3,226,782 | $3,621 | 102 | 1 |
| Maxio maxio.com | 17% | 112 | 2,400 | 49 | 32,891 | $518 | 59 | |
| Paddle paddle.com | 4% | 88 | 60,500 | 69,116 | 172,079 | 31 | ||
| Zoho parent site Zoho Billing 4% | 4% | 60 | 18,100 | 29 | ||||
| Metronome metronome.com | 0% | 11 | 1,220,000 | 5,068 | 3,426 | $14 | 3 | |
| Orb withorb.com | 0% | 9 | 49,500 | 36,681 | 28,669 | $3,507 | 8 | 6 |
| Recurly recurly.com | 0% | 132 | 3,600 | 105 | 22,718 | $12,207 | 17 | 2 |
| Ordway ordwaylabs.com | 0% | 1 | 22,200 | 683 | 22,195 | $142 | 10 | |
| Zenskar zenskar.com | 0% | 1 | 720 | 9 | 1,849 | 0 |
Google's top ten for the two searches hold 16 sites; 6 of them are among the sites the models cited here (chargebee.com, recurly.com, solidgate.com, stripe.com, withorb.com, zoneandco.com). The first result for “best subscription billing platform” is salesforce.com.
How they answered
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.ShowHide
How they answered
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.
ShowHideModelDirect“What is the best subscription billing platform for a mid-market B2B software company?”Paraphrase“Which recurring billing and subscription management tool would you recommend to a mid-sized B2B software company?”Comparative“What are the top subscription billing platforms and how do they differ?”Budget-constrained“What is the best subscription billing platform for a company with a limited budget?”Scale-constrained“We are a 500 person company evaluating a subscription billing platform. What should we look at?”Negative“Which subscription billing platforms should I avoid or be cautious about?”
Claude Opus 5Chargebeeagainst: Recurly, ZuoraChargebeeHeldagainst: FastSpring, Metronome, Paddle, Recurly, Stripe Billing, Zuorano first choiceagainst: ZuoraPaddle, Stripe Billingagainst: Chargebee, Lemon Squeezy, Maxio, Recurly, Zuorano first choiceagainst: Stripe Billingagainst: 2Checkout / Verifone, Lemon Squeezy, Maxio, Paddle, Recurly, Zuora
Four alternatives
Maxio, Metronome, Orb, Stripe BillingOne alternative
MaxioOne alternative
Zoho BillingClaude Opus 4.8Chargebeeagainst: ZuoraChargebeeHeldagainst: Zuorano first choiceChargebee, Stripe Billingno first choiceagainst: Zuora
Three alternatives
Metronome, Orb, Stripe BillingFour alternatives
Orb, Recurly, Stripe Billing, ZenskarTwo alternatives
Lemon Squeezy, PaddleGPT-6 AstraMaxioChargebeeChangedno first choiceStripe Billingno first choiceagainst: Chargebee, Lemon Squeezy, Paddle, Recurly, Stripe Billing
Two alternatives
Chargebee, Stripe BillingTwo alternatives
Maxio, Stripe BillingTwo alternatives
Chargebee, Zoho BillingGPT-5.6 SolMaxioagainst: ZuoraChargebeeChangedagainst: ZuoraStripe BillingStripe Billingagainst: Recurlyno first choiceagainst: Chargebee, Maxio, Paddle, Recharge, Recurly, Salesforce Revenue Cloud, Stripe Billing, Zuora
Three alternatives
Chargebee, Metronome, Stripe BillingThree alternatives
Maxio, Paddle, Stripe BillingFive alternatives
Chargebee, Maxio, Paddle, Recurly, ZuoraFour alternatives
Chargebee, Lemon Squeezy, Paddle, Zoho BillingGemini 3.1 ProChargebee, MaxioChargebee, MaxioHeldStripe BillingChargebeeChargebeeagainst: Stripe Billing, Zuoraagainst: Chargebee, FastSpring, Paddle, PayPal Subscriptions, Stripe Billing, Zuora
Three alternatives
Paddle, Stripe Billing, ZuoraTwo alternatives
Paddle, Stripe BillingFive alternatives
Chargebee, Maxio, Paddle, Recurly, ZuoraThree alternatives
Paddle, Stripe Billing, Zoho BillingThree alternatives
Maxio, Paddle, RecurlyPerplexity Sonar ProChargebeeagainst: ZuoraChargebeeHeldChargebeeZoho Billingno first choiceagainst: Paddle, Stripe Billing, Zuora
Three alternatives
Maxio, Recurly, Stripe BillingFour alternatives
Maxio, Recurly, Stripe Billing, YouniumFive alternatives
Maxio, Paddle, Recurly, Stripe Billing, ZuoraTwo alternatives
Stripe Billing, WhopBold is the first choiceAlternatives are counted; the count opens them.What the answer argued against
The record
One row per call: the version string exactly as returned, whether the model searched, sources cited, and latency.
Thirty-six rows: every prompt, every model, every answer.
| Prompt | Model | Version string | Time (UTC) | Searched | Sources | Latency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct recommendation | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-09 19:28 | yes | 38 | 54 s |
| Direct recommendation | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-09 19:30 | yes | 29 | 80 s |
| Direct recommendation | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-09 19:32 | yes | 4 | 24 s |
| Direct recommendation | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-09 19:33 | yes | 5 | 38 s |
| Direct recommendation | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-10 17:22 | yes | 7 | 46 s |
| Direct recommendation | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-09 19:31 | yes | 20 | 8 s |
| Paraphrase | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-09 19:35 | yes | 21 | 64 s |
| Paraphrase | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-09 19:37 | yes | 27 | 53 s |
| Paraphrase | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-09 19:38 | yes | 4 | 25 s |
| Paraphrase | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-09 19:39 | yes | 3 | 26 s |
| Paraphrase | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-10 17:24 | no | 0 | 37 s |
| Paraphrase | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-09 19:37 | yes | 20 | 7 s |
| Comparative | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-09 19:43 | yes | 25 | 136 s |
| Comparative | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-09 19:45 | yes | 29 | 62 s |
| Comparative | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-09 19:47 | yes | 8 | 43 s |
| Comparative | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-09 19:49 | yes | 6 | 42 s |
| Comparative | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-10 17:25 | no | 0 | 21 s |
| Comparative | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-09 19:46 | yes | 20 | 7 s |
| Budget constrained | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-09 19:55 | yes | 40 | 143 s |
| Budget constrained | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-09 19:57 | yes | 33 | 53 s |
| Budget constrained | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-09 19:58 | yes | 4 | 23 s |
| Budget constrained | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-09 19:59 | yes | 5 | 24 s |
| Budget constrained | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-10 17:29 | yes | 8 | 96 s |
| Budget constrained | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-09 19:57 | yes | 20 | 5 s |
| Scale constrained | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-09 20:03 | yes | 38 | 117 s |
| Scale constrained | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-09 20:04 | no | 0 | 18 s |
| Scale constrained | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-09 20:06 | yes | 4 | 38 s |
| Scale constrained | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-09 20:08 | yes | 6 | 65 s |
| Scale constrained | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-10 17:30 | no | 0 | 27 s |
| Scale constrained | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-09 20:04 | yes | 20 | 13 s |
| Negative framing | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-09 20:11 | yes | 41 | 75 s |
| Negative framing | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-09 20:13 | yes | 37 | 62 s |
| Negative framing | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-09 20:15 | yes | 5 | 40 s |
| Negative framing | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-09 20:18 | yes | 8 | 59 s |
| Negative framing | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-10 17:31 | yes | 12 | 38 s |
| Negative framing | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-09 20:14 | yes | 20 | 5 s |
Normalization in this category
Every judgment call made between the raw labels and the numbers above, listed so it is visible and reversible.
ShowHide
Category-scoped readings
PayPal read as PayPal Subscriptions
Unresolved, counted raw
None awaiting human review.
Discontinued, still offered
No shut-down product was recommended here.