battles / Subscriptions
Firmhouse vs Sticky.io
Firmhouse ($250/mo/mo, vibe code 5/10) vs Sticky.io ($499/mo/mo, vibe code 4/10). Firmhouse is the easier one to rebuild yourself — here is what you lose either way.
Subscriptions
$250/mo/mo
- MVP
- 2 weeks
- Full replacement
- 6-12 months due to payment gateway tokenization, SEPA direct debit workflows, and rental return logic
easier to rebuild
get the build prompt →Subscriptions
$499/mo/mo
- MVP
- 2 weeks
- Full replacement
- 9-12 months, due to PCI compliance, payment token migrations, and multi-MID routing logic
price gap / year
$2,988/mo
running both / year
$8,988/mo
our call
Start with Firmhouse — highest vibe code, weakest moat.
Firmhouse
While basic recurring checkout can be hacked together with Stripe Billing in a few days, Firmhouse handles complex EU payment methods (iDEAL to SEPA Direct Debit transitions), dunning, product swaps, and rental asset states. Rebuilding the billing cron jobs is easy; handling failed payment retries, mandate regulations, and payment gateway token migrations without churn is hard.
you can rebuild
- Hosted customer self-serve portal for pausing or skipping orders
- Basic recurring billing schedule creation and calendar management
- Product swap and frequency update controls
- Email notifications for upcoming charges and renewal receipts
- Discount code application for recurring orders
what you lose
- Out-of-the-box iDEAL-to-SEPA Direct Debit payment conversion flows
- Battle-tested automated dunning workflows designed for EU banking rules
- Pre-built Shopify subscription checkout widgets and portal embedding
- Rental lifecycle management tracking asset returns and maintenance statuses
- Zero-maintenance payment gateway token synchronization across providers
real moats
- Payment Gateway Token Lock-in (migrating Stripe/Mollie recurring tokens carries card churn risk)
- EU Regulatory & Banking Edge Cases (SEPA mandate timing, pre-notifications, GDPR audit logs)
- Operational Integrations (syncing recurring orders into 3PL fulfillment systems reliably)
open source escape hatches
- Lago AGPL-3.0
- Kill Bill Apache-2.0
- Active Merchant / Pay MIT
Sticky.io
Basic recurring billing logic using Stripe is easy to build with AI, but Sticky.io handles multi-MID processing, cascade routing, card account updates, and PCI vaulting. Migrating vaulted payment tokens away from a custom setup when gateways decline transactions is a compliance nightmare.
you can rebuild
- Basic subscriber portal for pause, skip, and swap
- Subscription catalog and discount code management
- Recurring order schedule generation
- Basic email notifications for upcoming rebills
- Standard churn reporting and dashboard metrics
what you lose
- Multi-MID and gateway cascade routing engine
- PCI Level 1 compliant token vaulting outside of standard gateways
- Visa/Mastercard Account Updater (VAU/ABU) integration for expired cards
- Sophisticated decline recycling and smart dunning sequences
- Built-in chargeback protection software integrations
real moats
- PCI-DSS compliant payment token vault across multiple gateways
- Pre-built integrations with merchant processing gateways and fraud tools
- Historical transaction routing data for decline optimization
open source escape hatches
- Kill Bill Apache-2.0
- Lago AGPL-3.0
- ActiveMerchant MIT
Questions people ask
Which is easier to rebuild with AI, Firmhouse or Sticky.io?
Firmhouse. It scores 5/10 on vibe code with a moat of 4/10, so an AI-assisted MVP takes about 2 weeks and a full replacement about 6-12 months due to payment gateway tokenization, SEPA direct debit workflows, and rental return logic.
Which one costs less, Firmhouse or Sticky.io?
Firmhouse at $250/mo/mo for a typical mid-market store. The gap between the two is about $2,988/mo a year.
What do I lose if I replace Firmhouse?
Out-of-the-box iDEAL-to-SEPA Direct Debit payment conversion flows Battle-tested automated dunning workflows designed for EU banking rules Pre-built Shopify subscription checkout widgets and portal embedding
What do I lose if I replace Sticky.io?
Multi-MID and gateway cascade routing engine PCI Level 1 compliant token vaulting outside of standard gateways Visa/Mastercard Account Updater (VAU/ABU) integration for expired cards
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