# Metronome (slim)

> Metronome is a hosted usage-based billing platform, part of Stripe. Its REST API ingests usage events, defines billable metrics, rate cards and contracts, and generates invoices, with official SDKs for Python, Node.js, Go, Ruby and Java.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/metronome.md (~8,100 tokens) · this version ~1,680 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/metronome.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/metronome
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · Updated: 2026-10-10

**B · 69.7/100 · rank #173 of 950 · #4 in Payment & monetisation platforms · not agent-ready · confidence medium**


Assessment: Metronome's API carries an `Idempotency-Key` on every POST, a public OpenAPI description of 142 operations, and agentic tokens whose writes wait for a person's approval. Prices for the Startup plan are public. Errors return only a `message` string, token scopes are set through support, and the status feed lists 13 incidents since 22 July 2026.

## Facts

- Kind: HTTP API · vendor: Metronome (Stripe) · category: Payment & monetisation platforms · legal entity: Stripe, LLC · provenance 85/100
- Endpoint: `https://api.metronome.com` (HTTP)
- Auth: API key · pricing: Pay per use · x402: no · licence: Proprietary service under the Stripe Services Agreement. The SDKs on GitHub are Apache-2.0
- Probe metrics: not measured yet (probes haven't run)
- API: REST at https://api.metronome.com, OpenAPI 3.0.1 with 142 operations (127 under `/v1`, 15 under `/v2`), 123 of them POST, and 509 schemas
- Credentials: Bearer tokens made in the web app, separate for sandbox and production, archivable. Scoping by access level, environment or endpoint through support. Agentic tokens queue writes for approval
- Rate limits: Defaults in requests a second are 2,750 overall, 1,100 on `/v1/ingest`, 220 on high-frequency reads, 55 on standard operations, 11 on contract, balance and invoice lists, 8 elsewhere. 429 carries `X-Metronome-Rate-Limit-Type`
- Idempotency: `Idempotency-Key` on all POST endpoints (kept at least 24 hours), `uniqueness_key` on contracts, alerts and customer commits and credits, `transaction_id` on events (34 days)
- Pagination: `limit` (maximum 100) and a `next_page` cursor on list endpoints
- Errors: JSON with a single `message` field. Documented codes are 400, 401, 403, 404, 409, 429 and 5XX
- Platform limits: Defaults per environment are 5 active and 20 total contracts per customer, 20 subscriptions per contract, 5 active webhook destinations, 50 custom fields per object
- SDKs: Python `metronome-sdk` 4.11.1 (28 August 2026), Node.js `@metronome/sdk` 3.10.0 (23 July 2026), Go, Ruby and Java, generated by Stainless, Apache-2.0
- Audit: `GET /v1/auditLogs` with actor (user or token name), resource, action, request ID, IP address and user agent, filterable by date and resource
- Integrations: Invoicing through Stripe, NetSuite and the AWS, Azure and GCP marketplaces. Tax through Stripe Tax, Avalara and Anrok. Salesforce, Segment and Workato connectors
- Certifications: SOC 2 Type 2 and SOC 1 Type 2 badges on the security page. The SOC 2 report is available from a Metronome representative
- Status: status.metronome.com on incident.io, components API (Overall, Ingest), Usage Pipeline, Alerts, Dashboard, Data Export and Embeddable Dashboards
- Prices: Startup plan fee on billing volume 0.8% percentage fee; Ingested usage event on the Startup plan $0. per transaction

- Scores: Reliability 68, Performance pending, Schema & documentation 88, Agent ergonomics 75, Security & auth 68, Payments & pricing 39, Task success pending, Maintenance & community 82, Transparency & trust 65 · total over the 7 assessed categories
- Why: Reliability, Hosted lines. · Schema & documentation, A public OpenAPI 3.0.1 description with 142 operations and 509 schemas (25). · Agent ergonomics, Graded on the REST API. · Security & auth, Bearer tokens are created in the web app, shown once, separate for sandbox and production, and can be archived. · Payments & pricing, Payment platforms take the highest step that applies on the 40-point protocol line. · Maintenance & community, The changelog's latest entry is dated 29 September 2026, ten days before the check (30). · Transparency & trust, The platform is closed.
- Sources: 29, open questions: 11, both in the full twin
- Capabilities: payments.metering, accounting.invoices
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/metronome.json
- Verify (for the vendor): the badge `https://www.anchorterminal.com/badges/metronome.svg` or a link to https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/metronome from a page on metronome.com or one of its subdomains, or the README of github.com/Metronome-Industries/metronome-node, then `POST https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/verify` `{"slug", "url"}` or `verify_listing` at /mcp; re-checked weekly, no effect on the grade. Snippets in the full twin.

## Before you call it

1. Send an `Idempotency-Key` header on every POST and reuse it on retry. A cached error is returned for the same key, so use a new key after fixing the cause
2. Give each usage event a stable `transaction_id`. Metronome ignores repeats for 34 days and accepts at most 100 events per `/v1/ingest` call
3. On 429 read `X-Metronome-Rate-Limit-Type` (`client` or `customer`) and back off. Unlisted endpoints default to 8 requests a second
4. With an agentic token, expect `403 AgenticMutationBlocked` on writes. Post the original method, path and body to `/v1/approval_requests` and show the person the `approval_url`
5. Use a sandbox token for testing. The token alone decides whether a call reaches sandbox or production data

## Connect

```bash
npm install @metronome/sdk
```

```bash
curl -X POST https://api.metronome.com/v1/billable-metrics/create \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $METRONOME_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "API Calls",
    "aggregation_type": "count",
    "event_type_filter": {
      "in_values": ["api_call"]
    }
  }'
```
Full config and headless snippets are in the full page. Through letme (picks today, calling later): https://letme.dev/metronome

## Similar tools

| Tool | Grade | Score | Shared capabilities | Slim |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Stripe API + MCP | A | 82.4 | payments.metering | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stripe-mcp.min.md |
| Tempo | BB | 76.6 | payments.metering | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/tempo.min.md |
| Apideck Accounting API + MCP | BB | 72.9 | accounting.invoices | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/apideck-accounting.min.md |
| Nevermined API + MCP | BB | 70.8 | payments.metering | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/nevermined.min.md |
| Merge Accounting API | BB | 70 | accounting.invoices | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/merge-accounting.min.md |


## Panel reviews (0, desk reviews from public material, no calls made)