Every founder we talk to under $100K MRR asks the same question. "What's the cheapest dunning tool that actually works?" It's a fair question. Payment recovery is a cost center until it isn't, and nobody wants to pay $300 a month for enterprise software when they're still figuring out product-market fit.
But "affordable" is a trap if you measure it wrong. A $0 tool that recovers 30% of failed payments is more expensive than a $49 tool that recovers 75%, if the dollar amount we're talking about is meaningful. This guide walks through the affordable options in 2026, the real math on each, and where the "free" options quietly cost you money.
First, the math you need to run
Before you pick a tool, run one calculation. It takes five minutes.
- Monthly failed payment volume. Look at Stripe. Sum the dollar value of invoices that moved to
past_dueoruncollectiblelast month. - Your baseline recovery rate. If you're only using Stripe Smart Retries, assume 30%. If you're using Stripe Billing's default emails, assume 40 to 50%. If you're doing nothing, assume 10 to 15%.
- The ceiling with a real tool. Email-only dunning tops out around 60%. Email plus SMS gets you to 70 to 80%.
The gap between your current recovery and the ceiling, multiplied by your failed payment volume, is what recovery is worth to you per month. If that number is bigger than the tool cost, pay for the tool.
Example. $50K MRR SaaS with 7% involuntary churn has about $3,500/month in failed payments. Moving from 30% (Stripe Smart Retries only) to 75% (email plus SMS) recovers an extra $1,575/month. A $49/month tool pays for itself 32 times over.
Affordable dunning software shortlist
| Tool | Price | Channels | Pricing model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stripe Smart Retries | Free | Retries only | Included with Stripe |
| Stripe Billing dunning | Free | Included with Stripe Billing | |
| Rekko Starter | $29/mo | Email + SMS | Flat fee |
| Rekko Essential | $49/mo | Email + SMS | Flat fee |
| Stunning Basic | $50/mo | Flat tiered | |
| Churn Buster (entry) | $50-75/mo | MRR-tiered | |
| Baremetrics Recover | $50-100/mo add-on | On top of Baremetrics fee |
1. Stripe Smart Retries (free)
Stripe Smart Retries uses machine learning to time retry attempts. According to Stripe's own published numbers, it recovers roughly 30% of failed payments without any customer communication. It's free with every Stripe account.
Why to use it. It's free and it works as a baseline. There's no reason not to have it turned on.
The hidden cost. You're capping at retry logic alone. Expired cards (about 40% of failures) can't be retried into success. You need to actually message the customer to update their card, and Smart Retries doesn't do that.
2. Stripe Billing's built-in dunning (free with Stripe Billing)
If you're on Stripe Billing, not just Stripe Payments, you get email-based dunning sequences included at no extra cost. They're templated, generic, and require the customer to log into the Stripe customer portal to update their card.
Why to use it. Zero extra cost. One less tool to manage.
The hidden cost. Templates are hard to customize in a way that feels on-brand. No SMS. Customers have to log in, which creates enough friction that click-to-update rates stay low. Expect 40 to 50% recovery rates, which leaves 20 to 30 points of recovery on the table versus a dedicated tool.
See Rekko vs Stripe Billing for the head-to-head.
3. Rekko Starter ($29/month)
Rekko's entry plan is $29/month flat for one Stripe account, 1,000 emails, and pay-per-use SMS. It's the only tool at this price point that includes both email and SMS in the same sequence.
Why to use it. Flat pricing means your bill stays the same as you grow. Five-minute setup via OAuth. Pre-authenticated update links so customers don't have to log in. Email plus SMS in one sequence typically lifts recovery rates 20 to 30 percentage points over email-only tools.
Trade-off. Stripe only. No cancel-flow deflection.
See the full pricing page.
4. Stunning Basic ($50/month)
Stunning has been in the dunning space since 2015. The Basic plan is $50/month and handles automated email sequences for Stripe-based businesses.
Why to use it. Simple, proven, reliable email deliverability.
Trade-off. Email-only. No SMS at any tier. Interface feels dated. No pre-authenticated update links.
More at Stunning alternatives.
5. Churn Buster (entry tiers, ~$50 to $75/month)
Churn Buster's entry pricing is competitive at the bottom of their tier structure, but the tiers are MRR-scaled, which means the price climbs as you grow.
Why to use it. Good templates, solid deliverability, established brand.
Trade-off. Email-only. Pricing moves with MRR, so the "affordable" label stops being accurate above $50K MRR.
See Churn Buster alternatives.
6. Baremetrics Recover ($50 to $100/month add-on)
Recover is an add-on to a Baremetrics subscription. The Recover fee alone is affordable, but stacked on top of Baremetrics itself the total bill is closer to $100 to $200/month.
Why to use it. If you already pay for Baremetrics, adding Recover is simpler than running a separate tool.
Trade-off. Requires a Baremetrics subscription. No SMS. Recovery is a secondary product focus.
See Baremetrics Recover alternatives.
The hidden cost of "free"
Free tools feel cheap until you measure opportunity cost.
Here's a realistic comparison for a $100K MRR SaaS with 7% involuntary churn (~$7,000/month in failed payments):
| Setup | Monthly cost | Recovery rate | Dollars recovered | Net value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nothing | $0 | 12% | $840 | $840 |
| Stripe Smart Retries only | $0 | 30% | $2,100 | $2,100 |
| Stripe Billing dunning | $0 | 45% | $3,150 | $3,150 |
| Rekko Essential ($49) | $49 | 75% | $5,250 | $5,201 |
| Churn Buster (entry ~$75) | $75 | 58% | $4,060 | $3,985 |
Rekko Essential at $49/month nets $5,201 in recovered revenue versus $3,150 for free Stripe Billing dunning. The $49 "costs" you $2,051 in extra recovery. Free is the expensive option.
The math changes at lower MRR. If failed payments are only $500/month, the dollar difference between tools shrinks, and free starts to make sense. Run your own numbers before picking.
Red flags in "affordable" dunning tools
Not every cheap tool is worth using. Watch for these:
Vague recovery rate claims. If a tool markets "up to 90% recovery" without explaining how they measure it, that number is almost certainly not what you'll see in production.
Per-recovered pricing disguised as flat. Some tools advertise a flat fee but tack on a percentage of recovered revenue above a threshold. Read the pricing page carefully.
No SMS at any tier. In 2026, SMS is table stakes for recovery. A tool that doesn't offer it eventually is capping your recovery ceiling.
Slow setup for a "simple" tool. Anything that requires a sales call for basic dunning is either enterprise-priced or trying to become enterprise-priced.
Our recommendation for budget-conscious SaaS
If you're under $10K MRR, start with Stripe Smart Retries plus Stripe Billing's built-in dunning. It's free and it's enough to prove recovery matters for your business.
Once you're above $10K MRR and failed payments are worth more than $500/month, the math almost always favors a dedicated tool with email plus SMS. At that point Rekko Starter at $29/month is the cheapest option that doesn't cap your recovery ceiling.
Above $500K MRR, affordability stops being the primary constraint. Pick based on performance and fit, not price.
Try Rekko free
Flat pricing from $29/month. Email plus SMS in one sequence. Five-minute Stripe OAuth setup. Pre-authenticated update links so customers don't have to log in to fix their card.
Start your 14-day free trial. No credit card required.