# Third-Party Monetization Integrations

Zuplo's [built-in Monetization](./monetization/index.mdx) handles metering,
billing, and quota enforcement natively at the gateway. For teams with existing
billing infrastructure or specialized requirements, Zuplo also integrates with
third-party metering and billing platforms through policies and the programmable
gateway.

## When to use third-party integrations

Third-party integrations make sense when you:

- Already have an established billing pipeline you want to keep
- Need a platform-specific feature that Zuplo Monetization does not yet cover
- Want to combine Zuplo's gateway with a dedicated analytics or metering vendor

For most teams starting fresh, the
[built-in Monetization](./monetization/index.mdx) is the fastest path — it
removes the need to synchronize state between separate metering, billing, and
gateway systems.

## Available integrations

### Amberflo

The [Amberflo Metering Policy](../policies/amberflo-metering-inbound.mdx)
enables real-time usage metering and billing through
[Amberflo](https://www.amberflo.io/), a usage-based billing platform:

- **Real-time event ingestion** — Track usage events with sub-second latency
- **Flexible metering** — Define custom meters for any billable metric
- **Usage-based pricing** — Support complex pricing models and tiers
- **Customer dashboards** — Provide usage visibility to your customers

### Moesif

The [Moesif Analytics Policy](../policies/moesif-inbound.mdx) integrates with
[Moesif](https://www.moesif.com/) for API analytics and monetization:

- **API analytics** — Deep insights into API usage patterns and customer
  behavior
- **Usage tracking** — Monitor API calls, latency, and error rates
- **Customer segmentation** — Analyze usage by customer cohorts
- **Billing alerts** — Set up notifications for usage thresholds

Learn how Zuplo and Moesif work together:
[API Observability and Monetization at the Edge](https://www.moesif.com/blog/api-monetization/Moesif-Zuplo-API-Observability-and-Monetization-At-The-Edge/)

### Stripe (direct)

[Stripe](https://stripe.com) can be used directly with Zuplo's programmable
gateway for custom billing flows:

- **Custom integrations** — Use Stripe's APIs with Zuplo's programmable gateway
- **Webhooks** — Process subscription events and update access in real-time with
  the
  [Stripe Webhook Verification Policy](../policies/stripe-webhook-verification-inbound.mdx)
- **Tiered access** — Different rate limits and features per subscription level

:::tip

Zuplo's built-in Monetization already includes a
[native Stripe integration](./monetization/stripe-integration.md) that handles
subscription management, invoicing, and payment collection automatically. Use
the direct Stripe integration only if you need full control over the billing
flow.

:::

## Building custom integrations

Zuplo's programmable gateway lets you integrate with any billing or metering
provider.

### Custom policies

Create [custom inbound](../policies/custom-code-inbound.mdx) and
[outbound policies](../policies/custom-code-outbound.mdx) to:

- Send usage events to an external metering service
- Look up entitlements from an external billing system
- Calculate dynamic pricing based on request or response characteristics

### Hooks

Use Zuplo's [hooks system](../programmable-api/hooks.mdx) to:

- Forward usage data to your billing pipeline
- Update customer limits in real-time
- Stream metrics to external systems using plugins like the
  [Azure Event Hubs Plugin](./plugin-azure-event-hubs.mdx)

### Developer Portal

The [Zuplo Developer Portal](../dev-portal/introduction.mdx) supports custom
pages and plugins for billing UI:

- [Custom pages](../dev-portal/zudoku/guides/custom-pages.md) for pricing,
  billing, and account management
- [Custom plugins](../dev-portal/zudoku/custom-plugins.md) to embed billing
  widgets and dashboards