Kontrable: The Lano alternative for contractor management without per-contractor fees

Lano is a global contractor and employee management platform. They charge €19/month per contractor with compliant contracts for 170+ countries and integrated payments. They also offer EOR services (€499/month per employee) for companies that need both contractor and employee management. Kontrable is built specifically for contractor management: tracking projects, managing contracts, handling invoices, coordinating direct payments. These are fundamentally different pricing models.

If you're managing 1099 contractors who handle their own taxes and already have payment accounts, you don't need per-contractor fees. You need straightforward contractor management.

Why Lano's per-contractor model doesn't work for growing teams

Lano charges €19/month per contractor. This per-contractor pricing model makes sense at very small scale (1-2 contractors). But as your contractor team grows, costs scale linearly.

Lano's pricing at different scales:

• 5 contractors: €95/month (~$102)
• 10 contractors: €190/month (~$204)
• 15 contractors: €285/month (~$306)
• 20 contractors: €380/month (~$408)
• 25 contractors: €475/month (~$510)

Kontrable's pricing:

• 5 contractors: $49/month
• 10 contractors: $49/month
• 15 contractors: $99/month
• 20 contractors: $99/month
• 25 contractors: $99/month

At 10 contractors, Lano costs $204/month vs Kontrable's $49/month: you save $155/month ($1,860/year).

At 25 contractors, Lano costs $510/month vs Kontrable's $99/month: you save $411/month ($4,932/year).

Per-contractor pricing punishes growth. As your team scales, your costs grow with them.

What Kontrable actually solves for contractors

Contractor database: Store contractor information, payment details, business information, preferred payment methods in one organized place.

Contract and document management: Upload and organize contracts, statements of work, compliance documents. AI-assisted contract generation reviewed by your legal counsel. Track signatures and versions.

Project and milestone tracking: Create projects with specific milestones, deliverables, payment amounts. Track progress. Get alerts when milestones approach. Know what's pending.

Payment management with flexibility: Approve payments. Record transaction IDs and proofs from your chosen method (Wise, PayPal, Payoneer, or direct bank transfer). Track contractor confirmations. Complete audit trail.

Compliance organization: Centralize tax forms (W-9, W-8BEN), contractor status documentation, records for audits. Know what's on file.

Alerts and notifications: Automated reminders for deadlines, pending approvals, confirmations. No manual tracking.

Monthly reporting: Export contractor lists, payment records, status summaries for finance and operations.

Kontrable provides exactly what contractors need. Lano provides similar features but charges per-contractor fees on top.

Payment control—the fundamental difference

Lano processes payments through their integrated payment system. You pay €19/month per contractor. Money flows through Lano's infrastructure with processing delays and fees.

Kontrable lets you choose how to pay each contractor:

Wise transfers: Low foreign exchange fees (0.35-1%), fast delivery (1-3 days), strong global coverage. Best for cost-efficient international payments.

PayPal: Instant wallet delivery, ubiquitous, higher fees. Best for contractors who prefer PayPal.

Payoneer: Mass payout support, popular in emerging markets, 2-5 day delivery. Best for large contractor bases.

Bank transfers (ACH/SEPA/wire): Direct to contractor bank accounts, universal, auditable, fully traceable. Best for formal relationships and large payments.

You maintain complete control. Your money doesn't flow through Lano's infrastructure. No per-contractor markup on payments.

The per-contractor pricing trap

Per-contractor pricing models create perverse incentives:

For Lano: More contractors = more revenue. They have financial incentive to encourage you to add contractors.

For you: Each new contractor adds €19/month ($20) to your bill. At some point, you stop hiring contractors because the platform cost becomes too high.

This is backwards. You should be able to grow your contractor team without worrying about platform costs scaling with headcount.

Kontrable uses flat pricing: add contractors without your platform costs increasing. Grow your team. Expand your capacity. Your software costs stay the same.

Who should choose Kontrable

Small agencies, remote startups, and growing teams managing 3-25 contractors who:

• Have contractors who are properly classified as independent (1099)
• Contractors already have their own payment accounts
• Contractors handle their own taxes in their jurisdiction
• Need contractor management tools (not per-person billing)
• Want to pay contractors directly through Wise, PayPal, Payoneer, or bank transfers
• Plan to scale their contractor team without platform costs escalating
• Value simplicity and contractor-specific functionality
• Want direct control over contractor relationships

Key advantages of Kontrable as the Lano alternative

Flat pricing: $49/month for up to 10 contractors. $99/month for up to 25. No per-contractor charges.

Scales with your growth: Add contractors without increasing platform costs.

Transparent upfront pricing: Know exactly what you'll pay. No per-contractor markup.

Milestone-based payments: Track deliverables. Pay when work is complete. Tie payments to specific outcomes. Lano doesn't emphasize this.

Project tracking: Create projects with milestones, deadlines, deliverables. Know what's pending.

Direct payment control: Choose your payment method (Wise, PayPal, Payoneer, bank transfer) for each contractor. Lano forces payment through their integrated system.

No payment processing markup: Lano's integrated payment system adds costs. Kontrable lets you use your preferred provider.

Global contracts without per-contractor fees: Lano's 170+ country contracts come with per-contractor pricing. Kontrable provides contract tools without scaling costs.

Understanding the Lano model

Lano makes money by:

• Charging €19/month per contractor
• Processing integrated payments
• Taking a cut of payment transactions
• Offering EOR services (€499/month per employee) as an upsell

Their business model is built on per-contractor recurring revenue. The more contractors you manage, the more you pay them. They have financial incentive for you to add contractors—because each one generates €19/month revenue.

This works well for Lano. But it's not ideal for you, especially as your team scales.

Kontrable reverses this: we built flat-rate contractor management. Add contractors without increasing your platform costs. Grow your team without worrying about software pricing scaling with headcount.

What you get with Kontrable

Contractor-specific management: Every feature designed for contractor relationships, not adapted from payroll systems.

Flat pricing that scales: $49-99/month covers unlimited growth within your tier.

Milestone-based payments: Track deliverables. Pay when work is complete. Connect payments to outcomes.

Direct payment methods: Wise, PayPal, Payoneer, or bank transfers. You choose. Your money stays with you.

Complete audit trail: All approvals, payments, confirmations documented. Clean records for finance and compliance.

Contract automation: AI-assisted contract generation reviewed by your legal counsel. Professional contracts without expensive legal fees.

Payment flexibility: Choose the method that works best for each contractor based on location, preference, cost.

No payment processing markup: Use payment providers you trust at their cost, not at Lano's markup.

The real cost comparison

For 10 contractors over 12 months:

• Lano: €190/month × 12 = €2,280/year (~$2,448)
• Kontrable: $49/month × 12 = $588/year
• Savings with Kontrable: $1,860/year

For 25 contractors over 12 months:

• Lano: €475/month × 12 = €5,700/year (~$6,120)
• Kontrable: $99/month × 12 = $1,188/year
• Savings with Kontrable: $4,932/year

Plus, Kontrable doesn't charge for payments. Lano's integrated payment system adds additional costs.

What contractors actually need vs what Lano emphasizes

What contractors need:

• Organization and tracking
• Contract management
• Project milestone tracking
• Payment coordination
• Tax form collection (W-9, W-8BEN)
• Payment history and audit trail

What Lano emphasizes:

• Per-contractor pricing
• Integrated payment processing
• Compliant contracts for 170+ countries
• EOR upsell to employees
• Per-transaction payment fees

Lano provides good contractor tools. But they wrap them in a per-contractor pricing model that punishes growth.

Kontrable provides the same tools without per-contractor fees. Your costs don't scale with your team size.

Why Kontrable exists

We kept using Lano for contractors and paying €19/contractor/month. With 5 contractors, that was fine (~€95/month). With 10, it was less fine (~€190/month). With 15, we were paying too much for a contractor management tool.

We needed a platform built for contractor management with pricing that didn't punish growth. Not per-contractor fees. Not payment processing markups. Just straightforward pricing: manage as many contractors as you want at a flat monthly rate.

So we built Kontrable: contractor-specific tools, flat pricing, direct payment control, no per-contractor fees, transparent costs.

Flat vs per-contractor pricing

This is the fundamental difference:

Lano: Per-contractor pricing. Every contractor adds €19/month. Costs scale with team size.

Kontrable: Flat pricing. $49/month covers up to 10. $99/month covers up to 25. Costs don't scale with team size.

For growing teams, flat pricing is far better. You can expand your contractor network without worrying about platform costs.

Get started

If you're managing independent contractors and need contractor management without per-contractor fees that scale with your team—Kontrable is the alternative.

Contractor-specific tools. Flat pricing. Direct control. Professional management.

Grow your contractor team without growing your software costs.

Start organizing your contractor relationships today.