Gravy Alternative 2026: Automated vs Human-...

Gravy Solutions takes a unique approach to payment recovery: real humans calling your customers to recover failed payments. Their trained specialists personally contact customers, explain the payment issue, and guide them through updating their payment method. This high-touch approach can be effective for high-value B2B relationships but comes with significant costs—typically 10-25% of recovered revenue—and scalability limitations. QuantLedger provides fully automated recovery: smart dunning emails, ML-optimized retry timing, and card expiration alerts that work 24/7 without human intervention. At $99/month flat, it costs a fraction of Gravy's percentage-based model at scale. This comparison examines when human-powered recovery justifies its cost versus when automation is the smarter choice.

Fundamental Approach Difference

Gravy and QuantLedger represent opposite ends of the recovery spectrum: human-powered vs fully automated.

Gravy: Human Recovery Specialists

Gravy employs trained specialists who personally contact customers with failed payments. The process: Gravy receives failed payment notification, specialist reviews customer history and account value, specialist calls/emails customer personally, conversation identifies issue and guides payment update, follow-up until resolved or determined unrecoverable. This personal approach can build relationships and recover payments automation might miss, but it requires human time for every failed payment.

QuantLedger: Automated 24/7 Recovery

QuantLedger automates the entire recovery process: Payment fails, system triggers automatically, smart dunning emails send at optimized times (Day 0, 3, 7, 14), ML analyzes decline codes for optimal retry timing, card expiration alerts prevent future failures, customers self-serve payment updates. The system works at 3 AM on Sunday. It handles 10 failed payments or 10,000 failed payments with the same resources. Scale doesn't require proportionally more cost.

The Human Touch vs Scale Tradeoff

Human recovery can feel more personal and sometimes recover payments that automated emails don't. But humans cost money per interaction—Gravy's model requires revenue share because they have ongoing labor costs. Automated recovery scales infinitely at fixed cost. The question: Does the human touch recover enough additional revenue to justify 10-25% of all recovered revenue? For most SaaS companies, the answer is no.

Core Tradeoff

Gravy: Human touch, personal relationships, high cost. QuantLedger: Automated efficiency, infinite scale, fixed cost. Choose based on your customer relationships and economics.

Cost Structure Comparison

The cost models differ dramatically: percentage of recovered revenue vs flat monthly fee.

Gravy Pricing Model

Gravy charges a percentage of successfully recovered revenue—typically 10-25% depending on volume and negotiation. Example: You recover $10,000/month in failed payments. At 15%, Gravy costs $1,500/month. At $50,000/month recovered, Gravy costs $7,500/month. The more successful your recovery, the more you pay. This aligns Gravy's incentives with yours but creates escalating costs as you grow.

QuantLedger Pricing Model

QuantLedger charges $99/month flat for the Growth plan, regardless of recovered revenue. Recover $5,000? $99/month. Recover $100,000? Still $99/month. The price includes 100 dunning emails monthly with additional at $0.01 each. Even with high email volume, costs remain predictable and low.

Cost Comparison at Scale

$100K MRR company, 3% failure rate, 45% recovery: Monthly recovery: $1,350. Gravy (15%): $202/month. QuantLedger: $99/month. Difference: $103/month. $500K MRR company, 3% failure rate, 45% recovery: Monthly recovery: $6,750. Gravy (15%): $1,012/month. QuantLedger: $99/month. Difference: $913/month ($10,956/year). $2M MRR company, 3% failure rate, 50% recovery: Monthly recovery: $30,000. Gravy (15%): $4,500/month. QuantLedger: $99/month. Difference: $4,401/month ($52,812/year). Gravy's percentage model becomes extremely expensive at scale.

Hidden Costs

Gravy: No analytics—you'd need Baremetrics or similar ($100-500/month) for SaaS metrics. Total: Percentage + analytics tools. QuantLedger: Full SaaS analytics included (MRR, churn, attribution). Total: $99/month all-in. When comparing total cost, QuantLedger's inclusion of analytics creates even larger savings.

The Math Is Clear

At any significant scale, QuantLedger costs 10-50x less than Gravy. The question is whether human touch recovers enough extra revenue to justify 10-50x higher cost.

Recovery Rate Analysis

Does human-powered recovery actually achieve better results? The data is nuanced.

Gravy's Claims

Gravy reports recovery rates of 50-70% for their best clients. The human touch helps in specific scenarios: High-value B2B customers who appreciate personal outreach, complex billing situations requiring explanation, customers who ignore automated emails but answer phone calls, relationship-driven businesses where human contact matters. In these cases, Gravy's approach can outperform automation.

QuantLedger's Performance

QuantLedger reports 40-50% recovery rates with optimized automated dunning. Automation excels at: High-volume, lower-ACV businesses where human calls don't scale, customers who prefer self-service payment updates, fast initial response (automated emails trigger instantly), consistent execution without human error, 24/7 operation across time zones.

The Real Comparison

If Gravy recovers 60% and QuantLedger recovers 45% on the same customer base, Gravy recovers 33% more. But costs 10-50x more. For a $500K MRR company: Gravy recovers $8,100/month (60%), costs $1,215 (15%). Net: $6,885. QuantLedger recovers $6,075/month (45%), costs $99. Net: $5,976. Gravy nets $909 more, but only because of slightly higher recovery rate. If your recovery rate difference is smaller (common with well-optimized automation), QuantLedger wins decisively.

When Human Touch Matters

Gravy's approach adds value for: Enterprise accounts with $10K+ ACV where relationships matter, complex B2B contracts requiring negotiation, customers in industries expecting white-glove service, situations where automated emails have failed repeatedly. For B2C SaaS, consumer subscriptions, or high-volume B2B with lower ACV, automation typically provides better ROI.

Recovery Reality

Human recovery may achieve 10-20% better rates in ideal conditions. But 10-50x cost difference means automation usually provides better net recovery after costs.

Scalability & Operations

How each approach handles growth and operational demands.

Gravy Scalability

Human-powered recovery scales linearly with volume: More failed payments require more specialist time. Gravy must hire and train more staff as you grow. Peak periods (like subscription renewal dates) may strain capacity. International customers may face time zone and language challenges. The model works for steady, manageable volumes. Sudden growth or seasonal spikes create operational challenges.

QuantLedger Scalability

Automated recovery scales infinitely: Same system handles 100 or 100,000 failed payments. No additional cost for volume growth. Peak periods handled automatically. Works 24/7 across all time zones. Multiple languages supported in email templates. The marginal cost of recovering one more payment is near zero. Scale is a strength, not a constraint.

Operational Overhead

Gravy: Requires coordination with their team. You provide customer context; they execute recovery. Some back-and-forth communication. Results depend partly on specialist quality. QuantLedger: Configure once, run automatically. Monitor dashboards for performance. Adjust sequences based on data. Minimal ongoing operational burden. For teams wanting set-and-forget recovery, automation requires less attention.

Growth Consideration

If you expect significant growth, automation's fixed costs become increasingly advantageous. Gravy's percentage model means costs grow proportionally with recovery success.

Customer Experience Impact

How each approach affects your relationship with customers.

Human Outreach Experience

Gravy's calls can feel: Positive—personal attention, helpful guidance, relationship building. Negative—intrusive, salesy, uncomfortable discussing payment issues with strangers. The reception depends on customer type and expectations. B2B enterprise customers may appreciate the personal touch. Consumer subscription customers may find calls annoying or concerning.

Automated Experience

QuantLedger's automated emails feel: Professional—branded emails from your domain, consistent messaging. Respectful—customers handle updates on their own time. Efficient—self-service portal for immediate resolution. Most modern customers prefer self-service for routine matters like payment updates. They don't want phone calls; they want a quick link to fix the issue.

Brand Considerations

With Gravy, someone outside your company represents you in sensitive financial conversations. Training helps, but they're not your team. With QuantLedger, emails come from your domain with your branding. The experience feels like your company, because it is. For brand-conscious companies, controlling the customer experience matters.

Modern Preferences

Research shows most customers prefer self-service for payment issues. Human calls can feel intrusive. Automated recovery respects customer autonomy while achieving strong results.

When to Choose Each

Clear recommendations based on business type and priorities.

Choose Gravy If:

You sell high-ACV enterprise software ($10K+ per customer). Relationships with individual customers directly impact renewals. You have relatively low volume of failed payments (human time is manageable). Your customers expect high-touch service as standard. Recovery rate improvement of 10-20% justifies 10-50x higher cost. You prefer outsourcing recovery to focus on other priorities.

Choose QuantLedger If:

You have higher volume of customers with moderate ACV. Cost efficiency matters for your business model. You want predictable, flat pricing regardless of growth. Your customers prefer self-service interactions. You need SaaS analytics in addition to recovery. You want automation that scales without proportional cost. You prefer controlling the customer experience with your branding.

Hybrid Approach

Some companies use QuantLedger for automated recovery on most accounts, then escalate high-value accounts to human outreach (internal CS team or Gravy) when automation fails after multiple attempts. This captures automation efficiency for the majority while reserving human touch for highest-value situations.

Decision Framework

High-ACV enterprise with relationship sales? Consider Gravy. Everything else? QuantLedger provides better economics and customer experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Gravy actually achieve better recovery rates than automated tools?

Gravy reports 50-70% rates for best clients. QuantLedger achieves 40-50%. The 10-20% difference can be significant, but Gravy costs 10-50x more. Net recovery after costs often favors automation. Human touch helps most for high-ACV B2B; automation is better for most SaaS.

How does Gravy's pricing work?

Gravy typically charges 10-25% of successfully recovered revenue. If you recover $10,000/month, expect to pay $1,000-2,500/month to Gravy. The percentage model means costs scale directly with success, which becomes very expensive at scale.

Can QuantLedger match Gravy's recovery rates?

For most SaaS companies, yes. Automated recovery achieves 40-50% rates when well-optimized. The gap with human recovery (50-70%) is smaller than the cost difference (10-50x). For B2C and mid-market B2B, automation often matches or exceeds human recovery.

Is human-powered recovery worth the cost?

For high-ACV enterprise sales ($10K+ customers) where relationships directly drive renewals, possibly. For typical SaaS with moderate ACV, the math doesn't work—you'd pay more to Gravy than the additional recovery generates.

Do customers prefer human calls or automated emails?

Research shows most modern customers prefer self-service for payment issues. Automated emails with easy update links respect customer time and autonomy. Phone calls about billing can feel intrusive. Exception: Enterprise B2B where relationships are expected.

Can I use both Gravy and QuantLedger?

Yes. Some companies use QuantLedger for automated first-line recovery, then escalate to human outreach (Gravy or internal CS) for high-value accounts when automation fails. This captures automation efficiency while preserving human touch where it matters most.

Key Takeaways

Gravy's human-powered approach has genuine advantages for specific situations: high-value enterprise accounts where relationships matter, complex B2B contracts requiring personal explanation, and customers who expect white-glove service. For these cases, paying 10-25% of recovered revenue for trained specialists may be worthwhile. But for the majority of SaaS companies—those with moderate ACV, higher customer volumes, and customers who prefer self-service—Gravy's model doesn't make economic sense. QuantLedger's automated recovery achieves 40-50% recovery rates at $99/month flat, regardless of how much you recover. At any meaningful scale, this costs 10-50x less than Gravy while including comprehensive analytics that Gravy doesn't provide. The math is clear: unless human touch adds more than 10-50x value in recovery improvement (which it rarely does), automation provides better net results. Add in scalability, 24/7 operation, and customer preference for self-service, and the case for automated recovery is compelling. Start with QuantLedger's free trial to see your recovery potential. If automated recovery underperforms for specific high-value segments, you can always add human outreach for those accounts.

Claire Dunphy