Failed payments are the silent revenue killer in SaaS. Every month, 2-5% of your recurring charges fail due to expired cards, insufficient funds, or bank declines. Without a dunning process, most of that revenue disappears quietly. With a good one, you recover 50-70%.

The tools on this list range from dedicated dunning platforms to email marketing tools with strong payment recovery features. Which one you need depends on your scale, your payment processor, and how much customization you want.

What to Look for in a Dunning Tool

A good dunning tool should:

Detect failed payments automatically. Integration with Stripe, Paddle, or your payment processor should trigger the dunning process without manual intervention.
Send a multi-email sequence. Not just one "payment failed" notice, but a 3-5 email sequence with escalating urgency over 7-14 days.
Retry the charge. Smart retry logic that attempts to collect payment at optimal times.
Track recovery rates. You need to know what percentage of failed payments are recovered and which emails are most effective.
Stop when resolved. When the card is updated or payment succeeds, the sequence should stop automatically.

The 7 Best Dunning Tools

1. Sequenzy

Best for: SaaS founders who want dunning as part of their complete email stack

Sequenzy handles dunning through its native Stripe integration. When a payment fails, Stripe sends the event to Sequenzy, which automatically applies the "past-due" tag and triggers a dunning sequence. When the payment succeeds, the tag is removed and the sequence stops.

The advantage here is that dunning lives alongside all your other email automation. The same platform handles your onboarding sequence, marketing campaigns, and payment recovery. One subscriber profile, one dashboard, one set of analytics.

You can use the AI sequence builder to generate a dunning sequence in minutes, or build one manually with the automation editor.

Pricing: Starts at $29/month (dunning included) Payment integration: Native Stripe OAuth Recovery features: Automated sequences, auto-tagging, stop on recovery Pros:

Dunning integrated with full email platform
Native Stripe connection (no webhook setup)
AI generates dunning sequences
Automatic tag management (past-due applied/removed)
Recovery stops automatically on successful payment

Cons:

No smart payment retry (relies on Stripe's retry logic)
Newer platform
Stripe only (no Paddle/Chargebee yet)

2. Churnkey

Best for: Companies wanting maximum recovery rates with dedicated dunning

Churnkey is a dedicated churn-prevention platform that includes sophisticated dunning. It handles both voluntary churn (cancel flows) and involuntary churn (failed payments) with specialized tooling.

The dunning features go beyond email. Churnkey can display in-app banners when payments fail, offer payment method update modals, and smart retry charges at optimal times. The combination of in-app prompts + email + smart retries typically yields higher recovery rates than email alone.

Pricing: Based on recovered revenue (typically 3-5% of recovered MRR) Payment integration: Stripe, Chargebee, Recurly, Paddle Recovery features: Email, in-app modals, smart retries, card updater Pros:

Dedicated dunning platform with highest recovery rates
In-app payment update modals (no email needed)
Smart retry logic based on data
Supports multiple payment processors
Card updater service for expired cards

Cons:

Revenue-based pricing can get expensive
Not an email platform (dunning only)
Need a separate tool for marketing email
Focused on payment recovery, not general email

3. Stunning

Best for: Stripe-only companies wanting a simple dunning add-on

Stunning is a lightweight dunning tool built specifically for Stripe. Connect your Stripe account, customize the email templates, and it handles the rest. Payment fails, Stunning sends the sequence, payment recovers, sequence stops.

It's simple and focused. No campaign builder, no marketing features, just dunning. For companies that already have a marketing email tool and just need dunning bolted on, Stunning does one thing well.

Pricing: Starts at $50/month Payment integration: Stripe only Recovery features: Email sequences, payment page, retry scheduling Pros:

Simple Stripe-only dunning
Custom payment recovery page
Email sequences with customizable templates
Easy setup (connects to Stripe in minutes)

Cons:

Stripe only
Not a full email platform
Limited customization
Smaller feature set than dedicated platforms

4. Baremetrics Recover

Best for: Companies already using Baremetrics for analytics

Baremetrics, known for SaaS analytics, offers Recover as a dunning add-on. It integrates with your existing Baremetrics dashboard, so you can see dunning performance alongside your other SaaS metrics.

The dunning emails are automated and customizable. Smart payment retries attempt to collect at optimal times. And the Baremetrics dashboard shows recovery rates alongside your MRR, churn, and other metrics.

Pricing: Starts at $58/month (Recover add-on) Payment integration: Stripe, Chargebee, Braintree Recovery features: Email sequences, smart retries, paywalls Pros:

Integrated with Baremetrics analytics
Smart retry logic
In-app paywalls for failed payment users
Good reporting and dashboards

Cons:

Requires Baremetrics subscription
Add-on pricing on top of analytics
Not a standalone product
Limited email customization

5. Gravy (now Butter Payments)

Best for: High-value accounts where human-assisted recovery is worth it

Gravy (rebranded as Butter) takes a different approach: they combine automated retries with human-powered recovery for failed payments. Their team actually reaches out to customers on your behalf to recover failed charges.

The human touch works best for higher-value subscriptions where the ROI of personal outreach justifies the cost. For a $500/month enterprise customer, having someone call to help resolve a payment issue is worth it.

Pricing: Performance-based (percentage of recovered revenue) Payment integration: Stripe, Braintree, Chargebee, others Recovery features: Automated retries + human outreach Pros:

Human-assisted recovery for high-value accounts
Performance-based pricing (you pay for results)
Higher recovery rates for complex payment issues
Handles payment method updates on behalf of customers

Cons:

Expensive for low-value subscriptions
Less control over the recovery process
Third party communicating with your customers
Overkill for small subscription amounts

6. Customer.io

Best for: Technical teams building custom dunning workflows

Customer.io isn't a dedicated dunning tool, but its event-driven automation engine handles dunning well. Connect Stripe events (via API or Segment), and build custom dunning workflows with their visual builder.

The advantage is flexibility. You can build dunning logic that considers multiple factors: subscription value, customer tenure, previous payment history, and engagement level. The downside is that you're building it yourself rather than using pre-built dunning templates.

Pricing: Starts at $100/month Payment integration: Via API, Segment, or webhooks Recovery features: Custom workflows, event-driven triggers Pros:

Maximum flexibility in dunning logic
Can factor in customer behavior and value
Multi-channel (email + push + SMS)
Part of a broader automation platform

Cons:

No pre-built dunning templates
Requires engineering to set up Stripe integration
No smart payment retries
Expensive starting price for dunning alone

7. Paddle (Built-in)

Best for: Companies using Paddle as their merchant of record

If you use Paddle instead of Stripe, dunning is built in. Paddle handles payment retries, sends dunning emails, and manages the recovery process as part of their merchant-of-record service.

The trade-off is less customization. You can adjust the dunning email content and timing to some degree, but you don't have the same flexibility as a dedicated dunning tool. For many companies using Paddle, the built-in dunning is "good enough" and saves the cost and complexity of a separate tool.

Pricing: Included with Paddle (5% + $0.50 per transaction) Payment integration: Native (Paddle IS the payment processor) Recovery features: Built-in retries, dunning emails, subscription management Pros:

No additional tool needed
Handles retries and email automatically
Part of the complete payment stack
Compliance and tax handled by Paddle

Cons:

Limited customization of dunning emails
Tied to Paddle's payment processing
Less flexibility than dedicated dunning tools
Higher transaction fees than Stripe

Dedicated Dunning Tool vs. Email Platform with Dunning

Choose a dedicated dunning tool if:

Failed payments are a significant revenue problem (losing $5K+/month)
You want smart retry logic and card updater services
You have high-value accounts that justify human-assisted recovery
You already have a separate email marketing platform

Choose an email platform with dunning if:

You want dunning as part of your overall email strategy
You're early stage and don't want to add another tool
Your failed payment volume is moderate
You want one dashboard for all customer email communication

Key Dunning Metrics to Track

Regardless of which tool you use, track these:

Recovery rate: % of failed payments eventually collected (target: 50-70%)
Revenue recovered: Actual dollar amount saved per month
Time to recovery: Average days between failure and successful payment
Recovery by email position: Which email in the sequence drives the most recoveries
Voluntary vs. involuntary churn split: Know how much of your churn is preventable with dunning

FAQ

How much revenue can dunning actually recover? A good dunning process recovers 50-70% of failed payments. For a SaaS with $50K MRR and a 3% monthly failure rate, that's $750-$1,050/month recovered. Over a year, $9,000-$12,600.

Should I use my payment processor's built-in dunning? Stripe's built-in Smart Retries are good and should be enabled regardless. But Stripe doesn't send dunning emails to your customers (only retry the charge). You need a separate email tool or dunning service for the communication layer.

How many dunning emails should I send? 3-5 emails over 10-14 days. Start friendly, increase urgency, end with a clear warning about account suspension. Always include a direct link to update payment info.

Can dunning emails come from my regular email tool? Yes, if your email tool supports behavioral triggers based on Stripe events. Many SaaS founders use their marketing email platform for dunning by triggering sequences on payment failure events.

What's the ROI of a dedicated dunning tool vs. DIY? Dedicated tools typically recover 10-20% more than DIY approaches due to smart retries and card updater services. Whether the extra cost is worth it depends on your failed payment volume. At $100K+ MRR, dedicated tools usually pay for themselves.