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Cybersecurity · head to head

Beyond Identity vs Earthly

Beyond Identity logo

Beyond Identity

Cybersecurity

Phishing-resistant passwordless authentication with device trust enforced at every login

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Earthly logo

Earthly

Developer Tools

Engineering guardrails for the AI era

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Earthly has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Beyond Identity it is an authentication layer, not an identity provider, so you keep and keep paying for Okta or Entra ID underneath and the combined per-user cost is roughly double a single-vendor approach.; Earthly pricing model not published; requires sales contact
  • They diverge on capability: Beyond Identity covers Device-bound credentials, Earthly covers Policy as code.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Beyond Identity and Earthly actually diverge.

Attributes where Beyond Identity and Earthly differ
AttributeBeyond IdentityEarthly
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteNo pricing published on website
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linux, iOS, AndroidWeb, CLI
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools
FoundedUnknown2020

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Beyond Identity

  • Device-bound credentials
  • Continuous device posture
  • No shared secrets
  • Identity provider integration
  • Secure developer signing
  • Administrator policy engine

Only in Earthly

  • Policy as code
  • Multi-stage enforcement
  • AI agent governance
  • Repository-wide policies
  • Incident response automation
  • Compliance management
  • Earthfiles build tool
  • Satellites

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Beyond Identity

  • An organisation that suffered a breach through MFA push fatigue and needs a factor that cannot be socially engineerednot Earthly
  • A software company enforcing that code is only signed from a managed device with current patchesnot Earthly
  • A firm with contractors on unmanaged laptops that must meet posture requirements before reaching internal systemsnot Earthly
  • A security team wanting to remove passwords from the helpdesk workload rather than adding another factor on topnot Earthly

Earthly

  • Enforcing engineering standards across AI and human developersnot Beyond Identity
  • Automating incident response procedures across all repositoriesnot Beyond Identity
  • Embedding compliance requirements into development workflowsnot Beyond Identity
  • Standardizing build processes with Earthfilesnot Beyond Identity

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Beyond Identity

  • It is an authentication layer, not an identity provider, so you keep and keep paying for Okta or Entra ID underneath and the combined per-user cost is roughly double a single-vendor approach.
  • Every device that authenticates needs the platform authenticator installed, which makes onboarding contractors, third parties and shared kiosks awkward and sometimes impossible.
  • Pricing is quoted per user with no published rates, so buyers cannot benchmark it against the increasingly capable passkey support now included in identity provider base licences.
  • Losing all enrolled devices requires an administrative recovery path, and organisations that design that path poorly reintroduce a social-engineering target at the helpdesk.
  • Legacy applications that only speak passwords or older protocols need a federation shim or stay outside the policy, so coverage is rarely complete in an estate with old systems.

Earthly

  • Pricing model not published; requires sales contact
  • Earthly Lunar is a recent launch (2025) with limited track record
  • Primarily GitHub-focused; limited integration with other platforms
  • No public documentation on pricing or feature tiers

Pricing, plan by plan

Beyond Identity

On request
  • Secure Access Platform$undefined/year
    • Per-user annual subscription quoted by seat count
    • Deployed alongside an existing identity provider rather than replacing it
    • Device posture integrations with major EDR and MDM vendors included

Earthly

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Earthly review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Beyond Identity if

  • You need device-bound credentials.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android.
  • You also want continuous device posture.
Beyond Identity review

Choose Earthly if

  • You need policy as code.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI.
  • You also want multi-stage enforcement.
Earthly review

Questions people ask

Is Beyond Identity or Earthly better?
Neither clearly leads. Beyond Identity starts at On request and Earthly at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Beyond Identity or Earthly?
Earthly has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Beyond Identity and Free for Earthly.
Does Beyond Identity or Earthly run on more platforms?
Beyond Identity runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android. Earthly runs on Web, CLI.
Can I use Earthly for free?
Yes. Earthly has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Beyond Identity starts at On request.
What is Beyond Identity best used for?
Beyond Identity is most often used for an organisation that suffered a breach through mfa push fatigue and needs a factor that cannot be socially engineered, a software company enforcing that code is only signed from a managed device with current patches, a firm with contractors on unmanaged laptops that must meet posture requirements before reaching internal systems, a security team wanting to remove passwords from the helpdesk workload rather than adding another factor on top. Of those, an organisation that suffered a breach through mfa push fatigue and needs a factor that cannot be socially engineered and a software company enforcing that code is only signed from a managed device with current patches are not what Earthly is typically brought in for.
What can Beyond Identity do that Earthly cannot?
Beyond Identity covers Device-bound credentials, Continuous device posture, No shared secrets, Identity provider integration. Earthly covers Policy as code, Multi-stage enforcement, AI agent governance, Repository-wide policies.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Beyond Identity: Does it replace Okta or Entra ID?

No. It sits in front of them as the authentication method. Budget for both.

Earthly: What is the difference between Earthfiles and Earthly Lunar?

Earthfiles is an open-source build tool that reached 12,000 GitHub stars and is used by companies like NVIDIA, Intel, and Databricks. Earthly Lunar is a separate governance platform launched in 2025 for enforcing standards across development workflows.

Source
Beyond Identity: What happens when a user loses their laptop?

They authenticate from another enrolled device, or go through an administrative recovery flow. Designing that recovery well matters, because it is the weakest point.

Earthly: How does Earthly Lunar enforce standards?

Lunar converts engineering standards, compliance requirements, and processes documented in AGENTS.md files, wikis, and incident postmortems into enforceable guardrails that apply consistently across repositories and development stages.

Source
Beyond Identity: Is it different from passkeys?

The credential mechanism is similar in spirit. The difference is enforcing device security posture at every authentication, which standard passkeys do not do.

Earthly: What is the pricing for Earthly Lunar?

Pricing is not published on the website. Interested customers should contact Earthly's sales team for current pricing and feature tiers.

Source
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