Softwr

Government · head to head

CKAN vs Ory

CKAN logo

CKAN

Government

Open Source Data Portal Platform

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Ory logo

Ory

Cybersecurity

Open-source identity, authentication, and permissions infrastructure

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: CKAN the package install path requires Ubuntu 20.04 or 22.04 64-bit specifically; other operating systems must use the source install; Ory production and Growth plans are billed annually ($770/year and $9,350/year), which is a larger upfront commitment than monthly-only competitors.
  • They diverge on capability: CKAN covers Dataset Management, Ory covers Authentication APIs.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CKAN and Ory actually diverge.

Attributes where CKAN and Ory differ
AttributeCKANOry
Pricing modelfreeusage-based
PlatformsWebweb, api
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
Founded2006Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 CKAN

  • Dataset Management
  • Data Harvesting
  • API Access
  • Visualization
  • Extensions
  • DataPusher
  • Harvester
  • Third-party Tools

Only in Ory

  • Authentication APIs
  • Permissions engine
  • Machine-to-machine tokens
  • B2B organizations
  • SAML SSO
  • Multi-region deployments

What people use each for

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

CKAN

  • Publishing open government datasets in a searchable public data portalnot Ory
  • Self-hosting a data catalogue with harvesting and an APInot Ory

Ory

  • Adding self-hosted or cloud identity to a new productnot CKAN
  • Implementing fine-grained permission checksnot CKAN
  • Supporting B2B organizations and multi-tenancynot CKAN
  • Building machine-to-machine authentication for microservicesnot CKAN

Where each one falls short

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

CKAN

  • The package install path requires Ubuntu 20.04 or 22.04 64-bit specifically; other operating systems must use the source install
  • Only Solr 9 and Solr 8 are supported, and from CKAN 2.10 they are the only Solr versions supported at all
  • A working deployment requires PostgreSQL, Solr, Redis, nginx, supervisor and uWSGI to be installed and maintained separately
  • Python 3.10 or later is required

Ory

  • Production and Growth plans are billed annually ($770/year and $9,350/year), which is a larger upfront commitment than monthly-only competitors.
  • SAML SSO and multi-region deployments are reserved for the custom-priced Enterprise tier.
  • Usage-based pricing across aDAU, M2M tokens, and permission checks makes cost estimation more complex than flat per-MAU billing.

Pricing, plan by plan

CKAN

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Data Management
    • API Access
    • Visualization

Ory

Free
  • DeveloperFree
    • Community support
    • No production environments
  • Production$64/month
    • $21 monthly credit included
    • 1 production environment
    • 3 staging environments
  • Growth$779/month
    • $255 monthly credit included
    • 2 production environments
    • B2B organizations (max 3)

Which should you pick?

Choose CKAN if

  • You need dataset management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want data harvesting.
CKAN review

Choose Ory if

  • You need authentication apis.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want permissions engine.
Ory review

Questions people ask

Is CKAN or Ory better?
Neither clearly leads. CKAN starts at Free and Ory at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CKAN or Ory?
CKAN starts at Free and Ory at Free.
Does CKAN or Ory run on more platforms?
CKAN runs on Web. Ory runs on web, api.
Can I use CKAN for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is CKAN best used for?
CKAN is most often used for publishing open government datasets in a searchable public data portal, self-hosting a data catalogue with harvesting and an api. Of those, publishing open government datasets in a searchable public data portal and self-hosting a data catalogue with harvesting and an api are not what Ory is typically brought in for.
What can CKAN do that Ory cannot?
CKAN covers Dataset Management, Data Harvesting, API Access, Visualization. Ory covers Authentication APIs, Permissions engine, Machine-to-machine tokens, B2B organizations.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CKAN: Is CKAN open-source and what license is it available under?

Yes, CKAN is an open-source data management system built on Python and available on GitHub. The license terms are available on their GitHub repository.

Source
Ory: What does Ory cost?

Ory has a free Developer tier, a Production plan at $770/year including a $21 monthly credit, a Growth plan at $9,350/year including a $255 monthly credit, and custom Enterprise pricing.

Source
CKAN: Does CKAN offer commercial support for organizations?

Yes, CKAN offers commercial support through certified providers including Link Digital and Datopian. Support includes advisory services, application development, integration, managed hosting, and web development.

Source
Ory: How is usage metered?

Beyond the included credit, Ory charges per average daily active user (aDAU), per machine-to-machine token, and per permission check, with lower per-unit rates on the Growth plan.

Source
CKAN: Who is responsible for hosting costs when running CKAN?

Organizations deploying CKAN are responsible for their own hosting infrastructure. Commercial providers like Datopian and Link Digital offer managed hosting services if organizations prefer not to self-host.

Source
Ory: What payment methods are supported?

Ory accepts credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, Amex) and bank transfer, processed via Stripe.

Source
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