Softwr

Cloud · head to head

Crossplane vs Ory

Crossplane logo

Crossplane

Cloud

The Cloud-Native Framework for Platform Engineering

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Ory logo

Ory

Cybersecurity

Open-source identity, authentication, and permissions infrastructure

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Crossplane requires Kubernetes expertise and infrastructure; 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: Crossplane covers Kubernetes extension, Ory covers Authentication APIs.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Crossplane and Ory actually diverge.

Attributes where Crossplane and Ory differ
AttributeCrossplaneOry
Pricing modelUnknownusage-based
PlatformsKubernetes, AWS, Azure, GCPweb, api
CategoryCloudCybersecurity

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 Crossplane

  • Kubernetes extension
  • Custom API building
  • Resource management anywhere
  • Declarative interfaces
  • Component library
  • Provider ecosystem

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.

Crossplane

  • Building platform-as-a-service offerings for internal teamsnot Ory
  • Creating unified control layers for multi-cloud infrastructurenot Ory
  • Designing declarative APIs for infrastructure provisioningnot Ory

Ory

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

Where each one falls short

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

Crossplane

  • Requires Kubernetes expertise and infrastructure
  • Steep learning curve for teams new to Kubernetes patterns
  • Provider ecosystem smaller than Terraform

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

Crossplane

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Crossplane review.

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 Crossplane if

  • You need kubernetes extension.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Kubernetes, AWS, Azure, GCP.
  • You also want custom api building.
Crossplane 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 Crossplane or Ory better?
Neither clearly leads. Crossplane 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, Crossplane or Ory?
Crossplane starts at Free and Ory at Free.
Does Crossplane or Ory run on more platforms?
Crossplane runs on Kubernetes, AWS, Azure, GCP. Ory runs on web, api.
Can I use Crossplane for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Crossplane best used for?
Crossplane is most often used for building platform-as-a-service offerings for internal teams, creating unified control layers for multi-cloud infrastructure, designing declarative apis for infrastructure provisioning. Of those, building platform-as-a-service offerings for internal teams and creating unified control layers for multi-cloud infrastructure are not what Ory is typically brought in for.
What can Crossplane do that Ory cannot?
Crossplane covers Kubernetes extension, Custom API building, Resource management anywhere, Declarative interfaces. Ory covers Authentication APIs, Permissions engine, Machine-to-machine tokens, B2B organizations.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Crossplane: Is Crossplane free?

Yes, Crossplane is open source and free to use. It requires a Kubernetes cluster but has no licensing costs.

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
Crossplane: What is Crossplane used for?

Crossplane is used to build control planes and platforms for infrastructure management, enabling platform teams to expose safe APIs to other teams.

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
Ory: What payment methods are supported?

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

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Crossplane

More on Ory

Keep looking

Other head to heads