Is Dashlane or Ory Kratos better?

Neither clearly leads. Dashlane starts at $4.99/month and Ory Kratos at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Dashlane or Ory Kratos?

Ory Kratos has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $4.99/month for Dashlane and Free for Ory Kratos.

Does Dashlane or Ory Kratos run on more platforms?

Dashlane runs on Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Browser Extensions. Ory Kratos runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.

Can I use Ory Kratos for free?

Yes. Ory Kratos has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Dashlane starts at $4.99/month.

What is Dashlane best used for?

Dashlane is most often used for password management, identity protection, secure credential sharing, compliance requirements. Of those, password management and identity protection are not what Ory Kratos is typically brought in for.

What can Dashlane do that Ory Kratos cannot?

Dashlane covers Password manager, Digital wallet, Dark web monitoring, VPN for WiFi protection. Ory Kratos covers Headless API, Self-service flows, Multi-factor authentication, Pluggable identity schemas.

Technology · head to head

Dashlane vs Ory Kratos

Dashlane

Technology

Password management made easy for businesses

From: $4.99/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

Ory Kratos

Cybersecurity

Headless identity and user management API

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Ory Kratos has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Dashlane highest pricing among major password managers at $60/year with no monthly subscription option; Ory Kratos headless means you build every screen, which is significant work compared with a hosted login page
They diverge on capability: Dashlane covers Password manager, Ory Kratos covers Headless API.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Dashlane and Ory Kratos actually diverge.

Attributes where Dashlane and Ory Kratos differ
Attribute	Dashlane	Ory Kratos
Starting price	$4.99/month	Free
Pricing model	Unknown	Open-source self-hosted, with a paid managed network
Free tier	No	Yes
Platforms	Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Browser Extensions	Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted
Category	Technology	Cybersecurity
Founded	2009	Unknown

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 Dashlane

Password manager
Digital wallet
Dark web monitoring
VPN for WiFi protection
Two-factor authentication
Password generator
Secure sharing
Security dashboard

Only in Ory Kratos

Headless API
Self-service flows
Multi-factor authentication
Pluggable identity schemas

What people use each for

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

Dashlane

Password managementnot Ory Kratos
Identity protectionnot Ory Kratos
Secure credential sharingnot Ory Kratos
Compliance requirementsnot Ory Kratos
VPN protectionnot Ory Kratos

Ory Kratos

Products needing complete control over the look and flow of authenticationnot Dashlane
Applications that must not hand user identity data to a third partynot Dashlane
Teams building identity as infrastructure across several servicesnot Dashlane

Where each one falls short

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

Dashlane

Highest pricing among major password managers at $60/year with no monthly subscription option
Restricted free tier with only 25 passwords on single device compared to Bitwarden's unlimited free tier
No traditional desktop application, users must rely on browser extension or mobile apps
Closed-source code prevents independent security verification unlike open-source competitors
Limited 2FA options supporting only authenticator apps, not biometric or SMS authentication

Ory Kratos

Headless means you build every screen, which is significant work compared with a hosted login page
More moving parts than a monolithic IAM: Kratos handles identity, and OAuth2 needs Ory Hydra alongside
Documentation assumes real familiarity with identity concepts and is not a gentle introduction
Self-hosting identity carries the security and availability burden that hosted providers absorb

Pricing, plan by plan

Dashlane

$4.99/month

Premium$4.99/month
- Secure vault
- Password generation

Ory Kratos

Free

Self-hostedFree
- Full identity server
- All flows
- Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose Dashlane if

You need password manager.
You work on Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Browser Extensions.
You also want digital wallet.

Dashlane review

Choose Ory Kratos if

You need headless api.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
You also want self-service flows.

Ory Kratos review

Questions people ask

Is Dashlane or Ory Kratos better?: Neither clearly leads. Dashlane starts at $4.99/month and Ory Kratos at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Dashlane or Ory Kratos?: Ory Kratos has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $4.99/month for Dashlane and Free for Ory Kratos.
Does Dashlane or Ory Kratos run on more platforms?: Dashlane runs on Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Browser Extensions. Ory Kratos runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
Can I use Ory Kratos for free?: Yes. Ory Kratos has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Dashlane starts at $4.99/month.
What is Dashlane best used for?: Dashlane is most often used for password management, identity protection, secure credential sharing, compliance requirements. Of those, password management and identity protection are not what Ory Kratos is typically brought in for.
What can Dashlane do that Ory Kratos cannot?: Dashlane covers Password manager, Digital wallet, Dark web monitoring, VPN for WiFi protection. Ory Kratos covers Headless API, Self-service flows, Multi-factor authentication, Pluggable identity schemas.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Dashlane: What happened to Dashlane's free plan?

Dashlane discontinued its free plan in September 2025. The entry-level plan now starts at $4.99/month (billed annually) for Premium, or businesses can use a 30-day money-back guarantee to test the service.

Source

Ory Kratos: Is Ory Kratos free?

Yes, open source and free to self-host. Ory Network is a paid managed service.

Dashlane: What platforms does Dashlane support?

Dashlane is available on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Chromebook. Browser extensions work with Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, and Brave. However, Dashlane no longer has a traditional desktop application.

Source

Ory Kratos: What does headless mean here?

Kratos provides identity flows as APIs and no user interface. You build the login, registration and recovery screens yourself.

Dashlane: Does Dashlane support SSO integration?

Yes, Dashlane integrates with SAML 2.0 Identity Providers for SSO, plus SCIM for user provisioning and deprovisioning. However, the Safari browser extension does not support self-hosted SSO due to Apple limitations.

Source

Ory Kratos: Does Kratos do OAuth2?

No. Kratos handles user identity; OAuth2 and OpenID Connect provider functionality is Ory Hydra, a separate component.

Dashlane vs Ory Kratos

Dashlane

Ory Kratos

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Dashlane

Only in Ory Kratos

What people use each for

Dashlane

Ory Kratos

Where each one falls short

Dashlane

Ory Kratos

Pricing, plan by plan

Dashlane

Ory Kratos

Which should you pick?

Choose Dashlane if

Choose Ory Kratos if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Dashlane

More on Ory Kratos

Keep looking

Other head to heads