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Developer Tools · head to head

Daytona vs Ory

Daytona logo

Daytona

Developer Tools

Infrastructure for spinning up secure, sub-second sandboxes to run AI-generated code

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: Daytona pricing is purely usage-based with no flat monthly plan, which can make costs harder to predict for steady workloads.; 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: Daytona covers Sub-second sandbox creation, Ory covers Authentication APIs.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Daytona and Ory actually diverge.

Attributes where Daytona and Ory differ
AttributeDaytonaOry
Platformsweb, linux, windows, apiweb, api
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), 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 Daytona

  • Sub-second sandbox creation
  • Per-second billing
  • GPU instances
  • Windows OS support
  • Enterprise BYOC

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.

Daytona

  • Running AI agent-generated code in a disposable, isolated sandboxnot Ory
  • Executing untrusted user code for a coding platformnot Ory
  • Running GPU workloads on demand without provisioning dedicated serversnot Ory
  • Testing Windows-specific code paths in a sandboxnot Ory

Ory

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

Where each one falls short

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

Daytona

  • Pricing is purely usage-based with no flat monthly plan, which can make costs harder to predict for steady workloads.
  • GPU instances are priced separately and can be significantly more expensive than standard compute for AI-heavy use cases.
  • Enterprise features like SSO, audit logs, and BYOC are only available by contacting sales rather than self-serve.

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

Daytona

Free
  • Pay-as-you-go$undefined/mo
    • $0.0504 per vCPU/hour
    • $0.0162 per GiB memory/hour
    • $0.000108 per GiB storage/hour after 5 free GiB
  • Startup Program$undefined/mo
    • Up to $50,000 in free credits for qualifying startups
  • Enterprise$undefined/mo
    • Custom usage limits
    • SSO
    • Audit logs

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 Daytona if

  • You need sub-second sandbox creation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, linux, windows, api.
  • You also want per-second billing.
Daytona 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 Daytona or Ory better?
Neither clearly leads. Daytona 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, Daytona or Ory?
Daytona starts at Free and Ory at Free.
Does Daytona or Ory run on more platforms?
Daytona runs on web, linux, windows, api. Ory runs on web, api.
Can I use Daytona for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Daytona best used for?
Daytona is most often used for running ai agent-generated code in a disposable, isolated sandbox, executing untrusted user code for a coding platform, running gpu workloads on demand without provisioning dedicated servers, testing windows-specific code paths in a sandbox. Of those, running ai agent-generated code in a disposable, isolated sandbox and executing untrusted user code for a coding platform are not what Ory is typically brought in for.
What can Daytona do that Ory cannot?
Daytona covers Sub-second sandbox creation, Per-second billing, GPU instances, Windows OS support. Ory covers Authentication APIs, Permissions engine, Machine-to-machine tokens, B2B organizations.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Daytona: How is Daytona usage metered?

Usage is billed per second across vCPU, memory, and storage consumed, with separate per-hour rates for GPU and Windows instances.

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
Daytona: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

There is no flat free plan, but new signups receive $200 in free compute credit with no credit card required to start.

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
Daytona: Are discounts available for startups?

Yes, the Startup Program offers up to $50,000 in free credits for qualifying companies.

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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