Softwr

Government · head to head

DemandStar vs Ory

DemandStar logo

DemandStar

Government

Bid distribution network that is free for government agencies and charges the suppliers instead

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: DemandStar coverage is opt-in by agency, so a supplier paying for a state tier receives only participating agencies and must still monitor other portals for the rest.; 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: DemandStar covers Free for agencies, Ory covers Authentication APIs.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DemandStar and Ory actually diverge.

Attributes where DemandStar and Ory differ
AttributeDemandStarOry
Pricing modelFree for agencies, per year by geographic coverage for suppliersusage-based
PlatformsWebweb, api
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity

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 DemandStar

  • Free for agencies
  • Commodity code matching
  • eBidding
  • Plan holder lists
  • Supplier registration
  • Geographic subscription tiers

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.

DemandStar

  • A city purchasing officer who wants wider bid distribution without running a procurement to buy softwarenot Ory
  • A contractor who works in three adjacent counties and wants notifications only for that footprintnot Ory
  • An agency needing sealed electronic bid submission to replace paper deliveries to the clerknot Ory
  • A supplier testing whether public sector work is viable before committing to a national subscriptionnot Ory

Ory

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

Where each one falls short

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

DemandStar

  • Coverage is opt-in by agency, so a supplier paying for a state tier receives only participating agencies and must still monitor other portals for the rest.
  • The free supplier tier charges around 5 US dollars per bid document download, which turns an apparently free plan into a metered one as soon as you actually pursue opportunities.
  • State pricing ranges from roughly 100 to 1,499 US dollars with the variation driven by agency density, so suppliers cannot predict cost from geography alone.
  • Because agencies pay nothing, they have little leverage over the roadmap and features are driven by what makes supplier subscriptions sell.
  • The brand is being folded into Euna OpenBid following the Euna Solutions consolidation, so suppliers and agencies should expect the name and portal to change.

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

DemandStar

Free
  • Government agencyFree
    • Post unlimited solicitations
    • Access the supplier network
    • eBidding and plan holder lists
  • Supplier freeFree
    • Bid notifications for one agency of your choice
    • Bid document downloads charged around 5 USD each
    • Supplier profile and registration
  • Supplier county$60/year
    • All participating agencies within one county
    • Unlimited bid document access for that county
    • Approximate rate, varies by county
  • Supplier state$100/year
    • All participating agencies within one state
    • Priced from around 100 to 1,499 USD depending on agency density

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 DemandStar if

  • You need free for agencies.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want commodity code matching.
DemandStar 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 DemandStar or Ory better?
Neither clearly leads. DemandStar 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, DemandStar or Ory?
DemandStar starts at Free and Ory at Free.
Does DemandStar or Ory run on more platforms?
DemandStar runs on Web. Ory runs on web, api.
Can I use DemandStar for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is DemandStar best used for?
DemandStar is most often used for a city purchasing officer who wants wider bid distribution without running a procurement to buy software, a contractor who works in three adjacent counties and wants notifications only for that footprint, an agency needing sealed electronic bid submission to replace paper deliveries to the clerk, a supplier testing whether public sector work is viable before committing to a national subscription. Of those, a city purchasing officer who wants wider bid distribution without running a procurement to buy software and a contractor who works in three adjacent counties and wants notifications only for that footprint are not what Ory is typically brought in for.
What can DemandStar do that Ory cannot?
DemandStar covers Free for agencies, Commodity code matching, eBidding, Plan holder lists. Ory covers Authentication APIs, Permissions engine, Machine-to-machine tokens, B2B organizations.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

DemandStar: Is DemandStar free for governments?

Yes, entirely. Agencies post solicitations and access the supplier network at no cost; suppliers fund the platform.

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
DemandStar: What do suppliers pay?

Free for one agency with roughly 5 USD per document download, about 60 USD a year per county, 100 to 1,499 per state, and 2,699 for national coverage.

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
DemandStar: Who owns DemandStar?

Euna Solutions, the public sector portfolio formerly known as GTY Technology, which also absorbed Bonfire and Ion Wave.

Ory: What payment methods are supported?

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

Source
DemandStar: Does it cover every agency?

No. Only agencies that have opted in, which is the main limitation for suppliers buying wide coverage.

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