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Cybersecurity · head to head

Diligent vs Ory

Diligent logo

Diligent

Cybersecurity

Board management and enterprise GRC platform assembled from Galvanize, Steele and Diligent Boards

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Ory logo

Ory

Cybersecurity

Open-source identity, authentication, and permissions infrastructure

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Ory has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Diligent the platform is an assembly of acquisitions, with the analytics engine from ACL, risk from Rsam, ethics and third-party diligence from Steele and the board portal from Diligent itself, so cross-module reporting and consistent user experience should be tested in a proof of concept rather than assumed.; 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: Diligent covers Diligent Boards, Ory covers Authentication APIs.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Diligent and Ory actually diverge.

Attributes where Diligent and Ory differ
AttributeDiligentOry
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteusage-based
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, Windowsweb, api

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).

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 Diligent

  • Diligent Boards
  • Entity management
  • Audit and analytics
  • Risk management
  • Third-party risk
  • Ethics and compliance
  • ESG and sustainability
  • Market intelligence

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.

Diligent

  • A listed company that wants board papers, entity records and the audit committee reporting pack produced from one governance systemnot Ory
  • An internal audit function moving from sampling to full-population transaction testing using the ACL heritage analytics enginenot Ory
  • A regulated firm consolidating a whistleblower hotline, third-party due diligence and policy attestation after an enforcement findingnot Ory
  • A group needing sustainability disclosure data collected with the same audit trail and controls as financial reportingnot Ory

Ory

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

Where each one falls short

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

Diligent

  • The platform is an assembly of acquisitions, with the analytics engine from ACL, risk from Rsam, ethics and third-party diligence from Steele and the board portal from Diligent itself, so cross-module reporting and consistent user experience should be tested in a proof of concept rather than assumed.
  • Pricing is unpublished and consistently at the top of the market, and organisations that need only one capability, a board portal or an audit analytics tool, generally pay less and get more from a specialist.
  • Renewal leverage is weak once the board portal is embedded, because directors are the least willing user group to be migrated and that dependency is well understood by the vendor at renewal time.
  • The analytics engine expects real data skills, and audit teams without an analytics-capable member typically use a fraction of what they licensed while paying for all of it.
  • Module-by-module implementation means the promised single view of governance and risk usually arrives years after the first purchase, if the later modules are ever funded.

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

Diligent

On request
  • Diligent One Platform$undefined/year
    • Quoted by module and user count
    • Board portal seats priced separately from GRC modules
    • Annual subscription, commonly multi-year

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 Diligent if

  • You need diligent boards.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
  • You also want entity management.
Diligent 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 Diligent or Ory better?
Neither clearly leads. Diligent starts at On request and Ory at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Diligent or Ory?
Ory has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Diligent and Free for Ory.
Does Diligent or Ory run on more platforms?
Diligent runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows. Ory runs on web, api.
Can I use Ory for free?
Yes. Ory has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Diligent starts at On request.
What is Diligent best used for?
Diligent is most often used for a listed company that wants board papers, entity records and the audit committee reporting pack produced from one governance system, an internal audit function moving from sampling to full-population transaction testing using the acl heritage analytics engine, a regulated firm consolidating a whistleblower hotline, third-party due diligence and policy attestation after an enforcement finding, a group needing sustainability disclosure data collected with the same audit trail and controls as financial reporting. Of those, a listed company that wants board papers, entity records and the audit committee reporting pack produced from one governance system and an internal audit function moving from sampling to full-population transaction testing using the acl heritage analytics engine are not what Ory is typically brought in for.
What can Diligent do that Ory cannot?
Diligent covers Diligent Boards, Entity management, Audit and analytics, Risk management. Ory covers Authentication APIs, Permissions engine, Machine-to-machine tokens, B2B organizations.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Diligent: Is Diligent One the same product as Galvanize?

It contains it. Diligent bought Galvanize, the ACL and Rsam merger, for around one billion dollars in April 2021, and its audit analytics and risk modules are that heritage rebranded into Diligent One.

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
Diligent: What does Diligent cost?

Not published. It is quoted by module and user, and board portal seats are priced differently from GRC seats. Expect an annual or multi-year enterprise agreement.

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
Diligent: Can you buy just the board portal?

Yes, Diligent Boards is sold on its own and is the most common entry point. The GRC modules are separate purchases.

Ory: What payment methods are supported?

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

Source
Diligent: Does it replace a SOC 2 automation tool?

No. Diligent is aimed at enterprise audit, risk and governance, not at automated evidence collection for security certifications.

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