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Cybersecurity · head to head

Frontegg vs Visual Studio

Frontegg logo

Frontegg

Cybersecurity

Customer identity and access management platform for SaaS applications

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visual Studio logo

Visual Studio

Developer Tools

IDE for .NET and C++ development on Windows

From
Free
Free plan
Yes

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Frontegg detailed per-unit pricing beyond the free tier is not published, requiring use of an online calculator or sales contact to estimate costs.; Visual Studio community edition is free only for individual developers, classroom use, academic research and open-source contribution, not general commercial use
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Frontegg and Visual Studio actually diverge.

Attributes where Frontegg and Visual Studio differ
AttributeFronteggVisual Studio
Pricing modelusage-basedfreemium
Platformsweb, apiWeb
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools

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 Frontegg

  • Hosted login
  • Enterprise SSO/SCIM
  • Multi-tenant organizations
  • Custom domains
  • M2M tokens
  • Fraud protection

Only in Visual Studio

Nothing recorded that Frontegg does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Frontegg

  • Adding enterprise SSO/SCIM to a B2B SaaS productnot Visual Studio
  • Multi-tenant customer identity managementnot Visual Studio
  • White-labeled, custom-domain login experiencesnot Visual Studio
  • Securing AI agent access to a SaaS product via Agen.conot Visual Studio

Visual Studio

  • Managing complex, large-scale projects across multiple platformsnot Frontegg
  • Commercial development in small businessesnot Frontegg
  • DevOps and automated deployment workflowsnot Frontegg
  • Windows/SQL Server developer and tester rolesnot Frontegg
  • Short-term or month-to-month IDE access needsnot Frontegg

Where each one falls short

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

Frontegg

  • Detailed per-unit pricing beyond the free tier is not published, requiring use of an online calculator or sales contact to estimate costs.
  • Advanced fraud protection and multiple environments are Enterprise-only, unavailable on the Pay As You Go plan.
  • The 7,500 free monthly active users is comparatively modest next to some competitors' free tiers.
  • As a broader CIAM platform, it can be more complex to integrate than lighter-weight developer-first auth tools for smaller apps.

Visual Studio

  • Community edition is free only for individual developers, classroom use, academic research and open-source contribution, not general commercial use
  • Monthly subscriptions are $45 per user per month for Professional and $250 per user per month for Enterprise, and do not include perpetual use rights the way annual Standard subscriptions do
  • A standalone perpetually licensed Visual Studio Professional 2022 costs $499 as a one-time purchase, separate from the subscription tiers

Pricing, plan by plan

Frontegg

Free
  • Pay As You GoFree
    • 7,500 monthly active users included
    • 5 enterprise connections (SSO/SCIM)
    • Unlimited organizations
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom pricing
    • Multiple environments
    • Advanced fraud protection

Visual Studio

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Visual Studio review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Frontegg if

  • You need hosted login.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want enterprise sso/scim.

Choose Visual Studio if

  • You want to start without paying.

Questions people ask

Is Frontegg or Visual Studio better?
Neither clearly leads. Frontegg starts at Free and Visual Studio at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Frontegg or Visual Studio?
Frontegg starts at Free and Visual Studio at Free.
Does Frontegg or Visual Studio run on more platforms?
Frontegg runs on web, api. Visual Studio runs on Web.
Can I use Frontegg for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Frontegg best used for?
Frontegg is most often used for adding enterprise sso/scim to a b2b saas product, multi-tenant customer identity management, white-labeled, custom-domain login experiences, securing ai agent access to a saas product via agen.co. Of those, adding enterprise sso/scim to a b2b saas product and multi-tenant customer identity management are not what Visual Studio is typically brought in for.
What can Frontegg do that Visual Studio cannot?
Frontegg covers Hosted login, Enterprise SSO/SCIM, Multi-tenant organizations, Custom domains.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Frontegg: What does Frontegg cost?

Frontegg's Pay As You Go plan is free up to 7,500 monthly active users, after which pricing scales with users, enterprise connections and M2M tokens via an online calculator; Enterprise pricing is custom.

Source
Visual Studio: What are the pricing differences between subscription types?

Standard subscriptions include access to more benefits, such as Azure dev/test pricing, monthly Azure individual credit, software and download access, services, training, and support. Monthly subscriptions offer flexibility but fewer benefits.

Source
Frontegg: Is there a free plan and what are its limits?

Yes, the free Pay As You Go plan includes 7,500 monthly active users, 5 enterprise SSO/SCIM connections, unlimited organizations, and a custom domain.

Source
Visual Studio: Are discounts available for startups?

There aren't any discounts available to start-ups, however an unlimited number of users within an organization can use Visual Studio Community for specific scenarios like open source work.

Source
Frontegg: How is usage metered?

Pricing is consumption-based, driven by monthly active users, monthly enterprise connections (SSO/SCIM), and monthly M2M tokens, with customers paying only for usage beyond the free 7,500-user threshold.

Source
Visual Studio: Who can use Visual Studio Community for free?

In non-enterprise organizations, up to five users can use it. Enterprise organizations (greater than 250 PCs or greater than $1M annual revenue) cannot use it beyond academic/open-source scenarios.

Source
Visual Studio: What's the renewal pricing structure?

Enterprise standard renews at $214.09/month (after initial $499.92); Professional at $66.59/month (after $99.99).

Source
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