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Software · head to head

LangSmith vs Ory

L

LangSmith

Software

Know what your agents are really doing

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Ory logo

Ory

Software

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: LangSmith usage beyond the included trace allotment is billed in LangChain Compute Units at $1.50 per LCU and Storage Units at $1.00 per LSU, an unfamiliar metering unit compared to flat per-seat pricing, as of August 2026.; Ory production and Growth plans are billed annually ($770/year and $9,350/year), which is a larger upfront commitment than monthly-only competitors.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which LangSmith and Ory actually diverge.

Attributes where LangSmith and Ory differ
AttributeLangSmithOry
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionusage-based
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebweb, api

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

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 LangSmith

Nothing recorded that Ory does not also cover.

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.

LangSmith

No use cases recorded yet. See the LangSmith review.

Ory

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

Where each one falls short

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

LangSmith

  • Usage beyond the included trace allotment is billed in LangChain Compute Units at $1.50 per LCU and Storage Units at $1.00 per LSU, an unfamiliar metering unit compared to flat per-seat pricing, as of August 2026.

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

LangSmith

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the LangSmith review.

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 LangSmith if

Nothing in the data separates LangSmith from Ory on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

LangSmith 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 LangSmith or Ory better?
Neither clearly leads. LangSmith 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, LangSmith or Ory?
Ory has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for LangSmith and Free for Ory.
Does LangSmith or Ory run on more platforms?
LangSmith runs on Web. Ory runs on web, api.
Can I use Ory for free?
Yes. Ory has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. LangSmith starts at On request.
What can LangSmith do that Ory cannot?
Ory covers Authentication APIs, Permissions engine, Machine-to-machine tokens, B2B organizations.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
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
Ory: What payment methods are supported?

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

Source
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