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Cybersecurity · head to head

Logto vs Nebula

Logto logo

Logto

Cybersecurity

Open-source identity and authentication infrastructure for apps and APIs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Nebula logo

Nebula

Networking

Certificate based overlay network from Slack, with identity and firewall rules carried in the certificate

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Logto advanced features like RBAC, organizations, MFA, and enterprise SSO are billed as separate paid add-ons rather than included in Pro.; Nebula the open source project has no user interface, no enrolment workflow and no revocation service, so certificate issuing, distribution and expiry become scripts you write and then have to keep working.
  • They diverge on capability: Logto covers Prebuilt sign-in UI, Nebula covers Certificate carried identity.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Logto and Nebula actually diverge.

Attributes where Logto and Nebula differ
AttributeLogtoNebula
Pricing modelfreemiumOpen source, no licence fee
Platformsweb, apiLinux, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, FreeBSD
CategoryCybersecurityNetworking

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 Logto

  • Prebuilt sign-in UI
  • Social connectors
  • Role-based access control
  • Multi-factor authentication
  • Machine-to-machine apps
  • Audit logs

Only in Nebula

  • Certificate carried identity
  • Group based host firewall
  • Lighthouse discovery
  • Noise protocol encryption
  • Unsafe routes
  • Managed option

What people use each for

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

Logto

  • Adding sign-in to a new SaaS productnot Nebula
  • Implementing SSO for B2B customersnot Nebula
  • Securing internal APIs with M2M tokensnot Nebula
  • Adding RBAC and organizations to a multi-tenant appnot Nebula

Nebula

  • Flattening a network across several clouds and datacentres without VPC peering or route tablesnot Logto
  • Very large fleets where a central policy service on the connection path is unacceptablenot Logto
  • Environments that already run an internal certificate authority and want the network to use itnot Logto
  • Replacing per host iptables rules with policy written against roles that follow the hostnot Logto

Where each one falls short

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

Logto

  • Advanced features like RBAC, organizations, MFA, and enterprise SSO are billed as separate paid add-ons rather than included in Pro.
  • Enterprise pricing is not published and requires contacting sales.
  • Token-based billing can make cost forecasting harder than flat per-MAU pricing for high-traffic apps.

Nebula

  • The open source project has no user interface, no enrolment workflow and no revocation service, so certificate issuing, distribution and expiry become scripts you write and then have to keep working.
  • Revoking a compromised host means distributing a blocklist entry to every other host and reloading them, which is a fleet wide operation rather than a click, and easy to get wrong under pressure.
  • Changing a host group membership means reissuing and redeploying its certificate, so policy changes are a deployment rather than a configuration edit.
  • There is no identity provider integration or single sign on in the open source version, so it maps well to servers and badly to a fleet of user laptops.
  • NAT traversal is best effort and hosts behind symmetric NAT need a relay configured deliberately, so connectivity failures show up as intermittent rather than immediate and are awkward to diagnose.

Pricing, plan by plan

Logto

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 50,000 MAU
    • 50K tokens included
    • 3 applications
  • Pro$24/month
    • Unlimited MAU and applications
    • 3 included API resources
    • Passkey sign-in

Nebula

Free
  • NebulaFree
    • Full functionality under the MIT licence
    • No host limit
    • You operate the certificate authority and lighthouses
  • Defined Networking$undefined/month
    • Hosted control plane and enrolment
    • Managed certificate lifecycle and revocation
    • Policy and DNS interface

Which should you pick?

Choose Logto if

  • You need prebuilt sign-in ui.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want social connectors.
Logto review

Choose Nebula if

  • You need certificate carried identity.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, FreeBSD.
  • You also want group based host firewall.
Nebula review

Questions people ask

Is Logto or Nebula better?
Neither clearly leads. Logto starts at Free and Nebula at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Logto or Nebula?
Logto starts at Free and Nebula at Free.
Does Logto or Nebula run on more platforms?
Logto runs on web, api. Nebula runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, FreeBSD.
Can I use Logto for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Logto best used for?
Logto is most often used for adding sign-in to a new saas product, implementing sso for b2b customers, securing internal apis with m2m tokens, adding rbac and organizations to a multi-tenant app. Of those, adding sign-in to a new saas product and implementing sso for b2b customers are not what Nebula is typically brought in for.
What can Logto do that Nebula cannot?
Logto covers Prebuilt sign-in UI, Social connectors, Role-based access control, Multi-factor authentication. Nebula covers Certificate carried identity, Group based host firewall, Lighthouse discovery, Noise protocol encryption.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Logto: What does Logto cost?

Logto offers a Free plan at $0/month, a Pro plan starting at $24/month with 50K free tokens included, and a custom-priced Enterprise plan. Extra add-ons like RBAC or MFA are billed separately on Pro.

Source
Nebula: Does it use WireGuard?

No. Nebula predates the common WireGuard mesh tools and uses the Noise protocol framework with its own certificate format.

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

Yes. The Free plan supports up to 50,000 monthly active users, 3 total applications, 1 machine-to-machine app, 3 social connectors, 1 webhook, and 3-day audit log retention.

Source
Nebula: Can I run it without Defined Networking?

Yes, entirely. Defined Networking sells the control plane conveniences, not the network itself.

Logto: How is usage metered?

Logto uses token-based billing: only access tokens issued for authentication and authorization activity are counted, rather than charging purely per MAU.

Source
Nebula: How do I revoke a host?

Add its certificate fingerprint to the blocklist in the configuration of the other hosts and reload them. There is no online revocation check.

Nebula: Is it a good fit for laptops?

Less so than the identity provider based tools. There is no single sign on, so every laptop needs a certificate issued and renewed by whatever process you build.

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