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Cybersecurity · head to head

Logto vs Visual Studio

Logto logo

Logto

Cybersecurity

Open-source identity and authentication infrastructure for apps and APIs

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Visual Studio logo

Visual Studio

Developer Tools

IDE for .NET and C++ development on Windows

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
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.; 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 Logto and Visual Studio actually diverge.

Attributes where Logto and Visual Studio differ
AttributeLogtoVisual Studio
Platformsweb, apiWeb
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), 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 Visual Studio

Nothing recorded that Logto does not also cover.

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 Visual Studio
  • Implementing SSO for B2B customersnot Visual Studio
  • Securing internal APIs with M2M tokensnot Visual Studio
  • Adding RBAC and organizations to a multi-tenant appnot Visual Studio

Visual Studio

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

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

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

Visual Studio

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Visual Studio review.

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 Visual Studio if

  • You want to start without paying.
Visual Studio review

Questions people ask

Is Logto or Visual Studio better?
Neither clearly leads. Logto 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, Logto or Visual Studio?
Logto starts at Free and Visual Studio at Free.
Does Logto or Visual Studio run on more platforms?
Logto runs on web, api. Visual Studio runs on Web.
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 Visual Studio is typically brought in for.
What can Logto do that Visual Studio cannot?
Logto covers Prebuilt sign-in UI, Social connectors, Role-based access control, Multi-factor authentication.

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
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
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
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
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
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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