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Cybersecurity · head to head

McAfee Total Protection vs Ory

McAfee Total Protection logo

McAfee Total Protection

Cybersecurity

Award-winning antivirus trusted by millions

From
$29.99/year
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: McAfee Total Protection significant renewal price increase after first year (from $29.99 to $84.99/year); 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: McAfee Total Protection covers Real-time antivirus, Ory covers Authentication APIs.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which McAfee Total Protection and Ory actually diverge.

Attributes where McAfee Total Protection and Ory differ
AttributeMcAfee Total ProtectionOry
Starting price$29.99/yearFree
Pricing modelUnknownusage-based
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, macOS, iOS, Androidweb, api
Founded1987Unknown

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 McAfee Total Protection

  • Real-time antivirus
  • Firewall
  • Safe browsing
  • Password manager
  • Secure VPN
  • Identity monitoring
  • Protection Score
  • Parental controls

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.

McAfee Total Protection

  • Antivirusnot Ory
  • Internet Securitynot Ory
  • Identity Protectionnot Ory

Ory

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

Where each one falls short

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

McAfee Total Protection

  • Significant renewal price increase after first year (from $29.99 to $84.99/year)
  • Customer support responsiveness issues reported as reason for switching
  • Renewal billing can be aggressive with auto-renewal defaults

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

McAfee Total Protection

$29.99/year
  • Basic$29.99/year
    • Antivirus
    • Firewall
    • 1 device
  • Plus$39.99/year
    • Antivirus
    • Firewall
    • 5 devices
  • Premium$49.99/year
    • Antivirus
    • Firewall
    • VPN
  • Advanced$74.99/year
    • Antivirus
    • Firewall
    • VPN

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 McAfee Total Protection if

  • You need real-time antivirus.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android.
  • You also want firewall.
McAfee Total Protection 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 McAfee Total Protection or Ory better?
Neither clearly leads. McAfee Total Protection starts at $29.99/year and Ory at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, McAfee Total Protection or Ory?
Ory has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29.99/year for McAfee Total Protection and Free for Ory.
Does McAfee Total Protection or Ory run on more platforms?
McAfee Total Protection runs on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android. Ory runs on web, api.
Can I use Ory for free?
Yes. Ory has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. McAfee Total Protection starts at $29.99/year.
What is McAfee Total Protection best used for?
McAfee Total Protection is most often used for antivirus, internet security, identity protection. Of those, antivirus and internet security are not what Ory is typically brought in for.
What can McAfee Total Protection do that Ory cannot?
McAfee Total Protection covers Real-time antivirus, Firewall, Safe browsing, Password manager. Ory covers Authentication APIs, Permissions engine, Machine-to-machine tokens, B2B organizations.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

McAfee Total Protection: How much does McAfee Total Protection cost?

McAfee Total Protection introductory pricing ranges from $29.99/year (Basic) to $74.99/year (Advanced), but renewal costs jump to $84.99/year after the first year.

Source
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
McAfee Total Protection: What is the trial period for McAfee Total Protection?

McAfee offers a 60-day money-back guarantee, allowing you to try the service risk-free for two months.

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
McAfee Total Protection: How many devices can I protect with one McAfee Total Protection subscription?

Device coverage varies by plan: Basic covers 1 device, while other plans protect 5 to unlimited devices depending on the tier selected.

Source
Ory: What payment methods are supported?

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

Source
McAfee Total Protection: Does McAfee Total Protection include VPN?

VPN is included in higher-tier McAfee plans if you opt for auto-renewal.

Source
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