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Automation Integration · head to head

Nango vs Rutter

Nango logo

Nango

Automation Integration

Open source unified API and OAuth infrastructure for product integrations, licensed under Elastic License 2.0

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Rutter logo

Rutter

APIs

One API across accounting, commerce, payments and advertising platforms

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Nango has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Nango the licence is Elastic License 2.0, which is source available rather than OSI open source, and it forbids offering Nango to third parties as a managed service, so anyone planning to resell or embed it in a platform for their own customers has a genuine legal problem.; Rutter a unified schema exposes only the fields common across platforms, so the platform-specific detail underwriting models want usually requires passthrough calls and per-platform code, which is the work the unified API was bought to avoid.
  • They diverge on capability: Nango covers Managed OAuth, Rutter covers Accounting and ERP.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Nango and Rutter actually diverge.

Attributes where Nango and Rutter differ
AttributeNangoRutter
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer connection per monthquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Linux, DockerWeb, API
CategoryAutomation IntegrationAPIs

Identical on both: 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 Nango

  • Managed OAuth
  • Pre-built integrations
  • Custom syncs and actions
  • Incremental sync
  • Rate limit and retry handling
  • Webhooks
  • Self-hosting
  • Unified models

Only in Rutter

  • Accounting and ERP
  • Commerce data
  • Payments data
  • Advertising data
  • Write operations
  • Passthrough requests
  • Observability tooling
  • Sandbox

What people use each for

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

Nango

  • A SaaS product that needs to ship twenty customer-facing integrations without hiring a team to maintain OAuth and token refresh for eachnot Rutter
  • A team that needs a niche or internal API integrated, which closed unified API vendors will not build for themnot Rutter
  • A company with data residency or security constraints that must self-host the integration layer rather than send customer tokens to a vendornot Rutter
  • An engineering team replacing a homegrown integration service whose main cost is silent token expiry and rate limit failures in productionnot Rutter

Rutter

  • A revenue-based lender that must pull a merchant's sales, payouts and general ledger before pricing a facilitynot Nango
  • A spend management product that needs to push bills and journal entries back into whichever accounting system its customer runsnot Nango
  • A B2B payments platform reconciling invoices across customers using four different ERPsnot Nango
  • An insurance or benefits provider that needs verified business financials without asking the customer to upload PDFsnot Nango

Where each one falls short

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

Nango

  • The licence is Elastic License 2.0, which is source available rather than OSI open source, and it forbids offering Nango to third parties as a managed service, so anyone planning to resell or embed it in a platform for their own customers has a genuine legal problem.
  • Pricing is per connection where a connection is one authorised end-user account, so cost scales linearly with your customer base and a product where each user links several services multiplies quickly beyond what a headline plan price suggests.
  • Pre-built integrations vary in depth, and a connection that exists is not the same as a connection that covers the endpoints and objects your feature needs, so each one must be verified before it is designed into a roadmap.
  • Custom syncs are written in TypeScript and run in Nango model, which means integration logic lives in a vendor runtime and migrating away later requires rewriting it rather than lifting it out.
  • Self-hosting removes the vendor from the data path but transfers operational responsibility for a component that holds customer OAuth tokens, and few teams appreciate the security burden that comes with running that themselves.

Rutter

  • A unified schema exposes only the fields common across platforms, so the platform-specific detail underwriting models want usually requires passthrough calls and per-platform code, which is the work the unified API was bought to avoid.
  • Write operations into accounting systems are where these products break, because each system validates differently, and a rejected journal entry surfaces as a support ticket against you rather than against the ERP.
  • No pricing is published beyond a sandbox trial, so cost cannot be compared against alternatives without a sales process, and pricing tends to scale with connected accounts.
  • QuickBooks Desktop and other on-premises systems require a local connector or hosted agent, which introduces installation steps your customers must complete and support burden you inherit.
  • Sync freshness varies by platform and by customer authorisation state, so a product promising near real-time figures will find some connections update far less often than the marketing implies.

Pricing, plan by plan

Nango

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 10 connections
    • Pre-built integrations
    • Managed OAuth
  • Starter$50/month
    • 20 connections included
    • 1 USD per additional connection
    • Custom syncs and actions
  • Growth$500/month
    • 100 connections included
    • 1 USD per additional connection
    • Higher limits
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Quoted
    • Custom connection volumes
    • Security review and SLA

Rutter

On request
  • Starter$undefined/month
    • Thirty day sandbox trial
    • Test integrations with QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks and Zoho Books
    • Documentation and workflow guides
  • Full Access$undefined/year
    • Production access across all platforms
    • Includes NetSuite, QuickBooks Desktop and Sage Intacct
    • Write operations and passthrough

Which should you pick?

Choose Nango if

  • You need managed oauth.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Docker.
  • You also want pre-built integrations.
Nango review

Choose Rutter if

  • You need accounting and erp.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want commerce data.
Rutter review

Questions people ask

Is Nango or Rutter better?
Neither clearly leads. Nango starts at Free and Rutter at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Nango or Rutter?
Nango has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Nango and On request for Rutter.
Does Nango or Rutter run on more platforms?
Nango runs on Web, Linux, Docker. Rutter runs on Web, API.
Can I use Nango for free?
Yes. Nango has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Rutter starts at On request.
What is Nango best used for?
Nango is most often used for a saas product that needs to ship twenty customer-facing integrations without hiring a team to maintain oauth and token refresh for each, a team that needs a niche or internal api integrated, which closed unified api vendors will not build for them, a company with data residency or security constraints that must self-host the integration layer rather than send customer tokens to a vendor, an engineering team replacing a homegrown integration service whose main cost is silent token expiry and rate limit failures in production. Of those, a saas product that needs to ship twenty customer-facing integrations without hiring a team to maintain oauth and token refresh for each and a team that needs a niche or internal api integrated, which closed unified api vendors will not build for them are not what Rutter is typically brought in for.
What can Nango do that Rutter cannot?
Nango covers Managed OAuth, Pre-built integrations, Custom syncs and actions, Incremental sync. Rutter covers Accounting and ERP, Commerce data, Payments data, Advertising data.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Nango: Is Nango open source?

It is source available under Elastic License 2.0. You can read, modify and self-host it, but you cannot offer it to third parties as a managed service. That is not the same as an OSI approved open source licence.

Rutter: Does Rutter support QuickBooks Desktop?

Yes, which distinguishes it from unified APIs that only cover cloud accounting, and matters because many small businesses still run it.

Nango: How is it priced?

Per connection per month, where a connection is one authorised end-user account. Free to 10 connections, 50 dollars a month for Starter with 20, 500 for Growth with 100, and one dollar per additional connection.

Rutter: Can Rutter write data back?

Yes. Invoices, bills and journal entries can be pushed into supported accounting systems, not only read.

Nango: Can we integrate an API Nango does not support?

Yes. Custom syncs and actions in TypeScript cover any API including internal ones, which is the main advantage over closed unified API products.

Rutter: Is there a free tier?

There is a thirty day sandbox trial with test data. Production access requires a paid plan with quoted pricing.

Nango: Can we self-host it?

Yes, under the Elastic License 2.0 terms, which permit self-hosting for your own use but not resale as a service.

Rutter: What if the unified model lacks a field I need?

Rutter supports passthrough requests to the underlying platform API, though using them reintroduces platform-specific code.

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