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Software · head to head

Netlify vs Ory

Netlify logo

Netlify

Software

The fastest way to build the fastest sites

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Ory logo

Ory

Software

Open-source identity, authentication, and permissions infrastructure

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Netlify the free tier is an individual account with 300 credits; team members require the Pro plan at $20 a month; 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: Netlify covers Continuous deployment, Ory covers Authentication APIs.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Netlify and Ory actually diverge.

Attributes where Netlify and Ory differ
AttributeNetlifyOry
Pricing modelfreemiumusage-based
PlatformsWebweb, api
Founded2014Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Netlify

  • Continuous deployment
  • Instant rollbacks
  • Deploy previews
  • Split testing
  • Forms handling
  • Identity/Auth
  • Serverless functions
  • Edge handlers

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.

Netlify

  • Hosting static sites and frontend frameworks with global CDN deliverynot Ory
  • Deploy previews on every pull requestnot Ory
  • Serverless functions alongside a static sitenot Ory
  • Netlify Database and Blob storage for small application statenot Ory

Ory

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

Where each one falls short

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

Netlify

  • The free tier is an individual account with 300 credits; team members require the Pro plan at $20 a month
  • Everything is metered in credits, so bandwidth at 20 credits per GB and production deploys at 15 credits each consume the allowance in ways a bandwidth figure alone would not show
  • Compute is billed at 10 credits per GB-hour, so server-rendered work costs more than static hosting
  • Running past the allowance means buying credit packs, at $5 for 500 on Personal and $10 for 1,500 on Pro
  • AI inference is priced by model rather than at a flat credit rate

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

Netlify

Free
  • StarterFree
    • 100GB bandwidth
    • 300 build minutes
    • 1 concurrent build
  • Pro$19/month
    • 400GB bandwidth
    • 25,000 build minutes
    • 3 concurrent builds
  • Business$99/month
    • 600GB bandwidth
    • 35,000 build minutes
    • 5 concurrent builds
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom bandwidth
    • Custom build minutes
    • Unlimited concurrent builds

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 Netlify if

  • You need continuous deployment.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want instant rollbacks.
Netlify 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 Netlify or Ory better?
Neither clearly leads. Netlify starts at Free and Ory at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Netlify or Ory?
Netlify starts at Free and Ory at Free.
Does Netlify or Ory run on more platforms?
Netlify runs on Web. Ory runs on web, api.
Can I use Netlify for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Netlify best used for?
Netlify is most often used for hosting static sites and frontend frameworks with global cdn delivery, deploy previews on every pull request, serverless functions alongside a static site, netlify database and blob storage for small application state. Of those, hosting static sites and frontend frameworks with global cdn delivery and deploy previews on every pull request are not what Ory is typically brought in for.
What can Netlify do that Ory cannot?
Netlify covers Continuous deployment, Instant rollbacks, Deploy previews, Split testing. 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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