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Cybersecurity · head to head

One Identity vs Ory Kratos

One Identity logo

One Identity

Cybersecurity

Quest-owned identity governance, PAM and Active Directory management

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Ory Kratos logo

Ory Kratos

Cybersecurity

Headless identity and user management API

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Ory Kratos has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: One Identity the portfolio is assembled from separate acquisitions, so components are separately licensed, separately administered and do not present one console, which raises operational cost.; Ory Kratos headless means you build every screen, which is significant work compared with a hosted login page
  • They diverge on capability: One Identity covers Identity Manager, Ory Kratos covers Headless API.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which One Identity and Ory Kratos actually diverge.

Attributes where One Identity and Ory Kratos differ
AttributeOne IdentityOry Kratos
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteOpen-source self-hosted, with a paid managed network
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Windows, LinuxLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted

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 One Identity

  • Identity Manager
  • Safeguard
  • Active Roles
  • OneLogin
  • Password Manager
  • syslog-ng
  • Starling connectors

Only in Ory Kratos

  • Headless API
  • Self-service flows
  • Multi-factor authentication
  • Pluggable identity schemas

What people use each for

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

One Identity

  • An organisation whose authoritative directory will remain on premises Active Directory and needs delegated administration with attribute-level controlnot Ory Kratos
  • A government or defence environment requiring privileged session management on a hardened physical appliance rather than a cloud servicenot Ory Kratos
  • A manufacturer with SAP and Active Directory needing provisioning governed under one certification processnot Ory Kratos
  • An enterprise consolidating Active Directory after an acquisition and needing automated account lifecycle across both forestsnot Ory Kratos

Ory Kratos

  • Products needing complete control over the look and flow of authenticationnot One Identity
  • Applications that must not hand user identity data to a third partynot One Identity
  • Teams building identity as infrastructure across several servicesnot One Identity

Where each one falls short

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

One Identity

  • The portfolio is assembled from separate acquisitions, so components are separately licensed, separately administered and do not present one console, which raises operational cost.
  • Identity Manager implementations are customisation-heavy and commonly run over a year, with the services spend exceeding the licence cost in the first year.
  • Quest has changed private equity ownership more than once since the Dell separation, and buyers should ask directly about product investment commitments before signing a multi-year deal.
  • Product documentation and support sit behind a customer portal, which makes independent evaluation before purchase harder than with vendors that publish openly.
  • The cloud-native and developer experience trails the pure-play identity vendors, so organisations moving decisively to SaaS applications find the on premises heritage becomes a constraint rather than an asset.

Ory Kratos

  • Headless means you build every screen, which is significant work compared with a hosted login page
  • More moving parts than a monolithic IAM: Kratos handles identity, and OAuth2 needs Ory Hydra alongside
  • Documentation assumes real familiarity with identity concepts and is not a gentle introduction
  • Self-hosting identity carries the security and availability burden that hosted providers absorb

Pricing, plan by plan

One Identity

On request
  • Identity Manager$undefined/year
    • Priced per managed identity
    • On premises or hosted
    • Access certification and provisioning
  • Safeguard$undefined/year
    • Priced per privileged user or per appliance
    • Hardened appliance option for session management
    • Licensed separately from Identity Manager
  • Active Roles$undefined/year
    • Priced per managed Active Directory account
    • Delegated administration and automated provisioning
    • Licensed separately

Ory Kratos

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • Full identity server
    • All flows
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose One Identity if

  • You need identity manager.
  • You work on Web, Windows, Linux.
  • You also want safeguard.
One Identity review

Choose Ory Kratos if

  • You need headless api.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want self-service flows.
Ory Kratos review

Questions people ask

Is One Identity or Ory Kratos better?
Neither clearly leads. One Identity starts at On request and Ory Kratos at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, One Identity or Ory Kratos?
Ory Kratos has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for One Identity and Free for Ory Kratos.
Does One Identity or Ory Kratos run on more platforms?
One Identity runs on Web, Windows, Linux. Ory Kratos runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
Can I use Ory Kratos for free?
Yes. Ory Kratos has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. One Identity starts at On request.
What is One Identity best used for?
One Identity is most often used for an organisation whose authoritative directory will remain on premises active directory and needs delegated administration with attribute-level control, a government or defence environment requiring privileged session management on a hardened physical appliance rather than a cloud service, a manufacturer with sap and active directory needing provisioning governed under one certification process, an enterprise consolidating active directory after an acquisition and needing automated account lifecycle across both forests. Of those, an organisation whose authoritative directory will remain on premises active directory and needs delegated administration with attribute-level control and a government or defence environment requiring privileged session management on a hardened physical appliance rather than a cloud service are not what Ory Kratos is typically brought in for.
What can One Identity do that Ory Kratos cannot?
One Identity covers Identity Manager, Safeguard, Active Roles, OneLogin. Ory Kratos covers Headless API, Self-service flows, Multi-factor authentication, Pluggable identity schemas.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

One Identity: Is One Identity the same company as Quest?

Yes. One Identity is Quest Software's identity and access management business unit, not a separate vendor.

Ory Kratos: Is Ory Kratos free?

Yes, open source and free to self-host. Ory Network is a paid managed service.

One Identity: Does it include privileged access?

Safeguard provides it, but it is licensed separately from Identity Manager. Neither includes the other.

Ory Kratos: What does headless mean here?

Kratos provides identity flows as APIs and no user interface. You build the login, registration and recovery screens yourself.

One Identity: Why choose this over SailPoint or Saviynt?

Almost always because of Active Directory depth via Active Roles or an appliance requirement for privileged sessions. For cloud-first estates the specialists are the stronger choice.

Ory Kratos: Does Kratos do OAuth2?

No. Kratos handles user identity; OAuth2 and OpenID Connect provider functionality is Ory Hydra, a separate component.

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