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Cybersecurity · head to head

Ory vs Periscope Holdings

Ory logo

Ory

Cybersecurity

Open-source identity, authentication, and permissions infrastructure

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Periscope Holdings logo

Periscope Holdings

Government

Statewide e-procurement systems and supplier networks for large public agencies

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Ory has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Ory production and Growth plans are billed annually ($770/year and $9,350/year), which is a larger upfront commitment than monthly-only competitors.; Periscope Holdings it is scaled and priced for statewide programmes, so a single city or county typically finds both the implementation effort and the cost out of proportion to its needs.
  • They diverge on capability: Ory covers Authentication APIs, Periscope Holdings covers Sealed bid solicitation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ory and Periscope Holdings actually diverge.

Attributes where Ory and Periscope Holdings differ
AttributeOryPeriscope Holdings
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelusage-basedquote
Free tierYesNo
Platformsweb, apiWeb
CategoryCybersecurityGovernment

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 Ory

  • Authentication APIs
  • Permissions engine
  • Machine-to-machine tokens
  • B2B organizations
  • SAML SSO
  • Multi-region deployments

Only in Periscope Holdings

  • Sealed bid solicitation
  • Supplier registration network
  • Contract catalogues
  • Cooperative purchasing
  • Spend and compliance reporting
  • Supplier diversity tracking

What people use each for

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

Ory

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

Periscope Holdings

  • A state building a central procurement portal serving many agencies and local entitiesnot Ory
  • A large agency needing statutory sealed bidding with a public opening recordnot Ory
  • A purchasing programme that must report spend and supplier diversity across entitiesnot Ory
  • A state wanting local governments to buy from its awarded cooperative contractsnot Ory

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Periscope Holdings

  • It is scaled and priced for statewide programmes, so a single city or county typically finds both the implementation effort and the cost out of proportion to its needs.
  • The interface reflects the age and regulatory weight of the platform, and suppliers routinely describe registration and bidding as harder than on newer portals, which can suppress bid response.
  • Ownership has changed twice since 2021, from independent to mdf commerce to KKR, so roadmap and support continuity should be written into the contract rather than assumed.
  • Sibling products inside mdf commerce cover adjacent procurement ground, which means an apparently competitive shortlist may contain two products with the same owner.
  • Statewide implementations are multi year projects with heavy configuration and change management, and the professional services cost commonly exceeds the software over the contract term.

Pricing, plan by plan

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)

Periscope Holdings

On request
  • BuySpeed$undefined/year
    • Quoted per programme, scaled to entities served and transaction volume
    • Multi year statewide contracts with implementation priced separately
    • Supplier side registration fees form part of the commercial model on some programmes

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Periscope Holdings if

  • You need sealed bid solicitation.
  • You also want supplier registration network.
Periscope Holdings review

Questions people ask

Is Ory or Periscope Holdings better?
Neither clearly leads. Ory starts at Free and Periscope Holdings at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ory or Periscope Holdings?
Ory has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Ory and On request for Periscope Holdings.
Does Ory or Periscope Holdings run on more platforms?
Ory runs on web, api. Periscope Holdings runs on Web.
Can I use Ory for free?
Yes. Ory has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Periscope Holdings starts at On request.
What is Ory best used for?
Ory is most often used for adding self-hosted or cloud identity to a new product, implementing fine-grained permission checks, supporting b2b organizations and multi-tenancy, building machine-to-machine authentication for microservices. Of those, adding self-hosted or cloud identity to a new product and implementing fine-grained permission checks are not what Periscope Holdings is typically brought in for.
What can Ory do that Periscope Holdings cannot?
Ory covers Authentication APIs, Permissions engine, Machine-to-machine tokens, B2B organizations. Periscope Holdings covers Sealed bid solicitation, Supplier registration network, Contract catalogues, Cooperative purchasing.

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
Periscope Holdings: Who owns Periscope Holdings?

mdf commerce acquired it in 2021, and mdf commerce was itself acquired by KKR in 2024.

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
Periscope Holdings: Is it suitable for a single city?

Usually not. It is built and priced for statewide or very large agency programmes.

Ory: What payment methods are supported?

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

Source
Periscope Holdings: What is BuySpeed?

The e-procurement platform behind its statewide deployments, covering solicitation through catalogue ordering and reporting.

Periscope Holdings: Can we see what a state paid?

Yes. State procurement awards are public records and typically disclose the full multi year contract value.

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