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Cybersecurity · head to head

Ory vs PublicInput

Ory logo

Ory

Cybersecurity

Open-source identity, authentication, and permissions infrastructure

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
PublicInput logo

PublicInput

Government

Inclusive Community Engagement

From
$400/month
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.; PublicInput all three plans, Listen, Engage and Engage Plus, are listed as Request Pricing with no published rate, minimum or cost driver
  • They diverge on capability: Ory covers Authentication APIs, PublicInput covers Virtual Public Meetings.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ory and PublicInput actually diverge.

Attributes where Ory and PublicInput differ
AttributeOryPublicInput
Starting priceFree$400/month
Pricing modelusage-basedsubscription
Free tierYesNo
Platformsweb, apiWeb, Ios, Android
CategoryCybersecurityGovernment
FoundedUnknown2014

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 PublicInput

  • Virtual Public Meetings
  • Online Surveys
  • Comment Management
  • Multi-language Support
  • Engagement Analytics
  • Zoom
  • Microsoft Teams
  • GovDelivery

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 PublicInput
  • Implementing fine-grained permission checksnot PublicInput
  • Supporting B2B organizations and multi-tenancynot PublicInput
  • Building machine-to-machine authentication for microservicesnot PublicInput

PublicInput

  • Civic engagementnot Ory
  • Government consultationnot Ory
  • Public input collectionnot 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.

PublicInput

  • All three plans, Listen, Engage and Engage Plus, are listed as Request Pricing with no published rate, minimum or cost driver
  • HTML and CSS customization, custom workflows and approvals, and external system integration with Accela and ESRI are listed as Enterprise Capabilities rather than core platform features
  • Public meetings functionality is sold under a separate Meetings plan rather than being included with the Engagement plans
  • Getting a plan requires booking a consultation and a tailored demo rather than self serve signup

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)

PublicInput

$400/month
  • Enterprise$400/month
    • Virtual Meetings
    • Surveys
    • Comment Management

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 PublicInput if

  • You need virtual public meetings.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want online surveys.
PublicInput review

Questions people ask

Is Ory or PublicInput better?
Neither clearly leads. Ory starts at Free and PublicInput at $400/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ory or PublicInput?
Ory has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Ory and $400/month for PublicInput.
Does Ory or PublicInput run on more platforms?
Ory runs on web, api. PublicInput runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use Ory for free?
Yes. Ory has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. PublicInput starts at $400/month.
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 PublicInput is typically brought in for.
What can Ory do that PublicInput cannot?
Ory covers Authentication APIs, Permissions engine, Machine-to-machine tokens, B2B organizations. PublicInput covers Virtual Public Meetings, Online Surveys, Comment Management, Multi-language Support.

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
PublicInput: How much does PublicInput cost?

PublicInput does not publish pricing on their website. Customers must request a demo or book a meeting to receive a quote based on their specific needs.

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
PublicInput: What pricing plans does PublicInput offer?

PublicInput offers Engagement Plans and Meetings Plans, but specific pricing for each plan is not publicly available and requires contacting their sales team.

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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