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Cybersecurity · head to head

Ory vs Sardine

Ory logo

Ory

Cybersecurity

Open-source identity, authentication, and permissions infrastructure

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sardine logo

Sardine

Cybersecurity

Device intelligence and behaviour biometrics for fraud and compliance

From
On request
Rated
-
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.; Sardine signal quality depends on the SDK being embedded in your own web and mobile clients, so fraud improvements become dependent on your app release cycle and any coverage gap is a blind spot.
  • They diverge on capability: Ory covers Authentication APIs, Sardine covers Device intelligence.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ory and Sardine actually diverge.

Attributes where Ory and Sardine differ
AttributeOrySardine
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelusage-basedquote
Free tierYesNo
Platformsweb, apiWeb, iOS, Android

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 Ory

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

Only in Sardine

  • Device intelligence
  • Behaviour biometrics
  • Scam detection
  • Onboarding risk scoring
  • AML transaction monitoring
  • Dispute and chargeback handling
  • Rules editor

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

Sardine

  • A neobank losing money to authorised push payment scams where the customer genuinely approved the transfernot Ory
  • A crypto exchange trying to detect accounts being operated by remote access rather than by their ownernot Ory
  • A fintech seeing synthetic identity signups that pass document verification but share device characteristicsnot Ory
  • A lender wanting first party fraud signals at application time that a credit bureau file does not containnot 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.

Sardine

  • Signal quality depends on the SDK being embedded in your own web and mobile clients, so fraud improvements become dependent on your app release cycle and any coverage gap is a blind spot.
  • Behavioural and device telemetry collection needs a documented lawful basis under GDPR, and EU privacy reviews frequently delay rollouts that were scoped as engineering work.
  • Pricing is per session or per active user, so a consumer product with many low value sessions pays in proportion to traffic rather than to fraud exposure.
  • As a younger private company it lacks the enforcement-tested audit history that a bank examiner expects, which makes it a harder sell inside a regulated bank than inside a fintech.
  • It is strongest on session-time signals and weaker as a system of record for long horizon AML typologies, so larger institutions end up running it alongside a traditional monitoring platform rather than instead of one.

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)

Sardine

On request
  • Sardine$undefined/year
    • Priced per user session or per monthly active user
    • Annual contract with volume commitment
    • SDK for web, iOS and Android

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 Sardine if

  • You need device intelligence.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want behaviour biometrics.
Sardine review

Questions people ask

Is Ory or Sardine better?
Neither clearly leads. Ory starts at Free and Sardine at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ory or Sardine?
Ory has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Ory and On request for Sardine.
Does Ory or Sardine run on more platforms?
Ory runs on web, api. Sardine runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Ory for free?
Yes. Ory has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sardine 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 Sardine is typically brought in for.
What can Ory do that Sardine cannot?
Ory covers Authentication APIs, Permissions engine, Machine-to-machine tokens, B2B organizations. Sardine covers Device intelligence, Behaviour biometrics, Scam detection, Onboarding risk scoring.

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
Sardine: Does Sardine do document verification?

It focuses on device, behavioural and transaction signals, and integrates identity verification providers rather than being one. Treat it as complementary to a KYC vendor.

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
Sardine: What does it need from us to work?

An SDK in your web and mobile applications plus transaction feeds. Without the client side collector you lose the signals that differentiate it.

Ory: What payment methods are supported?

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

Source
Sardine: Is pricing published?

No. It is quoted, typically per session or per monthly active user with an annual volume commitment.

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