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Cybersecurity · head to head

Ory vs Spring Cloud Gateway

Ory logo

Ory

Cybersecurity

Open-source identity, authentication, and permissions infrastructure

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Spring Cloud Gateway logo

Spring Cloud Gateway

APIs

API gateway built on Project Reactor for building microservices

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; Spring Cloud Gateway released under the Apache 2.0 license, free and open source with no commercial tier
  • They diverge on capability: Ory covers Authentication APIs, Spring Cloud Gateway covers Routing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ory and Spring Cloud Gateway actually diverge.

Attributes where Ory and Spring Cloud Gateway differ
AttributeOrySpring Cloud Gateway
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
Platformsweb, apiJava, Spring Boot
CategoryCybersecurityAPIs
FoundedUnknown1998

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Spring Cloud Gateway

  • Routing
  • Path Rewriting
  • Circuit Breaker
  • Spring Boot
  • Spring Security
  • Spring Cloud
  • Java support
  • Spring Boot support

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

Spring Cloud Gateway

  • API Developmentnot Ory
  • API Gatewaynot Ory
  • API Testingnot Ory
  • API Documentationnot Ory
  • Microservicesnot 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.

Spring Cloud Gateway

  • Released under the Apache 2.0 license, free and open source with no commercial tier

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)

Spring Cloud Gateway

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Core Spring Cloud Gateway
    • Community support

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 Spring Cloud Gateway if

  • You need routing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Java, Spring Boot.
  • You also want path rewriting.
Spring Cloud Gateway review

Questions people ask

Is Ory or Spring Cloud Gateway better?
Neither clearly leads. Ory starts at Free and Spring Cloud Gateway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ory or Spring Cloud Gateway?
Ory starts at Free and Spring Cloud Gateway at Free.
Does Ory or Spring Cloud Gateway run on more platforms?
Ory runs on web, api. Spring Cloud Gateway runs on Java, Spring Boot.
Can I use Ory for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Spring Cloud Gateway is typically brought in for.
What can Ory do that Spring Cloud Gateway cannot?
Ory covers Authentication APIs, Permissions engine, Machine-to-machine tokens, B2B organizations. Spring Cloud Gateway covers Routing, Path Rewriting, Circuit Breaker, Spring Boot.

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
Spring Cloud Gateway: Is Spring Cloud Gateway free?

Yes, Spring Cloud Gateway is free and open-source software. It is part of the Spring ecosystem and available through GitHub repositories with open-source dependencies like spring-cloud-starter-gateway-server-webflux and spring-cloud-starter-gateway-server-webmvc.

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
Spring Cloud Gateway: What enterprise support is available for Spring Cloud Gateway?

Tanzu Spring provides optional enterprise support including Day 0 access to security patches for organizations requiring guaranteed support, but specific pricing is not published on the Spring Cloud Gateway project page.

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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