Software · head to head
Stytch vs Cisco Duo
Stytch
Software
Identity platform with passwordless auth, passkeys and bot detection.
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Stytch free tier limited to 10,000 monthly active users; scaling beyond this requires custom pricing negotiation; Cisco Duo free tier caps at 10 users; every paid tier requires a minimum of 10 users
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Stytch and Cisco Duo actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Stytch
- Applications prioritising passwordless and passkey authenticationnot Cisco Duo
- SaaS platforms requiring AI agent authentication and machine-to-machine flowsnot Cisco Duo
- Companies with emerging identity needs such as bot detection and device intelligencenot Cisco Duo
- Organisations building with Next.js and React requiring modern auth patternsnot Cisco Duo
- Applications needing transparent pricing without surprise tiers or feature gatingnot Cisco Duo
Cisco Duo
No use cases recorded yet. See the Cisco Duo review.
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Stytch
- Free tier limited to 10,000 monthly active users; scaling beyond this requires custom pricing negotiation
- Fraud prevention capabilities billed at $0.005 per fingerprint for usage exceeding 10,000 free checks
- Additional SSO or SCIM connections beyond the 5 included in free tier cost $125 each
- Brand customisation and email removal require one-time payment of $99
- HIPAA and advanced fraud protection only available in Enterprise tier
- No native UI builder; requires custom frontend development for fully-branded auth flows
Cisco Duo
- Free tier caps at 10 users; every paid tier requires a minimum of 10 users
- Licenses cannot be bought individually above the free tier: under 100 users they are sold in increments of 10, and over 100 users in increments of 25
- Duo Premier, the top tier with the most adaptive access controls, costs $9 per user per month on top of the per-increment purchase requirement
Pricing, plan by plan
Stytch
Free- FreeFree
- 10,000 monthly active users and AI agents
- Unlimited organisations
- 5 SSO or SCIM connections
- Scaled$null/variable
- Usage-based pricing for users exceeding 10,000
- All free tier features
- Volume discounts available
- Enterprise$null/variable
- Custom pricing
- Discounted volume rates
- Enterprise support SLA
Cisco Duo
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Cisco Duo review.
Which should you pick?
Questions people ask
- Is Stytch or Cisco Duo better?
- Neither clearly leads. Stytch starts at Free and Cisco Duo at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Stytch or Cisco Duo?
- Stytch starts at Free and Cisco Duo at Free.
- Does Stytch or Cisco Duo run on more platforms?
- Stytch runs on Web, API. Cisco Duo runs on Web.
- Can I use Stytch for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Stytch best used for?
- Stytch is most often used for applications prioritising passwordless and passkey authentication, saas platforms requiring ai agent authentication and machine-to-machine flows, companies with emerging identity needs such as bot detection and device intelligence, organisations building with next.js and react requiring modern auth patterns. Of those, applications prioritising passwordless and passkey authentication and saas platforms requiring ai agent authentication and machine-to-machine flows are not what Cisco Duo is typically brought in for.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Stytch: What is included in Stytch's free tier?
The free tier includes 10,000 monthly active users (human and AI agents), unlimited organisations, 5 SSO or SCIM connections, and 1,000 machine-to-machine tokens with full authentication features.
SourceStytch: Does Stytch support AI agent authentication?
Yes. Stytch provides native AI agent authentication and authorisation, with support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP) for authenticating AI agents accessing external systems.
SourceStytch: What fraud prevention features does Stytch offer?
Stytch includes bot detection with 99.99% accuracy, device fingerprinting, invisible CAPTCHA, and zero-day device intelligence built into all tiers.
Source