Software · head to head
Stytch vs Fortinet FortiGate
Stytch
Software
Identity platform with passwordless auth, passkeys and bot detection.
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Fortinet FortiGate
Software
Next-generation firewall with AI-powered threat protection
- From
- $500/year
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Stytch has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Stytch free tier limited to 10,000 monthly active users; scaling beyond this requires custom pricing negotiation; Fortinet FortiGate security services are sold as separate FortiGuard subscription bundles, so ATP, UTP and ENT determine which protections are actually active
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Stytch and Fortinet FortiGate actually diverge.
| Attribute | Stytch | Fortinet FortiGate |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | $500/year |
| Pricing model | freemium | subscription |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Platforms | Web, API | Hardware, Virtual, Cloud |
| Founded | Unknown | 2000 |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Stytch
Nothing recorded that Fortinet FortiGate does not also cover.
Only in Fortinet FortiGate
- Next-generation firewall
- Intrusion prevention
- SSL/TLS inspection
- Application control
- Web filtering
- SD-WAN
- Zero-trust network access
- AI-powered threat detection
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Stytch
- Applications prioritising passwordless and passkey authenticationnot Fortinet FortiGate
- SaaS platforms requiring AI agent authentication and machine-to-machine flowsnot Fortinet FortiGate
- Companies with emerging identity needs such as bot detection and device intelligencenot Fortinet FortiGate
- Organisations building with Next.js and React requiring modern auth patternsnot Fortinet FortiGate
- Applications needing transparent pricing without surprise tiers or feature gatingnot Fortinet FortiGate
Fortinet FortiGate
- Next-generation firewalling at data centre, campus and branch scalenot Stytch
- Secure SD-WAN across distributed sitesnot Stytch
- Zero trust network access to internal applicationsnot Stytch
- Virtual firewalls in AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and Oraclenot Stytch
- Ruggedised deployments in industrial environmentsnot Stytch
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 $99
- HIPAA and advanced fraud protection only available in Enterprise tier
- No native UI builder; requires custom frontend development for fully-branded auth flows
Fortinet FortiGate
- Security services are sold as separate FortiGuard subscription bundles, so ATP, UTP and ENT determine which protections are actually active
- Throughput is tied to the appliance model, from 500 Mbps on the FortiGate 30G to 520 Gbps on the 7121F, so capacity planning is a hardware purchase
- Pricing is not published and goes through partners
Pricing, plan by plan
Stytch
Free- FreeFree
- 10,000 monthly active users and AI agents
- Unlimited organisations
- 5 SSO or SCIM connections
- Scaled$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
Fortinet FortiGate
$500/year- FortiGate Entry$500/year
- Basic firewall
- VPN support
- Threat protection
- FortiGate Enterprise$2500/year
- Advanced threat protection
- SSL inspection
- Application control
- FortiGate Ultimate$10000/year
- All Enterprise features
- Zero-trust access
- AI-powered analytics
Which should you pick?
Choose Fortinet FortiGate if
- You need next-generation firewall.
- You work on Hardware, Virtual, Cloud.
- You also want intrusion prevention.
Questions people ask
- Is Stytch or Fortinet FortiGate better?
- Neither clearly leads. Stytch starts at Free and Fortinet FortiGate at $500/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Stytch or Fortinet FortiGate?
- Stytch has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Stytch and $500/year for Fortinet FortiGate.
- Does Stytch or Fortinet FortiGate run on more platforms?
- Stytch runs on Web, API. Fortinet FortiGate runs on Hardware, Virtual, Cloud.
- Can I use Stytch for free?
- Yes. Stytch has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Fortinet FortiGate starts at $500/year.
- 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 Fortinet FortiGate is typically brought in for.
- What can Stytch do that Fortinet FortiGate cannot?
- Fortinet FortiGate covers Next-generation firewall, Intrusion prevention, SSL/TLS inspection, Application control.
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