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Cybersecurity · head to head

Stytch vs Tilt

Stytch logo

Stytch

Cybersecurity

Identity platform with passwordless auth, passkeys and bot detection.

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Tilt logo

Tilt

Developer Tools

Local Kubernetes development loop that rebuilds and live-updates containers on save

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

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; Tilt docker acquired Tilt in 2022 and the team now splits its time across Compose and Docker Desktop, so feature velocity is modest and the product's long-term priority inside Docker is not guaranteed; treat it as a stable utility, not a growing platform.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Stytch and Tilt actually diverge.

Attributes where Stytch and Tilt differ
AttributeStytchTilt
Pricing modelfreemiumOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, APILinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools

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 Stytch

Nothing recorded that Tilt does not also cover.

Only in Tilt

  • Live update
  • Tiltfile as code
  • Unified web UI
  • Selective rebuilds
  • Local and remote clusters
  • Resource dependencies
  • Extensions registry
  • Custom buttons and triggers

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Stytch

  • Applications prioritising passwordless and passkey authenticationnot Tilt
  • SaaS platforms requiring AI agent authentication and machine-to-machine flowsnot Tilt
  • Companies with emerging identity needs such as bot detection and device intelligencenot Tilt
  • Organisations building with Next.js and React requiring modern auth patternsnot Tilt
  • Applications needing transparent pricing without surprise tiers or feature gatingnot Tilt

Tilt

  • A team of ten or more engineers whose application is fifteen microservices on Kubernetes and who currently wait on CI to test a changenot Stytch
  • An organisation onboarding new developers who want a single command that stands up the whole stack from a committed Tiltfilenot Stytch
  • A platform team giving product engineers a consistent local environment against a shared remote development clusternot Stytch
  • A codebase where one repository contains several services and rebuilding all of them on every edit is the main source of lost timenot 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

Tilt

  • Docker acquired Tilt in 2022 and the team now splits its time across Compose and Docker Desktop, so feature velocity is modest and the product's long-term priority inside Docker is not guaranteed; treat it as a stable utility, not a growing platform.
  • The Tiltfile is Starlark, a Python dialect, so non-trivial setups become real programs that need reviewing and maintaining, and the person who wrote yours becomes a single point of failure.
  • Live update only works when the running container can accept synced files and restart the process; compiled languages, distroless images and read-only filesystems often force you back to a full image rebuild, which removes the main benefit.
  • It assumes Kubernetes. If your development target is plain Docker Compose or serverless functions, Tilt adds a cluster you did not need and a layer of abstraction with no payoff.
  • There is no commercial support contract, no SLA and no paid tier, so when a Kubernetes version upgrade breaks something you are dependent on GitHub issues and a Slack channel rather than a vendor you can escalate to.

Pricing, plan by plan

Stytch

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 10,000 monthly active users and AI agents
    • Unlimited organisations
    • 5 SSO or SCIM connections
  • Scaled$undefined/variable
    • Usage-based pricing for users exceeding 10,000
    • All free tier features
    • Volume discounts available
  • Enterprise$undefined/variable
    • Custom pricing
    • Discounted volume rates
    • Enterprise support SLA

Tilt

Free
  • TiltFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed
    • All features, no paid tier
    • Community support via the Kubernetes Slack #tilt channel

Which should you pick?

Choose Stytch if

  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API.
Stytch review

Choose Tilt if

  • You need live update.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want tiltfile as code.
Tilt review

Questions people ask

Is Stytch or Tilt better?
Neither clearly leads. Stytch starts at Free and Tilt at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Stytch or Tilt?
Stytch starts at Free and Tilt at Free.
Does Stytch or Tilt run on more platforms?
Stytch runs on Web, API. Tilt runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
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 Tilt is typically brought in for.
What can Stytch do that Tilt cannot?
Tilt covers Live update, Tiltfile as code, Unified web UI, Selective rebuilds.

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.

Source
Tilt: Is Tilt free?

Yes, entirely. It is Apache 2.0 open source with no paid tier and no licence fee.

Stytch: 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.

Source
Tilt: Who owns Tilt now?

Docker, which acquired it in May 2022. It remains open source and the repository is still actively maintained.

Stytch: 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
Tilt: Do I need a remote cluster?

No. It works against a local cluster such as kind, minikube or Docker Desktop, and also against a shared remote development cluster if your services are too heavy to run locally.

Tilt: How is it different from Skaffold?

Both automate the build-deploy loop. Tilt puts more weight on the live-update path and a multi-service dashboard; Skaffold is more configuration-driven and closer to Google's tooling.

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