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Cybersecurity · head to head

Stytch vs Very Good Security

Stytch logo

Stytch

Cybersecurity

Identity platform with passwordless auth, passkeys and bot detection.

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Very Good Security logo

Very Good Security

Cybersecurity

Tokenisation proxy that keeps card and personal data out of your own systems and out of PCI scope

From
$1000/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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; Very Good Security vGS sits in the live path of every request carrying sensitive data, so its latency and availability become yours, and an outage in the proxy is a payment outage no matter how healthy your own systems are.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Stytch and Very Good Security actually diverge.

Attributes where Stytch and Very Good Security differ
AttributeStytchVery Good Security
Starting priceFree$1000/month
Pricing modelfreemiumPer month
Free tierYesNo

Identical on both: platforms (Web, API), 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 Stytch

Nothing recorded that Very Good Security does not also cover.

Only in Very Good Security

  • Aliasing proxy
  • PCI scope reduction
  • Network tokenisation
  • Processor optionality
  • Card issuing data
  • Vault and access controls
  • Data residency options
  • Compliance artefacts

What people use each for

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

Stytch

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

Very Good Security

  • A marketplace facing its first PCI DSS Level 1 assessment that wants to keep card data off its own estate rather than harden a dozen servicesnot Stytch
  • A merchant negotiating with a second acquirer that needs card credentials portable so the negotiation is real rather than theoreticalnot Stytch
  • A fintech collecting bank account and identity documents that wants sensitive fields absent from logs, backups and analytics warehouses by constructionnot Stytch
  • A card issuer that must display a full PAN in its own mobile app without the app or its backend touching cardholder datanot 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

Very Good Security

  • VGS sits in the live path of every request carrying sensitive data, so its latency and availability become yours, and an outage in the proxy is a payment outage no matter how healthy your own systems are.
  • Token portability is the whole selling point yet leaving VGS means migrating tokens back out, a project the vendor has no incentive to streamline, so the lock-in you removed from your acquirer partly moves to VGS.
  • Entry pricing at around one thousand US dollars a month is real money for a pre-revenue fintech, and it buys volume-limited throughput, so cost scales with exactly the growth that made you buy it.
  • Scope reduction is not scope elimination: your QSA still assesses how you integrate, and teams regularly discover that a support tool or an internal admin screen pulled plaintext back in and dragged systems into scope again.
  • Proxy-based interception constrains how you design request flows, and non-standard payloads, streaming uploads or binary formats often need custom routing rules that make debugging production issues noticeably harder.

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

Very Good Security

$1000/month
  • Starter$1000/month
    • Aliasing proxy
    • Vault storage
    • PCI scope reduction
  • Growth$undefined/month
    • Network tokenisation
    • Multiple processors
    • Data residency options
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom vault architecture
    • Dedicated support and SLA
    • Contractual compliance coverage

Which should you pick?

Choose Stytch if

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

Choose Very Good Security if

  • You need aliasing proxy.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want pci scope reduction.
Very Good Security review

Questions people ask

Is Stytch or Very Good Security better?
Neither clearly leads. Stytch starts at Free and Very Good Security at $1000/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Stytch or Very Good Security?
Stytch has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Stytch and $1000/month for Very Good Security.
Does Stytch or Very Good Security run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, API, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Stytch for free?
Yes. Stytch has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Very Good Security starts at $1000/month.
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 Very Good Security is typically brought in for.
What can Stytch do that Very Good Security cannot?
Very Good Security covers Aliasing proxy, PCI scope reduction, Network tokenisation, Processor optionality.

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
Very Good Security: Does VGS make me PCI compliant?

No. It removes cardholder data from your systems so your assessment covers a far smaller boundary, but you still complete an assessment and your integration is part of it.

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
Very Good Security: Can I move to another processor without re-collecting cards?

Yes, that is a core reason people buy it. The vault reveals stored credentials to whichever processor you route to.

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
Very Good Security: What does it cost?

Published entry pricing is about one thousand US dollars per month; growth and enterprise tiers are quoted.

Very Good Security: Is it only for card data?

No. The proxy handles any sensitive field, including bank details, national identifiers and documents, though payments is where the product is now focused.

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