Cerbos vs Open Policy Agent: Pricing and Ratings Compared (2026)
Entry prices and free plans as read on each vendor's pricing page, and user ratings as published on review sites, for Cerbos and Open Policy Agent side by side. This page compares data; it is not a hands-on review.
On the data: On the data below the two are close or not directly comparable, so we do not name a winner for this pair.
Short on time? Here's the quick answer
Based on published vendor pricing and features and on public review data, here's who should pick what:
Cerbos
Fine-grained, contextual, and continuous authorization for enterprise software and AI systems.
Best for you if:
- • You want engineering time goes to the product, not to building and maintaining authorization in-house
Open Policy Agent
Unify policy enforcement across your entire software stack with a high-performance policy engine.
Best for you if:
- • You want a fully free tool (Cerbos requires payment)
| At a Glance | Cerbos | Open Policy Agent |
|---|---|---|
Starts at | Free plan, paid from $25/mo, billed monthly Development plan | Free 100% free |
Category | Security Compliance | Security DevOps |
Rating | 4.9/5 G2 4.9 · Capterra 5.0 6 reviews | n/a |
Free plan | Yes | Yes |
Choose Cerbos or Open Policy Agent?
Choose Cerbos if
- You want engineering time goes to the product, not to building and maintaining authorization in-house
- You want security and product teams can change who can access what without waiting for an engineering release
Choose Open Policy Agent if
- You want a fully free tool (Cerbos requires payment)
- You want unifies policy enforcement across diverse systems
- You want enhances developer productivity by externalizing policy
In-Depth Analysis
Cerbos
Fine-grained, contextual, and continuous authorization for enterprise software and AI systems.
Strengths
- Pro: Engineering time goes to the product, not to building and maintaining authorization in-house
- Pro: Security and product teams can change who can access what without waiting for an engineering release
- Pro: One view of what every user, service and AI agent can access, with audit logs ready for SOC 2, ISO 27001 and HIPAA
- Pro: Teams can approve AI agent rollouts, because every agent action is checked against access rules and logged
- Pro: Supports a wide range of programming languages and deployment environments.
Weaknesses
- Con: Each app needs code added where it checks access, so there’s some setup work in existing applications
- Con: No built-in database for relationship data. It stays in your own systems, and Cerbos fetches it when a check runs
Key features
Open Policy Agent
Unify policy enforcement across your entire software stack with a high-performance policy engine.
Strengths
- Pro: Unifies policy enforcement across diverse systems
- Pro: Enhances developer productivity by externalizing policy
- Pro: Provides detailed audit trails for compliance and debugging
- Pro: High performance due to Rego language and in-memory data processing
- Pro: Flexible and extensible for a wide range of use cases
Weaknesses
- Con: Requires learning a new declarative language (Rego)
- Con: Initial setup and integration can be complex for new users
- Con: Policy management can become intricate for very large and complex organizations
Key features
Plans and prices: Cerbos vs Open Policy Agent
| Tool | Plans and prices | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Cerbos |
| cerbos.dev/pricing read Nov 3, 2026 |
| Open Policy Agent | No plan prices on file | openpolicyagent.org |
Prices as read on each vendor's own pricing page on the date shown. Plans are listed per tool and are not matched against the other tool's plans: a plan name or price in one column says nothing about the same row in the other. Details on Cerbos pricing and Open Policy Agent pricing.
Key Takeaways
Cerbos
- Choose if you want fine-grained, contextual, and continuous authorization for enterprise software and AI systems
Open Policy Agent
- Choose if you want unify policy enforcement across your entire software stack with a high-performance policy engine
What the data shows
On the data below the two are close or not directly comparable, so we do not name a winner for this pair.
- Only Cerbos has a published user rating (4.9/5 from 6 reviews); Open Policy Agent has none we can show.
- Cerbos starts at $25/mo, billed monthly; Open Policy Agent has no public paid plan price on file.
- Both have a free plan.
Criteria: user rating (only above 20 reviews on both sides, gap of 0.2 or more), entry price (only on the same billing basis), free plan. How we rate
Frequently Asked Questions
How do Cerbos and Open Policy Agent compare in 2026?
On the data below the two are close or not directly comparable, so we do not name a winner for this pair. Only Cerbos has a published user rating (4.9/5 from 6 reviews); Open Policy Agent has none we can show. Cerbos starts at $25/mo, billed monthly; Open Policy Agent has no public paid plan price on file. Both have a free plan.
What are Cerbos and Open Policy Agent used for?
Cerbos: Fine-grained, contextual, and continuous authorization for enterprise software and AI systems. Open Policy Agent: Unify policy enforcement across your entire software stack with a high-performance policy engine.
What does Cerbos cost vs Open Policy Agent?
Cerbos's cheapest paid plan is Development at $25/mo, billed monthly; it also has a free plan. Open Policy Agent is free. Prices read on the vendors' pricing pages, latest check Nov 3, 2026.
What's the main difference between Cerbos and Open Policy Agent?
Cerbos's main strength: engineering time goes to the product, not to building and maintaining authorization in-house. Open Policy Agent's main strength: unifies policy enforcement across diverse systems.