The mechanism, priced like an instrument, not a subscription trap.
One free core, self-hosted and AGPL, unlimited boxes, forever. Above it, a hosted plane priced per operator and by box band, the number of machines the reconciler watches. Never per machine, never per identity. There is no head-to-head price war here: nothing else ships a plain VPS conformance engine, a value-blind secret graph, and a self-verifying install in one instrument.
Four ways to run it.
Monthly by default. Annual bills for ten months and gives you two free, on every paid plan.
Core
The reconciler, guards, CLI, and deck. Run it on anything, unlimited boxes.
Free forever, not a trial.
Live now- The reconciler and its six checks
- Per-directory context isolation
- Self-verifying install and the CLI
- The themed terminal deck
- Unlimited boxes, one operator, self-hosted
- AGPL-3.0-or-later, fully auditable
Operator
The hosted plane and governed autonomy for one operator.
Billed monthly.
Billed yearly. Two months free.
Early access- Everything in Core
- Governed-autonomy trust layer
- Hosted control plane, 1 operator seat
- Box band: up to 10 boxes
- Email support
Team
Approvals, audit, and SSO for a team running a real fleet.
Billed monthly.
Billed yearly. Two months free.
Early access- Everything in Operator
- 5 operator seats included
- Box band: up to 50 boxes
- Approvals workflow
- Full audit log
- SSO
- Priority support
Enterprise
The full fleet, linked rotation, and an audited managed plane.
Billed monthly. Scoped to your fleet.
Billed yearly. Two months free.
Early access- Everything in Team
- Unlimited operator seats
- Full fleet, unlimited boxes
- Linked secret rotation
- Audited managed plane
- Dedicated support and a custom SLA
The self-host core is free regardless of who you are, with no crippled tier and no expiring trial. If you are running this for a nonprofit or a school, or you simply cannot pay right now, say so when you write in. Hosted plans are discounted for people doing that work.
Prefer to avoid the AGPL's network-copyleft terms entirely? A commercial license for the core is sold separately by Evening Star Productions. Ask, and we will send terms.
Compare in detail.
The same four plans, every line. Scroll sideways on a small screen; the table stays a real table.
| Feature | CoreSelf-host | OperatorHosted, solo | TeamHosted, teamMost popular | EnterpriseHosted, fleet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | $49/mo | $199/mo | From $999/mo |
| Best for | A solo operator who self-hosts | A solo operator on the hosted plane | A team running a real fleet | A large or regulated fleet |
| Operator seats included | 1 | 1 | 5 | Unlimited |
| Box band | Unlimited, self-hosted | Up to 10 boxes | Up to 50 boxes | Unlimited, full fleet |
| Reconciler, guards, CLI, deck | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Governed-autonomy trust layer | Not included | Included | Included | Included |
| Hosted control plane | Not included, self-host only | Included | Included | Included |
| Approvals workflow | Not included | Not included | Included | Included |
| Audit log | Not included | Basic | Full | Full, with export |
| SSO | Not included | Not included | Included | Included |
| Linked secret rotation | Not included | Not included | Not included | Included |
| Support | Self-supported | Priority | Dedicated, with a custom SLA | |
| License | AGPL-3.0-or-later | Commercial | Commercial | Commercial |
Questions.
What counts as an operator?
A person who runs Orrery, holds credentials, and acts on findings, not a machine and not a service identity. Core is unmetered because it is self-hosted software you run yourself. Hosted plans include a set number of operator seats and let you add more.
What is a box band?
The number of boxes the reconciler is watching across your fleet, whatever the provider or operating system. It is never priced per machine identity or agent; the band is a ceiling on how many boxes one plan covers before you move up.
Is the free core really free forever?
Yes. It is not a trial and it does not expire or get crippled later. It is AGPL-3.0-or-later, zero runtime dependencies, read-only, and identity-free, so you can audit exactly what it does before you ever run it against a real fleet.
What about the AGPL?
The AGPL is a network-copyleft license: if you modify the core and offer that modified version to others over a network, you must make your changes available under the same terms. If that does not work for how you plan to use it, a commercial license is available from Evening Star Productions instead.
Is the hosted plane live yet?
Not yet. The core (reconciler, guards, CLI, deck, self-verifying install) ships today. The governed-autonomy trust layer, the hosted control plane, and the graphical fleet view are in development. Paid plans are open for early access now, so you can talk to us before it lands.
Do you offer nonprofit or education pricing?
Yes. The self-host core is free regardless. Hosted plans are discounted for nonprofits and education, and if you cannot pay at all, tell us that directly.
Start with the core, free.
No account, no card, no telemetry. Install it, run orrery
doctor, and see what it finds on your own boxes.