Arcade vs Nango: Which is Better in 2026?
Choosing between Arcade and Nango? Both are popular agent auth & tool calling tools. Below we compare them on pricing, free tiers, features, and pros & cons so you can pick the right fit for your stack.
Quick verdict
Both are solid agent auth & tool calling options. Arcade is cheaper to start, but the right choice depends on the specific features and integrations you need.
Arcade vs Nango — Side by Side
| Arcade | Nango | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Agent Auth & Tool Calling | Agent Auth & Tool Calling |
| Pricing | Free · paid from $25/mo | Free · paid from $50/mo |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free tier available |
| Free tier | ||
| Rating | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Best for | Agent Auth & Tool Calling — mcp, tool-calling | Agent Auth & Tool Calling — oauth, integrations |
Pros & Cons
- Per-call authorization scoped to user and agent
- Policy hooks to block or redact without forking
- Self-host in your VPC or air-gapped on Enterprise
- Small free tier (2,000 tool calls)
- Per-call fees add up for chatty agents
- Self-hosting is Enterprise-only
- 1,000+ APIs with managed OAuth
- Syncs and webhooks as well as tool calls
- Source on GitHub; free self-host for auth
- Elastic License 2.0, not OSI open source
- Free self-host excludes syncs, tool calls and MCP
- Per-connection pricing grows with users
Key Features Compared
Arcade
- $0.10 per authorization event
- $0.01 per tool call
- Next-business-day support
Nango
- $0.29 per connection
- $0.72 per compute hour
- $0.50 per GB
Choose Arcade if…
- You want a free tier to validate before paying.
- Budget is tight — paid plans start lower ($25/mo vs $50/mo).
- Per-call authorization scoped to user and agent
- Policy hooks to block or redact without forking
Choose Nango if…
- You want a free tier to validate before paying.
- 1,000+ APIs with managed OAuth
- Syncs and webhooks as well as tool calls
- Source on GitHub; free self-host for auth
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Arcade better than Nango?⌄
Both are solid agent auth & tool calling options. Arcade is cheaper to start, but the right choice depends on the specific features and integrations you need.
What is the difference between Arcade and Nango?⌄
Arcade — MCP runtime that lets agents act as the signed-in user, with per-call authorization, policy hooks and 8,000+ permission-aware tools. Nango — Source-available integration platform: managed OAuth for 1,000+ APIs, tool calls and an MCP server, syncs and webhooks. Free self-host for auth and proxy. Both are agent auth & tool calling tools; the comparison table above breaks down pricing, free tiers, and what each is best for.
Arcade vs Nango: which is cheaper?⌄
Arcade pricing: Free · paid from $25/mo. Nango pricing: Free · paid from $50/mo. Confirm current pricing on each tool's official site, as plans change.
Which is rated higher, Arcade or Nango?⌄
In our catalog, Arcade rates 4.5 out of 5 and Nango rates 4.5 out of 5 — they are evenly matched.
See more options in our guide to the best agent auth & tool calling tools for startups.
In-depth guideComposio vs Arcade (2026): Agent Auth & Tool Calling, Plus Open-Source Nango and ACI.devYour agent has to act inside Gmail, Slack and Salesforce as each of your users, without the model seeing a token. Composio and Arcade compared with Nango and ACI.dev on OAuth handling, licence and cost at 50 and 1,000 users.Still not sure which to pick?
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