Torii vs. Cledara: Do You Need "IT Surveillance" or Financial Control?

If you are evaluating Torii and Cledara, you likely have a "SaaS mess." You have too many apps, unknown owners, and a budget that keeps inflating.

Both platforms promise to solve this, but they attack the problem from completely different angles—serving two different masters.

• The "Enterprise IT" Approach (Torii): A SaaS Management Platform (SMP) built for IT Directors at large corporations. It uses complex API integrations to "discover" Shadow IT after it has already happened.
• The "Financial Control" Approach (Cledara): A Financial Operations Platform built for CFOs and Finance Leaders. It uses virtual cards to control spend at the source, preventing Shadow IT before it hits the general ledger.

This guide breaks down the critical differences to help you decide whether you need better detection (Torii) or better prevention (Cledara).

1. The Core Philosophy: "Policing" vs. "Budgeting"

The fundamental difference lies in who the tool is built for.

Torii is Built for Enterprise IT

Torii positions itself as an "IT Management Platform". Its primary goal is Surveillance. It is designed to ingest data from your SSO, ERP, and HR systems to map out every tool your employees are touching.

It excels at answering the question: "What are my employees doing?"It creates a "to-do list" of problems (Shadow IT) for your IT team to investigate.

Cledara is Built for Financial Operations

Cledara is built for Finance. Our primary goal is Control. We believe that finding Shadow IT is good, but preventing it is better.

Instead of just monitoring the mess, Cledara controls the Payment Rail. By issuing Virtual Cards for every subscription, we ensure that no software can be purchased without a budget and an owner.

It answers the question: "How do I stop overspending?"

2. The "Shadow IT" Trap: Detection vs. Prevention

This is the most significant operational difference.

Torii: The Reactive "Whack-a-Mole" Torii is famous for its ability to detect Shadow IT, but for many Finance teams, this creates a trap of Alert Fatigue.

1. An employee buys a tool on a personal card.
2. Torii's discovery engine detects the sign-up.
3. IT gets an alert.
4. IT has to chase the employee to ask them to cancel it.

You aren't stopping the spend; you are just watching it happen. As one user noted on Reddit, "We did demos with Torii... but it felt like overkill for where we are. It eats days, and you're never really sure you caught everything."

Cledara: The "No Card, No Pay" Policy Cledara stops Shadow IT at the front door. Because we are the card issuer, you can enforce a simple policy: "If it's not on Cledara, the company won't pay for it."

• Pre-Approval: Employees request a tool before they buy it.
• Instant Budget: Once approved, they get a virtual card with a set limit.
• Zero Chase: If they leave the company, you just cancel the card. No need to chase them for login credentials.

3. The Implementation Reality: Heavy vs. Lightweight

Torii ImplementationBecause Torii relies on deep "discovery," implementation is often a heavy lift suited for large IT teams. To get full value, you need to connect API integrations to hundreds of individual SaaS tools and configure complex "CASB" (Cloud Access Security Broker) settings. It is a powerful tool, but it requires a dedicated administrator to manage the sheer volume of data it ingests.

Cledara Implementation Cledara is lightweight because it rides on the payment rails.

• Step 1: Connect your bank account.
• Step 2: Issue virtual cards for your existing software.
• Result: You have immediate visibility and control.

4. Torii Pricing vs. Cledara Pricing

Torii Pricing Model Torii is priced for the Enterprise. They do not publish standard pricing, but public AWS Marketplace listings show the "Core Platform" starting at $30,000 per year.

This high entry price cements Torii as a tool for large organizations (1,000+ employees) that have a dedicated "SaaS Manager" role. For mid-market companies, paying $30k just to see your spend—without the ability to control it—is often hard to justify.

Cledara Pricing Model Cledara offers transparent, scalable pricing tiers designed for growing companies. You pay a platform fee that makes sense for your stage (Seed to Series D), without the five-figure enterprise minimums.

5. The Payment Gap

Torii is an analytics layer, not a payment layer.

Torii does not issue cards. It integrates with your ERP or expense system (like NetSuite or Expensify) to read invoices after they have been paid. This creates two problems for Finance teams:

1. No Kill Switch: If you see a wasted subscription in Torii, you cannot cancel the payment. You have to log into the vendor's portal or call the bank.
2. Bookkeeping Lag: You are still relying on employees to upload receipts to an expense tool.

Cledara closes the loop. Because we issue the card, we capture the invoice automatically. We match the receipt to the transaction and sync it to your accounting software in real-time. You don't just see the spend; you control the cash flow.

Comparison: Torii vs. Cledara at a Glance

Summary: Which Platform is Right for You?

The choice comes down to whether you are solving an IT security problem or a financial spend problem.

Choose Torii If:

• You are a large enterprise (1,000+ employees).
• Your primary goal is Security & Compliance (knowing exactly who has access to what data).
• You have a dedicated IT team willing to manage complex integrations and review daily discovery alerts.

Choose Cledara If:

• You are a Finance Leader at a growing company (50–500 employees).
• Your primary goal is Operational Control (stopping overspend and automating bookkeeping).
• You want a "Command Center" that combines payments, invoices, and budgets in one place—without being a spy.

‍