Top WorkOS Alternatives in 2026
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Suggest a change- If you want the most established enterprise auth brand and are prepared for MAU-based pricing that climbs with scale, choose Auth0. Auth0 is now part of Okta, splits pricing into dedicated B2C and B2B tracks, and its free plan covers 25,000 monthly active users with one enterprise connection included.
- If you want WorkOS's per-connection SSO pricing model but with a larger free tier and fraud detection built in, choose Stytch. Stytch also charges $125 per month per SSO or SCIM connection, but gives you 5 free before that meter starts and includes 10,000 free monthly active users plus device-fingerprinting fraud checks.
- If you need organizations, hierarchies, and fine-grained entitlements as core features rather than bolted-on add-ons, choose Frontegg. Frontegg bundles B2B org structure and authorization into its base product and its free tier covers 7,500 monthly active users plus 5 SSO/SCIM connections before billing starts.
- If your priority is shipping a working login screen fast without writing custom UI, choose Clerk. Clerk's prebuilt sign-in, sign-up, and account management components drop into a Next.js or React app with little custom code, unlike WorkOS's API-and-hosted-page approach.
- If you want to own your auth data and stop paying per-connection SSO fees as you add enterprise customers, choose SuperTokens. SuperTokens' core is open source and free to self-host with no MAU cap, so basic login and SSO don't carry WorkOS's metered per-feature pricing.
- If you're under 1 million monthly active users and haven't yet signed enough enterprise customers to feel the per-connection SSO cost, choose stay on WorkOS. AuthKit is free at that scale, and SSO and directory sync pricing already includes volume discounts as your connection count grows, so switching wouldn't save money yet.
WorkOS keeps core login and user management free up to 1 million monthly active users, then charges per feature as you turn on enterprise pieces: $125 a month for each SSO connection, the same for each directory sync connection, plus separate fees for audit logs and fraud checks. That per-feature metering is exactly what makes some teams look elsewhere. It's hard to predict one bill when SSO, directory sync, audit logs, and Radar all show up as separate line items, and each SSO connection costs $125 a month from the very first one you add.
The five alternatives below all do the same core job: hosted or API-driven login, signup, and user management with enterprise SSO and SCIM directory sync available for business customers. They differ in how they price that enterprise layer, how much of the frontend they build for you, and whether you can self-host instead of depending on a vendor.
WorkOS alternatives compared
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free option | Last update |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auth0Best for enterprise credibility | Teams that need enterprise SSO and SCIM provisioning for business customers, not just consumer login | $35/user/mo | Yes | July 2026 |
| Stytch | Developers who want full control over the login UI and are fine wiring up an API rather than an embedded widget | Free | Yes | October 2025 |
| FronteggBest free tier for connections | B2B SaaS teams that need SSO, SCIM, and org hierarchies for enterprise customers without building that layer themselves | Free tier + custom | Yes | November 2025 |
| ClerkBest developer experience | Teams shipping a Next.js, React, or similar app that want working login and user management on day one | $25/mo | Yes | July 2026 |
| SuperTokensBest for owning your auth infrastructure | Teams that want to self-host auth and keep user data on their own infrastructure | Free tier + custom | Yes | May 2026 |
Why teams switch from WorkOS
Enterprise pricing is split across many separate metered line items
SSO connections, directory sync connections, audit log streams and retention, Radar checks, and custom domains are all billed separately on top of MAU pricing, so there's no single number that tells a buyer what they'll pay each month.
SSO connections cost $125 a month from the very first one
Teams that sign many small enterprise customers, each bringing their own identity provider, see this add up quickly since volume discounts only kick in once you reach 51-100 connections.
Scaling past the published tiers means talking to sales
More than 100 SSO or directory sync connections, the Annual Credits plan, and the Enterprise support tier are all quote-only, with no published price to plan around.
The best WorkOS alternatives, ranked
Auth0 is the most established name developers put next to WorkOS, and it's now part of Okta. Its free plan covers 25,000 monthly active users, well below WorkOS's 1 million MAU ceiling before WorkOS starts charging for extra MAUs, and it comes with one enterprise SSO connection and SCIM built in. Past the free tier, Auth0 splits pricing into separate B2C and B2B tracks: at 10,000 MAUs, B2B Essentials runs $2,100 a month at its baseline connection count, then $100 a month for each additional SSO connection beyond what's included, still cheaper per connection than WorkOS's flat $125. MFA is a paid add-on on Essentials. Auth0 fits teams that want Okta's infrastructure and support behind their login and are ready for per-MAU costs that climb fast, plus a quote-only Enterprise tier once you outgrow the published plans.
Pros
- + Free plan covers up to 25,000 monthly active users with real features (SSO, SCIM), not just a stripped-down trial
- + Separate B2C and B2B tracks match pricing to how the app is actually used
- + Backed by Okta's infrastructure, with published uptime and attack-blocking numbers
Cons
- – Per-MAU pricing gets expensive fast once you cross a few thousand users, especially on the B2B track
- – Several needed pieces (extra SSO connections, MFA, AI Agents) are separate paid add-ons, not included in the base tiers
Stytch
Stytch prices the closest to WorkOS of any alternative here. SSO and SCIM connections cost the same $125 a month, but Stytch gives you 5 free before that meter starts, versus WorkOS's connections costing $125 from the very first one. Its free tier also covers 10,000 monthly active users and AI agents, plus device-fingerprinting fraud checks that WorkOS sells separately as Radar. Stytch is API-first, you build your own login screens or use its components, so it fits teams that want to own the frontend rather than embed a hosted page. The tradeoff is that Stytch's core per-MAU overage rate past the free tier isn't published, you need a sales call to learn it, and Twilio's October 2025 acquisition adds some uncertainty about long-term pricing and roadmap independence.
Pros
- + Free tier covers 10,000 MAU with core features like SSO, RBAC, and sessions, not a crippled trial
- + Clean, well-documented API with SDKs for most major frameworks
- + B2B product handles multi-tenant SSO/SCIM and org management out of the box, which most competitors bolt on later
Cons
- – The real cost past the free tier isn't public. You only see two specific overage fees (SSO/SCIM connections, fraud fingerprints); the core per-MAU rate requires a sales conversation
- – Extra SSO/SCIM connections cost $125/connection/month, which adds up fast if you sell to many enterprise customers each needing their own connection
Frontegg is a B2B-first identity platform that, like WorkOS, treats SSO and SCIM connections as core product rather than an afterthought. Its free Pay as you go plan covers 7,500 monthly active users and 5 SSO/SCIM connections before you pay anything, more generous on connections than WorkOS's $125-per-connection-from-day-one model. Frontegg also bundles organizations, hierarchies, and fine-grained entitlements and authorization directly into the platform, access-control features WorkOS doesn't offer as a built-in module. It has recently pushed into identity for AI agents through AgentLink and FrontMCP, an area WorkOS hasn't addressed yet. The catch is that Frontegg publishes almost nothing about pricing past the free tier. Overage rates for extra MAUs and connections aren't listed, and there's no middle tier between free and quote-only Enterprise, so budgeting past initial scale requires a sales conversation.
Pros
- + Free tier covers a real amount of usage: 7,500 monthly active users and 5 SSO/SCIM connections
- + B2B features like organizations, hierarchies, and entitlements are built in, not bolted-on add-ons
- + Covers machine-to-machine and AI agent identity use cases beyond plain end-user login
Cons
- – No published price past the free tier. Overage rates for extra MAUs and connections aren't on the pricing page, so you can't estimate cost at scale without a sales call
- – Only two named plans, so there's no visible middle tier between free and custom Enterprise pricing
Clerk trades WorkOS's API-and-hosted-page approach for prebuilt UI components. Sign-in, sign-up, and account management drop into a Next.js or React app with little custom code, which is the main reason teams pick it over WorkOS. Its free Hobby plan covers 50,000 monthly retained users, counted only when someone returns 24 hours after signup, a different metric than WorkOS's 1M MAU ceiling so the two aren't directly comparable. Pro costs $25 a month and includes one enterprise SSO connection at no extra charge, with additional connections billed at $75 each, cheaper than WorkOS's flat $125 per connection at low volume. B2B org support, admin impersonation, and built-in billing are separate paid add-ons. One developer on Hacker News said Clerk's pricing "got a bit out of hand for side projects" before switching to a different auth tool.
Pros
- + Prebuilt UI components handle login, signup, and account management with little custom code
- + Free tier covers 50,000 monthly retained users, generous enough for most early-stage apps
- + Organizations, roles, and SAML SSO are built in for teams selling to other businesses
Cons
- – B2B features, admin tools, and built-in billing are all separate paid add-ons on top of the base plan
- – Costs scale with monthly retained users, so pricing can climb fast once an app has real usage
SuperTokens is the pick for teams that want to stop paying WorkOS's per-feature meter altogether. The core login system is open source and free to self-host with no MAU cap, a real difference from WorkOS's free-until-1M-MAU-then-metered model. Its managed cloud option is free up to 5,000 MAU if you'd rather not run servers yourself. The savings show up mainly on core auth, though. MFA and account linking are billed per MAU with a $100-a-month minimum each, whether you self-host or use the cloud. Extra dashboard users are simpler: a flat $20 per user per month, with the first three free, no MAU metering involved. So a self-hosted setup only avoids WorkOS-style fees if you stick to basic login. Multi-tenancy and other enterprise features are quote-only. The docs' "recipes" structure and a weaker React SDK are recurring complaints from developers who've used it.
Pros
- + Core auth is genuinely free to self-host with no MAU limit, not just a trial
- + Node.js SDK is solid and most functions can be overridden for custom flows
- + Managed cloud free tier (5,000 MAU) is generous for early-stage products
Cons
- – MFA, account linking, and extra dashboard users are billed separately per MAU with a $100/month minimum each, so real cost adds up fast once you need more than basic login
- – Docs are built around a "recipes" abstraction that developers on Hacker News describe as confusing to search and navigate
WorkOS alternatives: FAQ
What is the closest alternative to WorkOS?+
Auth0 and Stytch are the closest matches. Auth0 is the more established brand with dedicated B2B and B2C pricing tracks. Stytch is closer in pricing mechanics, it charges the same $125 per month per SSO/SCIM connection as WorkOS, just with 5 included free.
Is there a free WorkOS alternative with no user cap?+
SuperTokens' self-hosted core is open source and free with no monthly active user limit. You run the servers yourself, and you only pay if you turn on add-ons like MFA or account linking.
Which WorkOS alternative has the cheapest SSO pricing?+
Clerk's enterprise SSO connections cost $75 a month each after the first one included on Pro, cheaper than WorkOS's flat $125 per connection at low volume. Frontegg and Stytch also include several SSO/SCIM connections (5 each) free before any per-connection charge starts.
Do any WorkOS alternatives avoid per-connection SSO fees entirely?+
SuperTokens' self-hosted core doesn't charge per SSO connection, though its paid add-ons like MFA are billed per MAU with a $100 monthly minimum once enabled. Every hosted alternative in this comparison still charges for SSO or directory sync connections once you're past a free allotment.
WorkOS alternatives: pricing compared
Entry price, billing model, and whether pricing is public. 4 of 6 publish pricing you can check without talking to sales.
| Tool | Starting price | Billing | Free option | Pricing disclosed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WorkOS | Free | usage-based | Yes | Partly public |
| Auth0 | $35/user/mo | tiered | Yes | Partly public |
| Stytch | Free | usage-based | Yes | Partly public |
| Frontegg | Free tier + custom | usage-based | Yes | Not disclosed |
| Clerk | $25/mo | tiered | Yes | Partly public |
| SuperTokens | Free tier + custom | usage-based | Yes | Not disclosed |
How we made these picks. We compare tools on public pricing, features, and hands-on assessment, then verify every price against the vendor's own page. We never accept payment for rankings. Read the full methodology. Spotted an error? Report it.