# Alternatives to FusionAuth FusionAuth is a developer-focused authentication and user management platform that can be self-hosted for free (Community Edition) or run as a managed cloud service. It supports OAuth2/OIDC/SAML, MFA, passwordless, and enterprise SSO, and is popular with teams that want full control over data residency and deployment. It differentiates from Auth0/Clerk by prioritizing self-hosting and infrastructure ownership as first-class options. FusionAuth ranks #1 of 12 in Authentication & identity providers, with an Alt Score of 93. It is proprietary, freemium from $162/mo and available on Windows, macOS, Linux and Web. 12 of 12 checklist rows are verified against a public source. Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/fusionauth/ Category: Authentication & identity providers ## Where FusionAuth stands out - **Self-hostable** — 4 of 11 apps with a verified answer have this ## Overview - **Who it's for**: FusionAuth is aimed at developers and engineering teams building customer identity and access management (CIAM) into web, mobile, and B2B SaaS applications who want to self-host their auth server or run it in a dedicated cloud instance rather than use a fully multi-tenant hosted IdP. - **What you get**: A CIAM server that provides login, registration, social login, passwordless (passkeys, magic links, one-time codes), MFA, single sign-on, role-based access control, and multi-tenant Organizations, delivered via a REST API, an admin UI, and themeable hosted login pages. Higher plans add SAML/OIDC enterprise identity providers, SCIM provisioning, advanced threat detection, and support SLAs. - **How it works**: FusionAuth runs as a Java-based application bundle (fusionauth-app) that you install on your own Linux, macOS, or Windows server, in Docker/Kubernetes, or run as a single-tenant instance in FusionAuth Cloud; applications integrate against it using OAuth 2.0/OpenID Connect, SDKs, or the API, with a Community edition free and unlimited for self-hosting and paid Starter/Essentials/Enterprise plans unlocking premium features and/or hosting. ## Profile - **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-30) - **Pricing model**: Freemium (verified 2026-07-30) - **Starts at**: $162/mo (verified 2026-07-30) - **Platforms**: Windows, macOS, Linux, Web - **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-30) ## Ranked alternatives | # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms | |---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------| | 1 | [Ory](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/ory.md) | 93 | Apache-2.0 | Linux, macOS, Windows | | 2 | [Zitadel](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/zitadel.md) | 93 | AGPL-3.0 | Linux, macOS, Web | | 3 | [Auth0](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/auth0.md) | 89 | Proprietary | Web | | 4 | [Clerk](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/clerk.md) | 89 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android | | 5 | [Frontegg](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/frontegg.md) | 89 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android | | 6 | [Stytch](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/stytch.md) | 89 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android | | 7 | [Descope](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/descope.md) | 85 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android | | 8 | [WorkOS](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/workos.md) | 85 | Proprietary | Web | | 9 | [Keycloak](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/keycloak.md) | 81 | Apache License 2.0 | Linux, Windows, Web | | 10 | [Amazon Cognito](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/cognito.md) | 78 | ? | Web | | 11 | [Kinde](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/kinde.md) | 74 | Proprietary | Web | Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/ ## Feature comparison Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified). | Authentication & identity providers checklist | FusionAuth | Ory | Zitadel | Auth0 | Clerk | Frontegg | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Pricing model | Freemium | OSS + paid hosting | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium | Usage-based | | Starts at | $162/mo | $770/yr | US$100/mo | $35/mo | $25/mo | $0/mo | | License | Proprietary | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | | Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web | Linux, macOS, Windows | Linux, macOS, Web | Web | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | | Social login | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Passwordless / magic links | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Passkeys / WebAuthn | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | MFA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Enterprise SSO (SAML / OIDC) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | SCIM provisioning | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | B2B org / multi-tenant | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Self-hostable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | No | Partial | | Pre-built UI components | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | RBAC / permissions | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Open source | No | Yes | Yes | No | Partial | No | | Generous free tier (MAUs) | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ## Sources Sources for FusionAuth. Each alternative is sourced on its own page. - **Platforms**: Windows, macOS, Linux, Web — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: Also distributed via Docker/Kubernetes. FusionAuth Cloud offers it as a hosted web service; the admin console and hosted login pages are browser-based. - Quote: “This guide explains how to install the FusionAuth App from a package on your own server running Linux, macOS, or Windows.” - **License**: Proprietary — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: Core fusionauth-app is closed-source under the FusionAuth Customer License Agreement (see https://fusionauth.io/license). Client libraries, example apps, and docs are Apache 2.0. - Quote: “At this point we have chosen a closed source model for the core product but open source many components as well.” - **Pricing model**: Freemium — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: Free, unlimited self-hosted Community edition; paid Starter/Essentials/Enterprise plans add premium features and/or hosting. - Quote: “FusionAuth Community is free and unlimited. It has the core authentication features.” - **Starts at**: $162/mo — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: Cheapest paid tier is Starter at $162/mo billed annually. Essentials and Enterprise are both listed starting at $2,970/mo (Enterprise requires contacting sales). - Quote: “Starting at: $162 /mo Billed annually” - **Status**: active — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: Latest release shipped one month before research date (2026-07-30); release cadence has been continuous back to version 1.0. - Quote: “Version 1.68.0 (Intelligent Kamfa) 30 June 2026” - **Social login**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Quote: “Increase user sign-ups by enabling seamless logins with popular providers like Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more.” - **Passwordless / magic links**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Quote: “FusionAuth offers passwordless login in three flavors: passkeys, magic links, and one-time codes.” - **Passkeys / WebAuthn**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Quote: “Enhance your authentication security with Passkeys. You get passwordless login, phishing resistance, and seamless cross-device synchronization.” - **MFA**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Quote: “FusionAuth's Intelligent MFA supports methods like email, SMS, and time-based one-time passwords (TOTP).” - **Enterprise SSO (SAML / OIDC)**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Quote: “Identity Providers enable third-party login. This includes social options such as Facebook and Google, and enterprise options such as OIDC and SAML.” - **SCIM provisioning**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: Docs state: 'This feature is only available in the Enterprise plan.' Not included in Community/Starter/Essentials. - Quote: “FusionAuth can consume SCIM formatted requests and act as the provisioning server in a SCIM client/server environment.” - **B2B org / multi-tenant**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: Isolation modeled via Tenants, each with its own users, applications, groups, and configuration. - Quote: “FusionAuth simplifies user management for complex structures such as B2B2C SaaS.” - **Self-hostable**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Quote: “Maintain complete control over your data by hosting FusionAuth on-premises, in a private cloud, or even under your desk.” - **Pre-built UI components**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Quote: “FusionAuth themes allow you to customize the hosted login pages and other user workflows such as forgot password.” - **RBAC / permissions**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Quote: “Role-based access control (RBAC) lets you assign predefined roles to users, making your access management more efficient.” - **Open source**: No — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: Core server is closed-source under a proprietary EULA; client libraries, example apps, JWT library, and docs are Apache 2.0. - Quote: “At this point we have chosen a closed source model for the core product but open source many components as well.” - **Generous free tier (MAUs)**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: Unlimited MAUs applies to the self-hosted Community edition. There is no free tier for the hosted FusionAuth Cloud; paid plans start at $162/mo. - Quote: “FusionAuth Community is free and unlimited. It has the core authentication features.” --- Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/