Alternatives to WorkOS
Enterprise-readiness APIs: SSO, SCIM directory sync and more
WorkOS ranks #8 of 12 in Authentication & identity providers, with an Alt Score of 85. It is proprietary, freemium from $125 per SSO connection/mo and available on the web. 12 of 12 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
WorkOS is a platform of enterprise-readiness APIs — SAML/OIDC single sign-on, SCIM directory sync, audit logs, and its AuthKit user management — that lets B2B SaaS apps add the features enterprise customers require.
B2B SaaS teams that need to sell to enterprise buyers and must support IT-admin requirements like SAML/OIDC single sign-on and SCIM directory sync, without building and maintaining that plumbing in-house.
AuthKit provides free hosted (or headless) sign-up/sign-in with email+password, social login, magic auth, and passkeys for up to 1M monthly active users, while paid per-connection APIs add Enterprise SSO, Directory Sync (SCIM), RBAC, and organization-scoped auth policies for B2B multi-tenant apps.
You integrate WorkOS's SDKs (Node, Python, Go, Ruby, PHP, Java, .NET) or hosted AuthKit UI into your app, then configure each customer as an "organization" and "connection" in the WorkOS dashboard so their SAML/OIDC identity provider or SCIM directory syncs users, roles, and group membership into your product automatically.
Why people leave WorkOS
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Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
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.
Ory is an open-source identity platform composed of modular services — Kratos for identity/authentication, Hydra for OAuth2/OIDC, and Keto for permissions — that can be self-hosted or consumed as a ma.
Zitadel is an open-source identity and access management platform, written in Go, offering OIDC/OAuth2/SAML, MFA, passwordless, and a native multi-tenant 'organizations' concept designed for SaaS prod.
Auth0 (an Okta company) is a developer-focused identity platform providing authentication, authorization, social and enterprise SSO, MFA, and user management via drop-in SDKs and a hosted login, for w.
Clerk is a developer-first authentication and user-management platform with pre-built React/Next.js UI components, social and passwordless login, passkeys, MFA, and B2B organizations, designed to add.
Frontegg is a B2B-focused identity platform that bundles authentication, tenant/org management, roles and entitlements, and a pre-built admin portal for end customers.
Stytch is a developer platform for authentication and fraud prevention, offering passwordless and passkey login, social and enterprise SSO, B2B multi-tenant auth, and device fingerprinting through API.
Descope is a customer identity and access management (CIAM) platform that lets developers build authentication journeys (social login, passwordless, MFA, passkeys) with a visual no-code/low-code flow.
Keycloak is an open-source identity and access management server (a CNCF project) offering single sign-on, social and enterprise SSO, user federation, MFA, and fine-grained authorization, self-hosted.
Amazon Cognito is AWS's managed customer identity and access management service, providing user pools for sign-up/sign-in, social and enterprise SSO federation, MFA, and native passkey support, plus f.
Feature comparison
Rows come from the Authentication & identity providers checklist (16 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.
| Authentication & identity providers checklist | WorkOS | FusionAuth | Ory | Zitadel | Auth0 | Clerk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| Social login | ||||||
| Passwordless / magic links | ||||||
| Passkeys / WebAuthn | ||||||
| MFA | ||||||
| Enterprise SSO (SAML / OIDC) | ||||||
| SCIM provisioning | ||||||
| B2B org / multi-tenant | ||||||
| Self-hostable | ||||||
| Pre-built UI components | ||||||
| RBAC / permissions | ||||||
| Open source | ||||||
| Generous free tier (MAUs) |
Sources & verification
17
Every fact and feature listed for WorkOS is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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License Proprietary verified 2026-07-13
WorkOS’ proprietary software development code
https://workos.com/legal/terms-of-service -
Platforms Web verified 2026-07-13
Complete visibility and control of users and sessions from within the WorkOS Dashboard.
https://workos.com/user-management -
Pricing model Freemium verified 2026-07-13
AuthKit (user management) is free up to 1M MAUs, then $2,500/mo per additional 1M; enterprise features (SSO, Directory Sync/SCIM, Audit Logs log streaming) are billed per-connection/usage on top.
First 1 million active users free
https://workos.com/pricing -
Starts at $125 per SSO connection/mo verified 2026-07-13
Lowest paid tier: $125/connection/mo for 1-15 Enterprise SSO or Directory Sync connections, with volume discounts down to $50/ea at 101-200 connections. AuthKit itself is free up to 1M MAUs.
$125
https://workos.com/pricing -
Status active verified 2026-07-13
WorkOS is actively shipping new features (Launch Week Summer 2026, current as of today's date) and maintaining an active changelog/docs site; default 'active' status confirmed.
Launch Week Summer 2026
https://workos.com/launch-week/summer-2026 -
Social login Yes verified 2026-07-13
Authentication with Microsoft, Google, and more
https://workos.com/pricing -
Passwordless / magic links Yes verified 2026-07-13
Passwordless auth using six digit codes sent via email
https://workos.com/pricing -
Passkeys / WebAuthn Yes verified 2026-07-13
Passwordless authentication with passkeys
https://workos.com/pricing -
MFA Yes verified 2026-07-13
Additional authentication with TOTP and SMS
https://workos.com/pricing -
Enterprise SSO (SAML / OIDC) Yes verified 2026-07-13
Enterprise Single Sign-On supports SAML, OIDC, and popular identity providers through one elegant API.
https://workos.com/single-sign-on -
SCIM provisioning Yes verified 2026-07-13
Quickly enable SCIM provisioning from all major corporate directory providers with a single integration.
https://workos.com/directory-sync -
B2B org / multi-tenant Yes verified 2026-07-13
Configure different authentication policies per organization. Enforce domain, auth strategies, and multi-factor auth requirements.
https://workos.com/user-management -
Self-hostable No verified 2026-07-13
WorkOS is a cloud-hosted API; even the documented "on-prem" pattern deploys only the customer's app on-prem while it still calls out to the WorkOS-hosted API. No self-hosted/source-available deploymen
Ensuring your customer's network can send and receive requests from the WorkOS API
https://workos.com/docs/on-prem-deployment.md -
Pre-built UI components Yes verified 2026-07-13
AuthKit can be fully customized to fit natively with your app's unique design.
https://workos.com/authkit -
RBAC / permissions Yes verified 2026-07-13
Assign permissions to roles rather than individual users to simplify access control and reduce administrative overhead.
https://workos.com/rbac -
Open source No verified 2026-07-13
The WorkOS service/platform is closed-source proprietary SaaS (per Terms of Service). AuthKit's login-box UI is built on the open-source Radix design system ("Built on Radix, the most popular open sou
WorkOS’ proprietary software development code
https://workos.com/legal/terms-of-service -
Generous free tier (MAUs) Yes verified 2026-07-13
First 1 million active users free
https://workos.com/pricing
FAQ
Yes. FusionAuth, Zitadel and Auth0 have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
Ory, Zitadel and Keycloak — every license claim links its source.