Frontegg vs. Auth0 vs. WorkOS: which is best in 2024?

Choosing the right authentication and user management solution is critical for every startup. The right platform should safeguard your users' data, provide a good user experience, scale with your growth, and, perhaps most importantly, stay comfortably within your budget. 

But with the overwhelming options available, how do you pinpoint the one that ticks all your boxes? 

In this article, we'll compare three popular solutions, Frontegg, Auth0, and WorkOS, to help you decide which is best for you.

Frontegg vs. Auth0 vs. WorkOS: Head-to-head

Here's a quick snapshot of these three platforms:

Frontegg

Frontegg is designed as a one-stop shop for all authentication and user management needs. 

Features

• Authentication: It supports a variety of authentication methods, including a customizable login box, enterprise Single Sign-On (SSO) using protocols like SAML and OIDC, social logins, multi-factor authentication (MFA), advanced security measures (e.g., CAPTCHA, account lockout), and passwordless authentication through magic links.

• Multi-tenancy: Frontegg allows a SaaS application to manage multiple tenants in isolated environments easily while maintaining high levels of security and customizability for each tenant.
• Admin portal: A self-serve customer-facing admin portal that allows users to control their account settings. This portal supports team management, audit logs, webhook configurations, API token management, and subscription management.
• Roles management: Frontegg enables the assignment of custom roles and permissions and supports multiple roles per user.
• Audit logs and compliance: Frontegg provides detailed logs and compliance features, ensuring that actions within the platform are traceable and meet regulatory standards. It’s also CCPA-compliant, GDPR-compliant, and is ISO27001 Certified.

Pricing

Frontegg uses MAU-based pricing. It offers three plans:

• The Launch plan is a free forever option for up to 7500 MAUs, 50 tenants, 3 Frontegg seats, and 5 SSO connections. It includes unlimited social logins, RBAC support, and bot detection. 
• The Scale plan features custom pricing and unlimited MAUs, tenants, and SSO connections. Additional features over the Launch plan include multi-tenancy support, session management, custom domains, and access to Frontegg identity Add-ons.
• The Enterprise plan, with custom pricing, includes everything in the Scale plan plus white-glove security, support, and infrastructure options.

Who it's good for

Frontegg is ideal if you want a done-for-you identity management solution that prioritizes security for your B2B SaaS app. However, it might not be for you if you need upfront pricing and want to avoid the hassle of sales calls or getting caught off guard by hidden costs.

Auth0

Auth0 is a comprehensive authentication platform from Okta. 

Features

• Universal login: With Universal Login, Auth0 hosts the login interface and supports various authentication methods, including social login (Google, Facebook, etc.), enterprise federation (SAML, OIDC), email/passwords, and passwordless authentication.
• Extensible: Developers can customize login pages and authentication flows using Auth0’s actions. These actions are scripts that allow you to create detailed customization during various stages of the authentication process, such as login, token issuance, or user registration.
• Security: Auth0 provides built-in security features, including brute force protection, anomaly detection, and logs that help monitor and mitigate potential threats.
• Developer-friendly: Auth0 provides extensive documentation, community support, and SDKs that simplify the integration process.
• Passwordless authentication: Auth0 supports passwordless authentication methods like magic links and SMS One-Time Passwords (OTPs) and integrates with third-party applications like Authy and Google Authenticator that generate time-based one-time passwords (TOTPs).

Pricing

Auth0 uses MAU-based pricing. It has the following plans:

• Free plan for up to 7,500 MAUs
• B2C Essentials pricing starts at $35/Mo for 500 Monthly Active Users (MAUs)
• B2B Essentials pricing starts at $150/Mo for 500 MAUs
• B2C Professional pricing starts at $240/Mo for 1,000 MAUs
• B2B Professional and Enterprise plan pricing is only available via the sales team

Who it's good for

Auth0 is suitable if you want an out-of-the-box login page and your customization needs are minimal. If you want complete control of the login experience or need enterprise identity features, consider another alternative.

WorkOS

WorkOS is an all-in-one platform designed to help developers add enterprise support to their apps in a fast and scalable way.

Features

WorkOS focuses on enterprise-grade authentication and user management features:

• Single Sign-On (SSO): WorkOS supports OIDC and SAML-based SSO connections, two of the most popular SSO protocols. This means you can support any of your customers' identity providers, provided they are SAML or OIDC compliant.
• Directory Sync: Directory Sync allows your application to connect seamlessly with corporate directories and HRIS systems. This feature automates the provisioning and deprovisioning of user accounts and groups, ensuring that your application's user data is synchronized with your customers' identity providers like Microsoft Azure AD, Google Workspace, and others.
• SCIM Provisioning: Automate user provisioning and de-provisioning with SCIM.
• Admin portal: WorkOS offers an Admin Portal that allows your enterprise customers to manage their integrations and user settings directly. This self-service portal simplifies administration and reduces the support burden on your team.
• Events API: The Events API by WorkOS enables real-time handling of events related to directory synchronization, user authentication, and other identity-related activities. This allows applications to react instantly to changes and maintain up-to-date user status information.
• User management: WorkOS supports several identity management features, including user authentication, profile management, and role-based access control. 
• Audit logs: Audit logs maintain a detailed record of all user actions across the system, including login attempts and configuration changes. These logs provide verifiable proof that a company adheres to regulations during audits.

Pricing

WorkOS user per-connection pricing:

• Up to 1 million users can use free user management and authentication, including support for email/password, social auth, magic auth, and MFA.
• Custom domains to customize AuthKit, Admin portal, and all transactional email domains are at a flat rate of $99/month.
• Single Sign-On for any SAML and OIDC connection is at $125 per connection/month for unlimited users.
• Directory Sync is at $125 per connection/month for unlimited users.
• Audit logs start at $5 per organization/month.

Who it's good for

WorkOS is perfect for any service provider looking to quickly add enterprise-grade identity features to their app.

Which should you choose?

Both Frontegg and Auth0 offer solid user management solutions with essential authentication features. However, Auth0 lacks certain enterprise features like SCIM provisioning and enterprise SSO, which Frontegg includes, but only as add-ons in their “scale” plan.

Auth0 and Frontegg might work well for companies in the B2B and B2C sectors. But if you're looking for a more comprehensive set of enterprise features with straightforward pricing, WorkOS is a better fit.

WorkOS provides a single API that integrates key features like SCIM, SSO, and audit logs, along with advanced user management tools such as Just-In-Time provisioning, customizable user flows, and MFA. 

Plus, WorkOS's pricing is transparent — you pay per connection, no matter how many users that organization has, making it easier to predict costs as you scale.

Next steps

Ready to get started with WorkOS?

• Get started fast: With SDKs in every popular language, easy-to-follow documentation, and Slack-based support, you can implement SSO in minutes rather than weeks.
• Support every protocol: With OAuth 2.0 integrations to popular providers like Google and Microsoft, compatibility with every major IdP, and full support for custom SAML/OIDC connections, WorkOS can support any enterprise customer.
• Avoid the back-and-forth: WorkOS’s Admin Portal takes the pain out of onboarding your customers’ IT teams and configuring your app to work with their identity provider.
• Pricing that makes sense: Unlike competitors who price by monthly active users, WorkOS charges a flat rate for each company you onboard — whether they bring 10 or 10,000 SSO users to your app.

Sign up for WorkOS today, and start selling to enterprise customers tomorrow.