Stytch vs. Auth0 vs. WorkOS: which is best?
Compare Stytch, Auth0, and WorkOS to learn what each does, its features, and which one you should use.
If you’re considering adding authentication to your app, you've likely heard the advice, "Don't build your own auth system." But how do you pick the right one in a sea of authentication solutions?
Meet Stytch, Auth0, and WorkOS—three popular choices in the authentication space. They all offer essential features like email authentication and Single Sign-On (SSO), but their unique features make them stand out for different use cases.
In this article, we'll explore the distinct features of each platform. By comparing Stytch vs. Auth0 vs. WorkOS side by side, we'll help you determine which solution aligns best with your specific requirements.
Stytch
Stytch is a developer-centric platform that offers various authentication methods tailored for B2B and B2C apps. It supports one-time passcodes, magic links, SSO, and passkeys, emphasizing a passwordless approach for security purposes.
Features
- Comprehensive authentication methods: Stytch supports authentication methods such as Single Sign-On (SSO), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), OAuth, web3 logins, one-time passcodes, passkeys, and email magic links.
- User provisioning and management: Stytch offers features like System for Cross-domain Identity Management (SCIM) for automated user provisioning and updates, member OAuth token APIs for secure data access, role-based access control (RBAC) for managing permissions, user linking, and built-in SMS/email sending.
- Advanced security measures: Stytch includes breach detection, passwordless authentication, and device fingerprinting to protect against account takeover.
- Machine-to-machine authentication: This feature allows devices or services to authenticate themselves without human intervention. Think CLIs, daemons, or background processes that need to communicate with each other securely.
- Enterprise support: Stytch supports SCIM and JIT provisioning, enforced MFA, RBAC, SAML SSO, and OIDC SSO.
- Developer experience: Stytch provides extensive SDKs and APIs for backend integration and pre-built UI components for front-end use.
Pricing
Stytch has introduced a transparent self-serve pricing model:
- Free tier: Includes up to 10,000 Monthly Active Users (MAUs), unlimited organizations, and five SSO or SCIM connections.
- Pay-as-you-go pricing: Additional MAUs or connections are billed as needed, eliminating hard usage caps or rigid plan upgrades.
- Features available in all tiers: The free tier and all paid usage include access to the full suite of features, such as SCIM provisioning, SSO, MFA, and more.
This model ensures flexibility for scaling businesses without unexpected costs.
Who is it good for?
Stytch is ideal if you’re looking for a secure, highly customizable authentication solution that scales effortlessly with your user base. The new pricing model makes it especially appealing for startups and mid-sized businesses that want predictable costs and access to enterprise-grade features without upfront investment.
Auth0
Auth0 is an authentication and authorization platform that offers a wide range of features that simplify user management for web and mobile applications.
Features
- Universal login: Auth0 provides a customizable hosted universal login page that allows users to log in to your application using various methods, including username/password, social logins (like Google and Facebook), and enterprise SSO (via SAML or OIDC).
- Actions: These scripts are used to insert custom logic at various points in the authentication pipeline. These scripts can be triggered at different stages, such as registration, login, and password changes. They can be used to add additional security checks, modify tokens, or integrate with third-party services.
- Multi-factor authentication: Auth0 supports MFA in adding an extra layer of security using methods like SMS, email, push notifications, or TOTP.
- Device flow: Auth0 supports authentication through OAuth’s Client Credentials Flow for devices like smart TVs and sensors lacking traditional input capabilities.
- User management: Auth0 features support for JIT provisioning, bulk and trickle migrations, and account linking. Auth0’s management dashboard offers insights into user activities, profile management, authentication methods, and detailed analytics.
Pricing
Auth0 uses MAU-based pricing.
For B2B apps:
- Essentials plan: It starts at $150/month for up to 500 Monthly Active Users (MAUs) and caps at $1,725/month for up to 7,500 MAUs. Scaling beyond 7,500 MAUs requires scheduling a consultation with Okta’s sales team.
- Professional plan: starts at $800/month for 500 MAU.
- Enterprise plan: Pricing is available through the sales team.
For B2C apps:
- Essentials plan: $35/month for up to 500 MAUs.
- Professional plan: Starts at $240/month for 1000 MAUs.
- Enterprise plan: Pricing is available through the sales team.
Who is it good for?
Auth0 is ideal if you’re looking for a done-for-you authentication solution for your B2C app.
However, it might not be your best option if you’re building enterprise apps or need extensive customization.
WorkOS
WorkOS is a platform designed to help developers add enterprise identity management features to their apps. It provides a suite of dev tools, including APIs, SDKs, and a fully customizable UI—all tailored to support user and organizational management at the enterprise level.
Features
- Directory Sync (SCIM): Allows apps to synchronize user and group data with enterprise directories like Microsoft Azure Active Directory, Google Workspace, and Okta. This synchronization supports creating, updating, deleting, and retrieving user information through the SCIM protocol.
- Enterprise SSO: WorkOS supports Single Sign-On (SSO) across all major identity providers that support SAML, OpenID Connect, and OAuth.
- AuthKit: A hosted, customizable UI that simplifies adding authentication to apps. It supports all modern authentication standards and manages various authentication flows, including SSO redirects, MFA enrollment, password resets, and email verification.
- Multiple authentication options: WorkOS supports email/password, magic links, social logins, and multi-factor authentication.
- User management: Besides user authentication, WorkOS supports other user management features like JIT provisioning, role-based access control, and identity linking. It also allows you to customize authentication methods per organization.
- Audit logs: This feature offers detailed logs of app activities, helping to meet compliance requirements and maintain security by tracking user actions over time.
- Admin portal: A customizable portal that enterprise customers can use to self-serve their SCIM and SSO configurations. It’s designed to remove the onboarding friction by allowing your customer’s admins to configure their identity providers.
Pricing
WorkOS operates on a per-company pricing model:
- User management: Free for up to 1 million MAUs, and every additional million MAUs at $2500/month.
- Custom domains: Offered separately for a flat rate of $99/month.
- Single Sign-On: $125 per connection/month.
- Directory Sync: $125 per connection/month.
- Audit logs: Starts at $5 per organization/month.
Who is it good for?
WorkOS is excellent if you're looking to quickly integrate enterprise-grade authentication into your app. It's designed to handle everything from simple logins to enterprise SSO and SCIM provisioning, making it ideal for developers who need scalable, ready-to-go authentication that keeps pace with enterprise requests.
On the flip side, for a B2C app that focuses more on traditional user logins without the features required by enterprises, WorkOS might be more than you need.
Which should you choose?
Auth0, Stytch, and WorkOS are suited for different cases.
Pick Auth0 if you want a ready authentication solution for your B2C apps and don’t need many customization options. Just a heads-up: as your user base expands, keep an eye on rising costs that might sneak up on you.
If you’re building a B2B or B2C app and want an authentication solution that prioritizes security and risk prevention, choose Stytch.
Pick WorkOS if you’re building for enterprises and want a solution that will scale with you from your first user to your 10,000th. WorkOS is specifically built for enterprises, offering most of the identity features (like SCIM and SSO) your customers will ask for. Its flexible pricing model allows you to start with essential features for free (for up to 1 million MAU) and add more advanced capabilities like SSO and SCIM as your business grows.
Next steps
Ready to add enterprise authentication to your app? Use 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.