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Auth0 vs WorkOS

SEPT 2026 audit

A comparison of Auth0 and WorkOS built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.

Reviewed by Palash BagchiUpdated 27 criteria comparedSources last checked

The short answer

Choose Auth0 if…

Projects that fit inside the free 25,000 monthly active users, which includes an enterprise connection, self-service SSO and SCIM at no cost.

Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved

Choose WorkOS if…

B2B products where the enterprise features are the product requirement — a million users cost nothing and you pay only for the connections your customers actually use.

Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved

Consider something else if…

  • Auth0: Leaving the free plan is a cliff rather than a step: paid tiers begin at 500 MAU, and a footnote says enterprise connections, SSO and SCIM need a B2B upgrade to keep.
  • WorkOS: Those connections are the most expensive here at $125 a month each, so a long tail of small SSO customers costs more than it does at Clerk or Better Auth.

Neither quite fits? Every other option, ranked by iScore: Auth0 alternatives · WorkOS alternatives

13 sourced criteria separate them — see where, with sources, below.

Visit Auth0 documentationVisit WorkOS documentation

No affiliate links, sponsored placements or paid rankings appear on this site. Ordering follows the sourced data and the stated criteria.

01.

At a glance.

CriterionAuth0WorkOS
Pricing
Free tierYesYes
Kind of free offerFree tierFree tier
What the free plan includes
25,000 monthly active users at no cost and no credit card to sign up.
The first 1 million monthly active users of AuthKit are free; Single Sign-On and Directory Sync are billed per connection from the first one.
Credit card to startNoNo
Pricing modelPer monthly active user, chosen on a slider, with a discontinuity that is easy to miss: the free plan covers 25,000 MAU and includes an enterprise connection, SSO and SCIM, while the paid tiers start at 500 MAU and a footnote says keeping those three features requires upgrading to B2B.No monthly platform fee and no per-user charge below a million: WorkOS gives user management away and bills per enterprise connection instead — SSO and Directory Sync at $125 each per month, audit log streaming at $125 per SIEM connection, event retention at $99 per million events.
Observability
Self-hostableNot supported — Documented options are the multi-tenant Public Cloud and Auth0-managed Private Cloud on AWS or Azure.Not supported — WorkOS on-prem guide covers your app running on-prem and still calling the WorkOS cloud API
Auth
Users included
25,000 monthly active users on the free plan — the largest free allowance here apart from WorkOS. Essentials and Professional start at 500 and are priced upward from there.
1,000,000 active users free on AuthKit, then $2,500 per additional million. Two orders of magnitude above the other free allowances here.
SAML single sign-onSupportedSupported
SCIM provisioningSupportedSupported
Multi-factor authenticationSupportedSupported
Audit logsAudit log streaming to Datadog, Splunk, AWS and Azure, from the Essentials plan up. Auth0 publishes no retention window on the pricing page.Billed rather than bundled: $125 per month per SIEM connection for log streaming, plus $99 per month per million events stored.
Support
Support on entry paid planCommunity support on Free; standard support on Essentials ($35/month), the entry paid plan.A dedicated Slack channel on pay-as-you-go; the annual-credits plan adds a guaranteed support SLA.
Compliance
SOC 2SOC 1, SOC 2 and SOC 3 reports listed in Okta's trust centre (Auth0's parent), available on access request.SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
HIPAA
HIPAA listed among the certifications in Okta's trust centre; no scope detail is published there.
WorkOS can sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) for customers on enterprise plans.
GDPR / data residency
GDPR listed among the certifications in Okta's trust centre, alongside EU-US DPF and its UK extension; no residency choice is documented there.
WorkOS states it is GDPR compliant. Data residency options are not detailed on this page.
PCI DSSAuth0 offers PCI compliant environment deployment models; the Attestation of Compliance and/or SAQ-D is available on request through the Support Center.PCI DSS self-attested via SAQ-D as a service provider since December 2025; the attestation of compliance is available in the Trust Center.
Encryption at restEnvelope encryption at the application layer: data encryption keys are AES-256-GCM and stored next to the data, wrapped by tenant and environment root keys.Trust Center control states datastores housing sensitive customer data are encrypted at rest.
Customer-managed keys
Bring Your Own Key imports a Customer Provided Root Key into a FIPS 140-2 L3 HSM, replacing Auth0's Environment Root Key for the tenant. Only users holding the Key Management Editor tenant role can use it.
Vault BYOK lets a customer supply their own CMK as the key-encrypting key, from AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault or Google Cloud KMS. Applies to data handled by WorkOS Vault; other WorkOS datastores use WorkOS-managed keys.
Role-based access controlCore Authorization provides role-based access control of your APIs: roles and permissions assigned to users, enabled per API from the Dashboard or Management API.Fully managed RBAC service: custom roles and permissions defined per organization, enforced through session JWTs, with role assignment from IdP groups.
Private networking / VPCPrivate Cloud on AWS only, and outbound only: AWS PrivateLink reaches your own services from the deployment without exposing data to the internet. Set up by Auth0 after you file a request; Private Cloud on Azure uses Azure Private Link.All API traffic is HTTPS on port 443 from Cloudflare's published IP ranges; air-gapped environments with no external network connectivity cannot use WorkOS. On-prem deployment guide; firewall rules or ACLs are the documented network control.

Only criteria both providers publish appear here; a tinted cell marks a real difference. Criteria only one of them documents are listed below, and an absence there means we found no source — not that the feature is missing. How we source this.

The small bar above a value is inetGeek's own lean toward that side — computed from the same facts shown, never a number the provider published. See the picker below "The short answer" to weigh only the criteria you care about.

02.

Where they differ.

What the free plan includes

Auth0

25,000 monthly active users at no cost and no credit card to sign up.

WorkOS

The first 1 million monthly active users of AuthKit are free; Single Sign-On and Directory Sync are billed per connection from the first one.

Sources (2) →

Pricing model

Auth0
Per monthly active user, chosen on a slider, with a discontinuity that is easy to miss: the free plan covers 25,000 MAU and includes an enterprise connection, SSO and SCIM, while the paid tiers start at 500 MAU and a footnote says keeping those three features requires upgrading to B2B.
WorkOS
No monthly platform fee and no per-user charge below a million: WorkOS gives user management away and bills per enterprise connection instead — SSO and Directory Sync at $125 each per month, audit log streaming at $125 per SIEM connection, event retention at $99 per million events.
Sources (2) →
  • Pricing — Auth0 ↗

    “Free $ 0 / month No credit card needed to sign up. Start building for free Up to 25,000 monthly active users [...] Essentials $ 35 / month For projects with higher production demands. Sign up Up to 500 monthly active users [...] Upgrade to B2B to continue using EC, Self-Service SSO, and SCIM.”

    Read 2026-09-14 · official pricing · Report a correction

  • Pricing — WorkOS ↗

    “First 1 million active users free [...] $125 / ea [...] Log streaming Per SIEM connection $125 / mo Event Retention Per million events stored $99 / mo”

    Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing · Report a correction

Users included

Auth0

25,000 monthly active users on the free plan — the largest free allowance here apart from WorkOS. Essentials and Professional start at 500 and are priced upward from there.

WorkOS

1,000,000 active users free on AuthKit, then $2,500 per additional million. Two orders of magnitude above the other free allowances here.

Sources (2) →

Audit logs

Auth0
Audit log streaming to Datadog, Splunk, AWS and Azure, from the Essentials plan up. Auth0 publishes no retention window on the pricing page.
WorkOS
Billed rather than bundled: $125 per month per SIEM connection for log streaming, plus $99 per month per million events stored.
Sources (2) →

Support on entry paid plan

Auth0
Community support on Free; standard support on Essentials ($35/month), the entry paid plan.
WorkOS
A dedicated Slack channel on pay-as-you-go; the annual-credits plan adds a guaranteed support SLA.
Sources (2) →
  • Auth0 Pricing ↗

    “brand customization basic attack protection community support 1 enterprise connection [...] separate production & development environments standard support”

    Read 2026-09-14 · official pricing · Report a correction

  • WorkOS Pricing ↗

    “first 1 million active users free deploy in minutes dedicated Slack channel [...] pre-pay credit discounts 99.99% uptime SLA guided migration and onboarding guaranteed support SLA”

    Read 2026-09-14 · official pricing · Report a correction

SOC 2

Auth0
SOC 1, SOC 2 and SOC 3 reports listed in Okta's trust centre (Auth0's parent), available on access request.
WorkOS
SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Sources (2) →

HIPAA

Auth0
HIPAA listed among the certifications in Okta's trust centre; no scope detail is published there.
WorkOS
WorkOS can sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) for customers on enterprise plans.
Sources (2) →

GDPR / data residency

Auth0
GDPR listed among the certifications in Okta's trust centre, alongside EU-US DPF and its UK extension; no residency choice is documented there.
WorkOS
WorkOS states it is GDPR compliant. Data residency options are not detailed on this page.
Sources (2) →

PCI DSS

Auth0
Auth0 offers PCI compliant environment deployment models; the Attestation of Compliance and/or SAQ-D is available on request through the Support Center.
WorkOS
PCI DSS self-attested via SAQ-D as a service provider since December 2025; the attestation of compliance is available in the Trust Center.
Sources (2) →
  • Auth0 Data Privacy and Compliance - Auth0 Docs ↗

    “Auth0 offers PCI compliant environment deployment models. Our Attestation of Compliance (AOC) and/or Self Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ-D) is available upon request.”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official docs · Report a correction

  • PCI DSS Certification | WorkOS ↗

    “WorkOS is now PCI DSS (self-attested via SAQ-D). [...] This self-attestation demonstrates that WorkOS meets the PCI DSS requirements applicable to our services, supporting customers who operate in payment-regulated environments. Our attestation of compliance is available at our Trust Center, under Resources”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official site · Report a correction

Encryption at rest

Auth0
Envelope encryption at the application layer: data encryption keys are AES-256-GCM and stored next to the data, wrapped by tenant and environment root keys.
WorkOS
Trust Center control states datastores housing sensitive customer data are encrypted at rest.
Sources (2) →

Customer-managed keys

Auth0
Bring Your Own Key imports a Customer Provided Root Key into a FIPS 140-2 L3 HSM, replacing Auth0's Environment Root Key for the tenant. Only users holding the Key Management Editor tenant role can use it.
WorkOS
Vault BYOK lets a customer supply their own CMK as the key-encrypting key, from AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault or Google Cloud KMS. Applies to data handled by WorkOS Vault; other WorkOS datastores use WorkOS-managed keys.
Sources (2) →
  • Customer Managed Keys - Auth0 Docs ↗

    “Bring Your Own Key allows Key Management Editors to securely import a Wrapped Encryption Key (Customer Provided Root Key) to a FIPS 140-2 L3 Hardware Security Module (HSM) in the corresponding Auth0 Cloud. [...] The Customer Managed Keys feature is available to users with the Key Management Editor role.”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official docs · Report a correction

  • Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) – Vault – WorkOS Docs ↗

    “Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) allows your customers to use their own customer-managed keys (CMKs) with WorkOS Vault instead of relying solely on WorkOS-managed keys. [...] Your customers must have compatible key management systems (AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault, Google Cloud KMS)”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official docs · Report a correction

Role-based access control

Auth0
Core Authorization provides role-based access control of your APIs: roles and permissions assigned to users, enabled per API from the Dashboard or Management API.
WorkOS
Fully managed RBAC service: custom roles and permissions defined per organization, enforced through session JWTs, with role assignment from IdP groups.
Sources (2) →
  • Configure Core Authorization Features for Role-Based Access Control - Auth0 Docs ↗

    “The core Authorization features of Auth0 allow for role-based access control (RBAC) of your APIs. [...] For RBAC to work properly, you must enable it for your API using either the Dashboard or the Management API”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official docs · Report a correction

  • Role-Based Access Control – WorkOS Docs ↗

    “WorkOS Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) is an authorization system designed for managing access to applications using a flexible roles and permissions model. [...] Fully managed authorization service for defining and enforcing access controls across your application [...] Support for enterprise features like organization-scoped roles and IdP role assignment via SSO and Directory Sync”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official docs · Report a correction

Private networking / VPC

Auth0
Private Cloud on AWS only, and outbound only: AWS PrivateLink reaches your own services from the deployment without exposing data to the internet. Set up by Auth0 after you file a request; Private Cloud on Azure uses Azure Private Link.
WorkOS
All API traffic is HTTPS on port 443 from Cloudflare's published IP ranges; air-gapped environments with no external network connectivity cannot use WorkOS. On-prem deployment guide; firewall rules or ACLs are the documented network control.
Sources (2) →
  • Private Cloud on AWS - Auth0 Docs ↗

    “With Private Cloud on AWS, you can establish network connectivity between your Private Cloud deployment and your own services without exposing your data to the Internet. [...] Secure outbound networking uses AWS PrivateLink.”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official docs · Report a correction

  • Using WorkOS with On-prem Customers – WorkOS Docs ↗

    “All requests use HTTPS on port 443 [...] All authentication requests originate from Cloudflare's published IP ranges [...] For customers operating in air-gapped environments with no external network connectivity, cloud-based authentication services like WorkOS cannot be utilized as they require API connectivity.”

    Read 2026-09-13 · official docs · Report a correction

When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.

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03.

Documented by only one.

These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing — except where we say we read the other provider's own page on a given date and it does not state it. Those rows lean, and the provider can correct them with a link.

Entry paid planAuth0: $35/month for Essentials at 500 monthly active users; Professional is $240/month at the same volume. Both scale with the MAU slider.
Startup credit programAuth0: Auth0 for Startups: free access for venture-backed companies under $5M funding, under $1M ARR and under two years old.
RegionsWorkOS: United States: the DPA's transfer impact assessment names the USA as the only country where subscriber personal data is stored or accessed from. From Exhibit B of the Data Processing Addendum, updated June 27, 2023.
Uptime SLAWorkOS: 99.99% on the annual-credits plan. Pay-as-you-go, the entry, publishes no uptime commitment.
Price per SSO connectionWorkOS: $125 per SSO connection per month for the first 15, falling to $100 at 16–30, $80 at 31–50 and $65 at 51–100. Directory Sync is priced on the same ladder, separately.
ISO 27001Auth0: ISO/IEC 27001:2022, with 27017:2015 and 27018:2019 alongside it; one combined report on access request.
Dedicated infrastructureAuth0: Private Cloud on AWS is a dedicated, managed instance of the Auth0 platform with single tenancy, against the multi-tenant Public Cloud; Azure has the same option.
04.

Questions this comparison answers.

Should I choose Auth0 or WorkOS?

Pick Auth0 if Projects that fit inside the free 25,000 monthly active users, which includes an enterprise connection, self-service SSO and SCIM at no cost.

Pick WorkOS if B2B products where the enterprise features are the product requirement — a million users cost nothing and you pay only for the connections your customers actually use.

Provider pages

Auth0Okta's developer identity platform, priced by monthly active users with sharply lower allowances on paid tiers than on free.WorkOSEnterprise-readiness platform selling SSO, directory sync and audit logs per connection, with user management free to a million users.

Related comparisons

Auth0 vs Better AuthAuth0 vs StytchAuth0 vs SuperTokensClerk vs Auth0Clerk vs WorkOSKinde vs Auth0Kinde vs WorkOSStytch vs WorkOS

Comments

Every page here is sourced and dated.