Best software · Developer & data
10 Best Authentication Services of 2026
This list is for developers who need to add sign-up, login, SSO, organizations and user management to a web or mobile app without building it all themselves. It covers developer-first services (Clerk, WorkOS, Kinde, Stytch, Descope), auth that ships with a backend platform (Supabase Auth, Firebase Authentication, Amazon Cognito), the long-standing enterprise option (Auth0) and a self-hostable server (FusionAuth). We compared documented features and published prices for 10 services. Scores weigh features at 40%, ease of use at 30% and value at 30%.
By the Mojolin research desk · Updated November 10, 2026 · 10 tools compared · Prices checked on vendor pages, latest November 10, 2026
Questions or corrections: editorial@mojolin.com
Mojolin is self-funded How we score
Clerk is our top pick for most app developers: prebuilt sign-in components, organizations, MFA and bot protection come in one package, the free Hobby plan covers 50,000 monthly retained users per app, and Pro costs $20 per month billed annually. WorkOS is the runner-up for B2B SaaS, since AuthKit is free up to 1 million users and enterprise SSO and Directory Sync cost $125 per connection. Supabase Auth is the natural choice if your data already lives in Supabase, because sessions plug straight into Row Level Security. Firebase Authentication and Amazon Cognito make sense inside their own clouds, and FusionAuth is the pick if you must self-host.
Top picks
Best overall
Clerk
9.1 / 10
Developers building React, Next.js and other modern web apps who want complete login and user management working in an afternoon.
Read the review →Runner-up
WorkOS
9.0 / 10
B2B SaaS teams that need enterprise SSO, SCIM provisioning and an admin portal for customers' IT teams.
Read the review →Also great
Supabase Auth
8.9 / 10
Developers building on Supabase or Postgres who want auth and data access rules in one place.
Read the review →Comparison table
| # | Tool | Pricing | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clerk | Developers building React, Next.js and other modern web apps who want complete login and user management working in an afternoon. | Free Hobby plan with 50,000 monthly retained users per app; Pro from $20 per month billed annually ($25 monthly) | 9.1 |
| 2 | WorkOS | B2B SaaS teams that need enterprise SSO, SCIM provisioning and an admin portal for customers' IT teams. | AuthKit free up to 1 million users; enterprise SSO and Directory Sync from $125 per connection per month with volume discounts | 9.0 |
| 3 | Supabase Auth | Developers building on Supabase or Postgres who want auth and data access rules in one place. | Free plan with 50,000 monthly active users; Pro from $25 per month with 100,000 MAUs, then $0.00325 per MAU | 8.9 |
| 4 |  Kinde | SaaS founders who want auth, organizations, feature flags and billing from a single vendor. | Free plan with 10,500 MAUs; Pro from $25 per month, Plus $75 with enterprise SSO, Scale $250 | 8.8 |
| 5 |  Auth0 | Teams that need a mature, highly extensible identity platform and expect enterprise or regulated customers. | Free plan up to 25,000 MAUs; B2C Essentials from $35 per month for 500 MAUs, Professional from $240 per month | 8.7 |
| 6 |  Firebase Authentication | Mobile and web developers already using Firebase or Google Cloud who want free auth at a large scale. | No cost up to 50,000 MAUs; then from $0.0055 per MAU on Google Cloud Identity Platform pricing; phone auth billed per SMS | 8.6 |
| 7 |  Stytch | B2B SaaS teams that want multi-tenant auth, several SSO connections free and optional device fingerprinting. | Pay as you go from $0 with 10,000 MAUs and 5 SSO or SCIM connections free; extra connections $125 each | 8.6 |
| 8 |  Descope | Teams that want product or security staff to change login journeys without code deploys. | Free Forever plan with 7,500 MAUs; Pro from $249 per month billed annually with 10,000 MAUs | 8.4 |
| 9 |  FusionAuth | Teams that must self-host identity for data control, compliance or cost reasons. | Community edition free and unlimited when self-hosted; Starter from $162 per month billed annually with basic hosting | 8.2 |
| 10 |  Amazon Cognito | Teams building on AWS who want auth billed and managed inside their AWS account. | 10,000 MAUs free on Lite and Essentials; Essentials then $0.015 per MAU, Plus $0.020 per MAU, Lite from $0.0055 | 8.1 |
Scoring weights
Every tool gets three editorial scores out of 10, from vendor documentation, product pages and the published price. The overall score is the weighted average below, the same method on every list. Full method
The full ranking
Rank 1 · Best overall
Clerk
Authentication and user management platform with prebuilt components, organizations, billing and fraud protection for web and mobile apps.
clerk.com9.1
out of 10
Best for: Developers building React, Next.js and other modern web apps who want complete login and user management working in an afternoon.
Clerk is built for developers who want auth handled end to end. Sign-in methods include passwords with breach detection, magic links, email and SMS passcodes and more than 20 social providers, and Clerk manages the session lifecycle, including active device lists and remote sign-out. Organizations come with Admin and Member roles, invitations and custom permissions, so B2B apps get team accounts without extra tables. Bot detection and disposable email blocking reduce fake sign-ups and free trial abuse.
The free Hobby plan covers 50,000 monthly retained users per app, and Clerk only counts a user when they come back at least 24 hours after signing up. Pro costs $25 per month or $20 billed annually and adds MFA, branding removal, one SSO connection and one Directory Sync connection, with extra SSO connections at $75 each. Unlimited organization members and impersonation sit in an Enhanced add-on, which is the main cost to watch as a B2B app grows.
Standout feature
Clerk counts a user only when they return 24 or more hours after signing up, so one-time visitors do not use up your quota.
Use cases
Next.js developers
Add sign-up, sign-in and a user profile page with prebuilt components
Outcome: Working auth and session management without custom login screens
Early-stage SaaS founders
Launch with team accounts and roles on the free Hobby plan
Outcome: Organizations and invitations from day one at no cost
Consumer apps with free trials
Block disposable emails and bot sign-ups
Outcome: Less trial abuse and cleaner user counts
Key features
- Passwords with breach detection, magic links, email and SMS one-time passcodes and 20+ social sign-on options
- Session management with active device monitoring and session revocation
- Organizations with Admin and Member roles, invitations and custom permissions
- Bot detection and blocking of disposable email domains to cut fraudulent sign-ups
- Clerk Billing for subscriptions at 0.7% of billing volume on top of Stripe fees
Pros
- Free Hobby plan includes 50,000 monthly retained users per app and unlimited applications
- Users count only when they return 24+ hours after signing up, so drive-by sign-ups are free
- Pro includes MFA, one SSO connection and one Directory Sync connection
Cons
- Extra SSO connections cost $75 per month each on Pro
- Unlimited organization members and impersonation need the Enhanced add-on at $85 per month billed annually
- Business plan for larger teams jumps to $250 per month billed annually
Rank 2 · Runner-up
WorkOS
Auth and enterprise identity platform with AuthKit user management, SSO, Directory Sync, audit logs and fine-grained authorization.
workos.com9.0
out of 10
Best for: B2B SaaS teams that need enterprise SSO, SCIM provisioning and an admin portal for customers' IT teams.
WorkOS started as an enterprise SSO API and now covers the whole auth stack. AuthKit handles passwords, passkeys, MFA, social login, organizations and roles, with drop-in widgets for sessions and security settings or a hosted login page. Enterprise features are where WorkOS stands apart: SAML and OIDC SSO, SCIM Directory Sync, an Admin Portal where a customer's IT admin configures their own identity provider, audit logs and fine-grained authorization. It also offers auth for AI agents and MCP servers, and a CLI that detects your framework and writes the auth routes for you.
Pricing is simple to model. AuthKit is free up to 1 million users, then $2,500 per month for each additional million. SSO and Directory Sync cost $125 per connection per month for the first 15, falling to $65 at 51 to 100 connections. Extras such as a custom domain at $99 per month and log streaming add up, so price them in.
Standout feature
AuthKit user management is free up to 1 million users, so you only pay once enterprise customers need SSO connections.
Use cases
B2B SaaS teams
Close an enterprise deal that requires Okta SSO and SCIM
Outcome: The customer's IT admin configures SSO through the Admin Portal
Startups with large free tiers
Run sign-up and login for hundreds of thousands of users
Outcome: User management at no cost below 1 million users
AI product teams
Secure an MCP server with OAuth
Outcome: Agents authenticate through the same identity system as users
Key features
- AuthKit with passwords, passkeys, MFA, social login, organizations and role-based access control
- Enterprise SSO over SAML and OIDC plus Directory Sync for SCIM provisioning
- Admin Portal for self-serve IdP setup by customers' IT admins
- Audit Logs, fine-grained authorization and Radar bot and fraud protection
- Auth for AI agents and MCP servers, plus a CLI that installs AuthKit for your framework
Pros
- AuthKit user management is free up to 1 million users
- Per-connection SSO pricing drops to $65 each at 51 to 100 connections
- The npx workos integrate command sets up AuthKit for Next.js, Laravel, SvelteKit, Django and more
Cons
- Each SSO or Directory Sync connection costs $125 per month at low volume
- Custom domain for AuthKit and emails costs $99 per month
- Audit log streaming is billed separately at $125 per SIEM connection per month
Rank 3 · Also great
Supabase Auth
Authentication built into the Supabase Postgres platform, with JWT sessions that plug into Row Level Security.
supabase.com8.9
out of 10
Best for: Developers building on Supabase or Postgres who want auth and data access rules in one place.
Supabase Auth is the auth layer of the Supabase platform, and its biggest strength is how close it sits to your data. Users can sign in with passwords, magic links, one-time passwords, social providers or SSO, and sessions are JSON Web Tokens that Postgres Row Level Security can read. That means a policy like "users can only read their own rows" is written once in the database rather than repeated in API code. Client SDKs and API endpoints cover creating and managing users, and the product can be used on its own.
The pricing is generous. The free plan includes 50,000 monthly active users, though it is capped at 2 active projects. Pro starts at $25 per month with 100,000 MAUs included, then $0.00325 per MAU, and covers the database and storage as well. What you give up is prebuilt B2B tooling: organizations, invitations and admin portals are things you model yourself.
Standout feature
Sessions are JWTs that Postgres Row Level Security understands, so authorization lives in the database next to the data.
Use cases
Full-stack developers on Supabase
Restrict each user to their own rows
Outcome: Access rules enforced by Row Level Security with no extra API code
Indie hackers
Launch a side project with social login on the free plan
Outcome: Auth and database for up to 50,000 MAUs at no cost
Mobile developers
Add magic link and OTP sign-in to an app
Outcome: Passwordless login through the client SDK
Key features
- Password, magic link, one-time password, social sign-in and SSO login methods
- JSON Web Tokens for sessions, with a documented JWT fields reference
- Row Level Security integration so database rules use the signed-in user
- Client SDKs and API endpoints to create and manage users
- Usable as a standalone auth product or with the rest of Supabase
Pros
- Free plan includes 50,000 monthly active users
- Pro includes 100,000 MAUs, then $0.00325 per MAU, one of the lowest per-user rates here
- Users live in your own Postgres database, which simplifies joins and exports
Cons
- The free plan is limited to 2 active projects
- Fewer prebuilt B2B features such as organizations and admin portals than Clerk or WorkOS
- SSO and compliance features push larger teams to the $599 Team plan
Rank 4
Kinde
Authentication, user management and subscription billing platform for consumer and B2B apps.
kinde.com8.8
out of 10
Best for: SaaS founders who want auth, organizations, feature flags and billing from a single vendor.
Kinde bundles authentication with the pieces a young SaaS usually adds next. The free plan already includes email, SMS and social login, MFA, organizations for B2B customers, a custom domain, attack protection, machine-to-machine apps, workflows, 10 feature flags and subscription billing. Login screens can be customized with HTML and CSS or React. Having auth, plans and feature flags in one place means entitlements follow the user without a separate sync job.
The free plan covers 10,500 MAUs with no credit card. Pro costs $25 per month with the same MAU allowance and $0.0175 per extra MAU, Plus at $75 adds free enterprise SSO, API scopes and 6 environments, and Scale is $250. A detail that matters for subscription apps: users on paid plans you bill through Kinde are not counted as MAUs. The tradeoff is a per-transaction billing fee, 0.7% on the free plan and lower on higher tiers.
Standout feature
Users on paid subscriptions billed through Kinde are not counted as monthly active users.
Use cases
SaaS founders
Launch login, plans and paywalled features together
Outcome: Auth, billing and feature flags configured in one dashboard
B2B startups
Offer enterprise SSO to a first large customer
Outcome: SSO included on the $75 Plus plan with no per-connection fee
Subscription apps
Bill customers through Kinde
Outcome: Paying users do not add to the MAU count
Key features
- Email, SMS and social login with multi-factor authentication
- B2B management with organizations, custom roles and permissions
- Subscriptions and billing with a per-transaction fee
- Feature flags, workflows and attack protection on the free plan
- UI customization with HTML and CSS or React, plus a custom domain
Pros
- Free plan includes 10,500 MAUs with no credit card required
- Users on paid subscriptions billed through Kinde do not count toward MAU
- Plus at $75 per month includes enterprise SSO
Cons
- Free plan limits you to 2 custom roles, 10 permissions and 2 environments
- Billing through Kinde carries a transaction fee of 0.7% on the free plan
- Extra MAUs cost $0.0175 each on Pro, above Supabase's rate
Rank 5
Auth0
Identity platform from Okta with universal login, social and enterprise connections, organizations and attack protection.
auth0.com8.7
out of 10
Best for: Teams that need a mature, highly extensible identity platform and expect enterprise or regulated customers.
Auth0 has the deepest feature set on this list. The free plan already includes passwordless login, unlimited social connections, a custom domain, 5 organizations, one enterprise connection, self-service SSO and SCIM for up to 25,000 monthly active users. Essentials adds Pro MFA, role-based access control per organization, audit log streaming to tools like Datadog and Splunk, and separate production and development environments. Professional adds enterprise MFA and lets you authenticate against an existing user database, which helps when migrating a legacy system.
The weak point is price as you grow. B2C Essentials starts at $35 per month but covers only 500 MAUs, and Professional starts at $240 per month for the same 500 MAUs, so the jump from the generous free tier to a paid plan can be steep. Eligible startups can apply for a year of paid features at no cost. Expect to spend time learning its configuration model.
Standout feature
The free plan includes self-service SSO and SCIM, features most rivals reserve for paid tiers.
Use cases
Regulated or enterprise-facing apps
Add enterprise MFA and SAML connections per customer
Outcome: Security requirements met without building identity in-house
Teams migrating a legacy app
Authenticate against an existing user database
Outcome: Users move over gradually without a password reset
Early-stage products
Run social and passwordless login on the free plan
Outcome: Up to 25,000 MAUs at no cost
Key features
- Passwordless authentication and unlimited social connections on the free plan
- Enterprise connections, self-service SSO and SCIM
- Organizations to model business customers
- Pro MFA, role-based access control and audit log streaming to Datadog, Splunk or AWS on Essentials
- Use your existing user database for logins on Professional
Pros
- Free plan covers up to 25,000 monthly active users with a custom domain
- Free plan includes 1 enterprise connection, self-service SSO and SCIM
- Separate production and development environments from Essentials
Cons
- Paid plans start at only 500 MAUs, so costs climb quickly with growth
- Professional costs $240 per month for 500 MAUs
- The breadth of rules, actions and settings takes longer to learn
Rank 6
Firebase Authentication
Google's authentication service for Firebase apps, with SDKs, ready-made UI libraries and an Identity Platform upgrade.
firebase.google.com8.6
out of 10
Best for: Mobile and web developers already using Firebase or Google Cloud who want free auth at a large scale.
Firebase Authentication gives mobile and web apps backend auth services, SDKs and ready-made UI libraries, with sign-in by password, phone number or federated providers such as Google, Facebook and Twitter. It uses OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect, so a custom backend can verify its tokens, and it ties directly into Firestore security rules and Cloud Functions. Upgrading to Firebase Authentication with Identity Platform adds multi-factor authentication, blocking functions, audit logging, SAML and generic OIDC providers, and multi-tenancy.
Cost is the main draw. Auth is free up to 50,000 monthly active users, and above that Identity Platform pricing starts at $0.0055 per MAU, falling to $0.0046 from 100,000 users and $0.0025 above 10 million. Watch two exceptions: SAML and OIDC sign-ins get only 50 free MAUs, and phone auth is billed per SMS. There are no built-in organizations, so B2B apps need to model tenants themselves.
Standout feature
Auth stays free up to 50,000 monthly active users, the largest per-month free allowance among the cloud platforms here.
Use cases
Mobile app developers
Add Google and phone sign-in to an Android and iOS app
Outcome: Login through the Firebase SDKs and prebuilt UI
Consumer apps with large audiences
Serve tens of thousands of monthly users
Outcome: No auth bill up to 50,000 MAUs
Teams adding compliance controls
Upgrade to Identity Platform
Outcome: MFA, blocking functions and audit logs on the same users
Key features
- Backend services, SDKs and ready-made UI libraries for sign-in
- Passwords, phone numbers and federated providers like Google, Facebook and Twitter
- OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect standards for use with a custom backend
- Identity Platform upgrade adds MFA, blocking functions, audit logging and multi-tenancy
- SAML and generic OpenID Connect support through Identity Platform
Pros
- No cost up to 50,000 monthly active users
- Works directly with Firestore, Cloud Functions and other Firebase services
- Per-MAU rates fall to $0.0025 above 10 million users
Cons
- Only 50 SAML or OIDC MAUs are free
- Phone authentication is billed per SMS sent
- No built-in organizations or B2B admin tools like Clerk or WorkOS
Rank 7
Stytch
Developer auth platform for B2B and consumer apps with SSO, SCIM, multi-tenancy, M2M tokens and fraud prevention.
stytch.com8.6
out of 10
Best for: B2B SaaS teams that want multi-tenant auth, several SSO connections free and optional device fingerprinting.
Stytch splits its product into B2B and consumer offerings, and the B2B side is where it is most distinctive. Multi-tenancy is built in, each organization can set its own primary and secondary auth policies, and SCIM handles provisioning, deprovisioning and role mapping. JIT provisioning can be limited by email domain or SSO connection, and prebuilt UI components cover both the login screen and an admin portal. OAuth, sessions, RBAC and machine-to-machine tokens round out the suite, and an optional fraud product adds device fingerprinting.
The pay-as-you-go plan starts at $0 and stays free for 10,000 monthly active users and AI agents, with unlimited organizations, 5 SSO or SCIM connections and 1,000 M2M tokens. Additional connections cost $125 each, brand removal with full email customization is a one-time $99 add-on, and fingerprints beyond 10,000 are charged per check. The per-user overage rate is shown in the calculator rather than as a flat figure.
Standout feature
The free tier includes 5 SSO or SCIM connections, more than most rivals include at no cost.
Use cases
B2B SaaS teams
Let each customer org require SSO or magic links
Outcome: Per-organization auth policies without custom code
Startups selling upmarket
Connect the first few enterprise identity providers
Outcome: Up to 5 SSO or SCIM connections at no cost
Consumer apps
Spot fake accounts at sign-up
Outcome: Device fingerprinting flags risky sessions
Key features
- OAuth, SSO, sessions and role-based access control in one suite
- Built-in multi-tenancy with organization-level primary and secondary auth policies
- SCIM provisioning and deprovisioning with automatic role management
- JIT provisioning controls by email domain and SSO connection
- Optional fraud and risk prevention with device fingerprinting
Pros
- Always free for 10,000 monthly active users and AI agents
- 5 SSO or SCIM connections included before any charge
- Unlimited organizations on the pay-as-you-go plan
Cons
- Each connection beyond the first 5 costs $125
- Full email customization and brand removal is a $99 add-on
- Fraud prevention is billed per fingerprint beyond 10,000
Rank 8
Descope
No-code customer identity platform with drag-and-drop auth flows, multi-tenant SSO and fine-grained authorization.
descope.com8.4
out of 10
Best for: Teams that want product or security staff to change login journeys without code deploys.
Descope's defining feature is a visual workflow editor. Signup, login, MFA, SSO and step-up authentication are built as drag-and-drop flows that control both the screens and the backend logic, and changes ship without a code deploy. The platform also covers user management with identity merging across methods, fine-grained authorization with RBAC, ReBAC and ABAC, self-service widgets where end users manage profiles, roles and SSO setup, and identity for AI agents and MCP servers.
The Free Forever plan is generous for testing: 7,500 MAUs, 10 monthly active tenants, 3 SSO connections, all auth methods and no watermark, with no overages because you must upgrade to exceed limits. The jump after that is large. Pro starts at $249 per month billed annually for 10,000 MAUs and 5 SSO connections, Growth is $799 for 25,000 MAUs, and extra MAUs cost $0.05 each. Eligible startups can get Pro free for a year.
Standout feature
A drag-and-drop editor controls both login screens and backend logic, so auth journeys change without code.
Use cases
Product teams
Add step-up MFA before a sensitive action
Outcome: A new flow ships from the editor without an app release
B2B SaaS teams
Give each tenant self-service SSO setup
Outcome: Customer admins configure SSO through embedded widgets
AI agent builders
Manage consent and tokens for MCP servers
Outcome: Agents get scoped access through the same identity platform
Key features
- Drag-and-drop workflow editor for signup, login, MFA, SSO and step-up flows
- All auth methods and MFA or step-up authentication on the free plan
- Multi-tenancy with SSO connections and self-service admin widgets
- Fine-grained authorization with RBAC, ReBAC and ABAC
- Identity for AI agents and MCP servers, including consent and token management
Pros
- Free plan includes 7,500 MAUs, 10 tenants and 3 SSO connections
- Login flows change in the editor without touching your codebase
- No Descope watermark on the free plan
Cons
- The first paid plan costs $249 per month billed annually
- Extra MAUs cost $0.05 each on Pro and Growth
- Growth jumps to $799 per month for 25,000 MAUs
Rank 9
FusionAuth
Customer identity and access management server you can self-host for free or run on FusionAuth Cloud.
fusionauth.io8.2
out of 10
Best for: Teams that must self-host identity for data control, compliance or cost reasons.
FusionAuth is a full identity server rather than a hosted-only API, which makes it the main option here for teams that need to run auth on their own infrastructure. The platform covers passkeys, magic links, passwordless login, social login, MFA, SSO, role-based access, organizations, webhooks and machine-to-machine auth. The Community edition is free and unlimited when you self-host it and includes the core standards most apps need, with community support through forums and GitHub.
Paid plans add premium features and hosting. Starter begins at $162 per month billed annually and adds advanced MFA, application theming, breached password detection and basic hosting. Essentials, with email support and business hosting, starts at $2,970 per month, and Enterprise adds advanced threat detection and 24/7 support. Self-hosting saves money but moves upgrades, scaling and backups onto your team, so ease of use trails the hosted services.
Standout feature
The Community edition is free with no user limit when you host it yourself.
Use cases
Teams with data residency rules
Run login inside their own cloud account
Outcome: User data never leaves infrastructure they control
High-volume consumer apps
Avoid per-MAU fees
Outcome: Unlimited users on the self-hosted Community edition
Platform engineers
Add passkeys and SSO to several internal and external apps
Outcome: One identity server for every application
Key features
- Passkeys, magic links, passwordless login, social login and multi-factor authentication
- Single sign-on, role-based access and organizations
- Breached password detection and machine-to-machine auth on Starter
- Webhooks and APIs for extending registration and login
- Self-hosted deployment or FusionAuth Cloud hosting
Pros
- Community edition is free and unlimited on your own infrastructure
- You keep user data on servers you control
- One platform covers authentication, authorization and user management
Cons
- Self-hosting means you run upgrades, scaling and backups
- Essentials with email support starts at $2,970 per month billed annually
- Advanced MFA and theming need a paid plan
Rank 10
Amazon Cognito
AWS customer identity service with user pools, social and SAML federation, and Lite, Essentials and Plus pricing tiers.
aws.amazon.com8.1
out of 10
Best for: Teams building on AWS who want auth billed and managed inside their AWS account.
Amazon Cognito is the default identity service for apps that live on AWS. User pools handle sign-in directly, through social providers or through SAML and OIDC federation, and everything is billed and managed inside your AWS account. Cognito has three tiers: Lite, Essentials, which is the default for new user pools, and Plus, which adds threat protection with risk-based adaptive authentication, compromised credentials detection and export of authentication event logs.
Lite and Essentials share a free tier of 10,000 MAUs that does not expire with the 12-month AWS Free Tier. Above it, Essentials costs $0.015 per MAU and Plus $0.020 per MAU with no free tier, while Lite starts at $0.0055 per MAU for large audiences. Federated SAML and OIDC sign-ins get only 50 free MAUs, then $0.015 each. Cognito is cost-effective at scale, but the configuration surface is larger and the developer experience more AWS-shaped than Clerk or Supabase Auth.
Standout feature
The 10,000 MAU free tier stays available indefinitely, even after the 12-month AWS Free Tier ends.
Use cases
AWS-native teams
Add sign-in to an API Gateway and Lambda backend
Outcome: Auth billed and governed inside the same AWS account
Large consumer apps
Serve hundreds of thousands of monthly users on the Lite tier
Outcome: Per-MAU rates from $0.0055
Security-focused teams
Detect compromised credentials at sign-in
Outcome: Plus tier blocks risky logins with adaptive authentication
Key features
- User pools with direct, social and SAML or OIDC federated sign-in
- Lite, Essentials and Plus feature tiers, with Essentials as the default for new user pools
- Plus tier threat protection with risk-based adaptive authentication
- Compromised credentials detection and export of authentication event logs on Plus
- Billing and management inside your AWS account
Pros
- Free tier of 10,000 MAUs does not expire after the 12-month AWS Free Tier
- Lite tier rates start at $0.0055 per MAU for large consumer user bases
- Fits AWS IAM, billing and infrastructure you already run
Cons
- Only 50 SAML or OIDC federated MAUs are free
- The Plus tier has no free tier
- Choosing between tiers and configuring user pools takes more AWS knowledge than the developer-first services
Frequently asked questions
+What is the best authentication service in 2026?
Clerk is our top pick for most app developers because it combines prebuilt components, organizations, MFA and bot protection with a free plan covering 50,000 monthly retained users per app and a Pro plan at $20 per month billed annually. WorkOS is the best alternative for B2B SaaS that needs enterprise SSO.
+What is the best free authentication service?
WorkOS AuthKit is free up to 1 million users, Firebase Authentication and Supabase Auth are free up to 50,000 MAUs, Clerk's Hobby plan covers 50,000 monthly retained users per app and Auth0's free plan covers 25,000 MAUs. FusionAuth Community is free with no user limit if you self-host it.
+Which authentication service is best for enterprise SSO?
WorkOS is built around enterprise SSO and SCIM, with an Admin Portal for customers' IT admins and per-connection pricing from $125 per month. Stytch includes 5 SSO or SCIM connections free, Kinde includes enterprise SSO on its $75 Plus plan, and Auth0's free plan includes one enterprise connection.
+Should I use Supabase Auth or Firebase Authentication?
Pick the one that matches your database. Supabase Auth issues JWTs that Postgres Row Level Security reads directly and includes 50,000 MAUs free, while Firebase Authentication integrates with Firestore and Cloud Functions and is free up to 50,000 MAUs, then from $0.0055 per MAU.
+Can I self-host an authentication service?
Yes. FusionAuth Community is free and unlimited on your own infrastructure, with paid plans adding hosting and premium features from $162 per month billed annually. Supabase Auth stores users in your own Postgres database, while Clerk, WorkOS, Auth0, Stytch, Descope and Kinde are hosted services.
About this list
Updated November 10, 2026 by the Mojolin research desk. Mojolin is self-funded
Questions or corrections: editorial@mojolin.com
More best software lists