Why It Matters
WorkOS is the only auth platform laser-focused on the enterprise buyer. AuthKit provides consumer-grade auth (1M free users), then adds enterprise features at per-connection pricing ($125/connection for SSO, $125/connection for Directory Sync). No per-user pricing surprises — you know exactly what each enterprise customer costs.
What It Actually Does
Every capability explained in plain English — so you know exactly how WorkOS handles authentication, user management, and security for your product.
AuthKit (User Management)
Complete authentication platform: email/password with leak detection, social auth (Google, Microsoft, GitHub, Apple), magic auth (6-digit codes), MFA (TOTP + SMS), passkeys/WebAuthn, RBAC, CLI auth, and a customizable hosted UI. Free for up to 1 million monthly active users.
Everything you need for user login — social sign-in, passwords, fingerprint auth, and team permissions. Free for your first million users, which is 10-20x more generous than any competitor.
Enterprise SSO (SAML & OIDC)
Connect any SAML 2.0 or OIDC identity provider — Okta, Azure AD (Entra ID), Google Workspace, OneLogin, PingFederate, and more. Self-service Admin Portal for customer IT teams to configure their own connections. $125/connection/month with automatic volume discounts.
Enterprise customers log in through their company's identity system. WorkOS even provides a self-service portal so your customer's IT team sets it up themselves — no support tickets needed.
Directory Sync (SCIM & HRIS)
Automated user provisioning and de-provisioning from Okta, Azure AD, Google Workspace, OneLogin, and HRIS providers (BambooHR, Gusto, Rippling). Role mapping, group sync, and real-time event webhooks.
When a company adds a new employee in their HR system, they automatically get access to your product. When they leave, access is instantly revoked. No manual user management needed.
Radar (Bot & Fraud Protection)
Real-time protection against bots, credential stuffing, and fraud. Risk scoring, device fingerprinting, and adaptive challenges. First 1,000 checks free, then $100/50K checks.
Automatically blocks bots, fake accounts, and suspicious login attempts. WorkOS's Radar analyzes every authentication attempt and challenges risky ones.
Audit Logs
Capture, store, and export compliance events from your application. Log streaming to SIEM tools (Datadog, Splunk). Per-SIEM-connection pricing ($125/month) with per-million event retention ($99/month).
Enterprise customers need a record of who did what and when. WorkOS captures every important action and lets you stream those records to enterprise security tools.
Fine-Grained Authorization (FGA)
Relationship-based access control inspired by Google Zanzibar. Define authorization models with types, relations, and inheritance. Evaluate permissions in real-time at sub-millisecond latency.
Advanced permissions beyond simple roles — define exactly who can access what based on relationships. 'Can User X edit Document Y in Organization Z?' answered in milliseconds.
Admin Portal
Self-service portal for customer IT administrators to configure SSO connections, Directory Sync, and organization settings. Fully brandable with custom domains. No engineering time required from your team.
Your enterprise customers' IT teams configure SSO and user provisioning themselves through a branded portal — no support tickets, no back-and-forth emails.
Passkeys & Biometric Auth
WebAuthn/FIDO2 passkey support for passwordless biometric authentication. Cross-device passkeys, platform authenticators (Touch ID, Face ID, Windows Hello), and hardware security keys.
Users log in with their fingerprint or face — no passwords needed. Works across devices with the latest WebAuthn standards.
Why Teams Choose WorkOS
The key advantages that make WorkOS stand out for authentication and user management.
1 Million Free Users
The most generous free tier in the auth industry — 10-20x more than Clerk (50K), Auth0 (25K), or Kinde (10.5K). AuthKit is genuinely free for most products.
Enterprise-First Focus
SSO, Directory Sync, Audit Logs, Admin Portal, and FGA as standalone, production-ready products. WorkOS doesn't bolt enterprise features on — they're the core offering.
Transparent Per-Connection Pricing
No per-user pricing surprises. SSO and Directory Sync are priced per enterprise connection with published volume discounts. You know exactly what each enterprise customer costs.
Self-Service Admin Portal
Your enterprise customers configure SSO and Directory Sync themselves through a branded portal. Eliminates support engineering and accelerates enterprise onboarding.
Radar Protection
Built-in bot detection, credential stuffing prevention, and fraud protection. Risk scoring and adaptive challenges keep accounts secure without degrading user experience.
Fine-Grained Authorization
Google Zanzibar-inspired FGA for relationship-based access control. Define complex permission models with sub-millisecond evaluation — a rare capability in the auth space.
Under the Hood
A plain-language breakdown of what WorkOS can and can't do — so you know exactly what you're getting.
Email & Password
Traditional username/password login with automatic password hashing and breach detection.
Magic Links
Passwordless login via email — click a link insted of typing a password.
Social SSO
One-click login with Google, GitHub, Apple, and other social accounts your users already have.
Passkeys / WebAuthn
Biometric login (fingerprint, Face ID) — the most secure and convenient authentication method available.
Passwordless Login
SMS codes, email OTPs, and other methods that eliminate passwords entirely.
Multi-Factor Auth (MFA)
Require a second verification step — even if a password is compromised, the account stays protected.
TOTP (Authenticator Apps)
Support for Google Authenticator, Authy, and other time-based one-time password apps.
SMS OTP
One-time passcodes sent via text message for verification or as a second factor.
Bot Protection
Machine-learning detection to block fake sign-ups, disposable emails, and automated abuse.
Rate Limiting
Automatic throttling of login attempts to prevent brute-force attacks.
Enterprise SSO
Let enterprise customers log in through their corporate identity provider (Okta, Azure AD, Google Workspace).
SAML 2.0
Industry-standard protocol for enterprise single sign-on — required by most large organizations.
OpenID Connect (OIDC)
Modern identity layer on top of OAuth 2.0 — used by Google, Microsoft, and most identity providers.
Audit Logs
A record of who signed in, when, and from where — essential for compliance and security monitoring.
User Management Dashboard
Admin panel to view, search, edit, ban, and manage all your users without writing code.
Organization Management
Multi-tenant team workspaces — create orgs, invite members, assign roles, and manage billing per org.
Role-Based Access Control
Define custom roles (admin, editor, viewer) with fine-grained permissions for who can do what.
Multi-Tenancy
Isolate data and configuration per organization — essential for B2B SaaS products.
User Impersonation
Log in as any user to debug issues or provide support — without asking for their password.
Pre-Built UI Components
Drop-in sign-up, sign-in, profile, and org management components — ship auth UI in minutes, not weeks.
Custom UI / Headless
Build your own login UI from scratch using the API directly — full design freedom.
Webhooks
Real-time notifications when users sign up, update profiles, or change organizations.
Session Management
Automatic token rotation, device tracking, and configurable session lifetimes.
Machine-to-Machine (M2M)
API keys and service tokens for server-to-server communication without a human user.
Custom Domains
Host the auth flow on your own domain — no redirects to a third-party login page.
Custom Claims / Metadata
Attach arbitrary data to user tokens — roles, plan type, feature flags — accessible in every API request.
Full-Stack Frameworks
Frameworks where the SDK handles both server and client — middleware, SSR helpers, and edge runtime.
Frontend Libraries
Client-side SDKs for building custom auth UIs in single-page apps and browser extensions.
Backend SDKs
Server-side libraries for token verification, user management, and webhook handling.
Mobile SDKs
Native and cross-platform SDKs for iOS, Android, and React Native apps.
Deployment Model
Where the service runs. Cloud-only = fully managed; Self-hosted = you run it; Hybrid = both options.
License
Whether the code is open source or proprietary. Open source means no vendor lock-in.
Founded
When the company or project was started — indicates maturity and track record.
Maintained By
The company or community behind the project.
Social Login Providers
One-click social sign-on providers supported by WorkOS — let your users log in with accounts they already have.
5 providers supported. Custom OAuth2/OIDC providers can also be configured.
Best For
Product types and use cases where WorkOS delivers the most value — based on its feature set, compliance story, and multi-tenant capabilities.
B2B SaaS (Enterprise Buyers)
Purpose-built for the enterprise chasm. SSO, Directory Sync, Audit Logs, and Admin Portal are the exact features enterprise buyers demand. Per-connection pricing makes cost predictable.
Developer Tools
Used by Vercel, Perplexity, and Loom. CLI authentication, RBAC, and 1M free users make WorkOS ideal for developer-focused products that eventually sell to enterprises.
Security & Compliance
Audit Logs, SIEM streaming, FGA, and Directory Sync are first-class products — not afterthoughts. SOC 2 Type II certified with 99.99% uptime SLA on annual plans.
Consumer Apps
1M free MAU is incredibly generous for consumer products. However, WorkOS's DNA is enterprise — social login options are limited to Google, Microsoft, GitHub, and Apple.
Healthcare & Finance
Audit Logs and FGA cover compliance needs. Directory Sync ensures user provisioning from HR systems. However, no explicit HIPAA BAA is publicly documented.
Small Teams & MVPs
AuthKit's free tier is generous, but WorkOS's enterprise-focused complexity may be overkill for simple projects. Fewer social login providers than consumer-focused alternatives.
Pricing Plans
WorkOS pricing breakdown — so you know exactly what you're paying for and which plan fits your product.
AuthKit
- Up to 1,000,000 monthly active users free
- Social auth (Google, Microsoft, GitHub, Apple)
- Email + password with leak detection
- Magic auth (6-digit codes)
- MFA (TOTP + SMS)
- Passkeys / WebAuthn
- Role-based access control (RBAC)
- Customizable hosted UI
SSO
Most Popular- SAML 2.0 & OIDC support
- Okta, Azure AD, Google Workspace, OneLogin, etc.
- Self-service Admin Portal
- $125/ea (1-15), $100/ea (16-30), $80/ea (31-50)
- $65/ea (51-100), $50/ea (101-200)
- Custom pricing for 200+ connections
Directory Sync
- SCIM & HRIS providers
- Okta, Azure AD, Google Workspace, BambooHR, Gusto
- Real-time provisioning/de-provisioning
- Same volume discount tiers as SSO
- Group and role mapping
- Event webhooks
Enterprise
- Everything in Pay as You Go
- Pre-pay credit discounts
- 99.99% uptime SLA
- Guided migration and onboarding
- Guaranteed support SLA
- Dedicated Slack channel
Pricing is approximate and may vary. Visit WorkOS's pricing page for the latest details.
Honest Trade-Offs
No technology is perfect. Here are the real limitations of WorkOS — so you make an informed decision, not a surprised one.
| Trade-Off | Impact | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Limited Social Login Providers | High | Only Google, Microsoft, GitHub, and Apple are supported as social providers. No Discord, Slack, LinkedIn, Twitch, or Spotify — a significant gap for consumer-facing products. |
| Enterprise SSO is Expensive at Scale | High | At $125/connection/month (with volume discounts to $50/ea at 200+), a B2B product with 100 enterprise customers pays $6,500/month for SSO alone. Kinde includes SSO free on Plus ($75/mo). |
| No Machine-to-Machine Auth | Medium | WorkOS focuses on human identity — no OAuth 2.0 Client Credentials flow for service-to-service authentication. You'll need a separate solution for M2M/API auth. |
| Cloud-Only — No Self-Hosting | Medium | WorkOS is fully managed SaaS with no self-hosted option. Organizations requiring on-premises deployment or air-gapped environments cannot use WorkOS. |
| No Built-In Organization UI | Medium | Unlike Clerk's pre-built OrganizationSwitcher component, WorkOS doesn't provide drop-in React components for organization management. Admin Portal handles SSO config but not day-to-day org management. |
| Smaller Framework Coverage | Low | 10 framework SDKs vs. Clerk's 18 or Auth0's 16. Missing official SDKs for Vue, Nuxt, Astro, SvelteKit, Flutter, React Native, and Android/iOS. |
Only Google, Microsoft, GitHub, and Apple are supported as social providers. No Discord, Slack, LinkedIn, Twitch, or Spotify — a significant gap for consumer-facing products.
At $125/connection/month (with volume discounts to $50/ea at 200+), a B2B product with 100 enterprise customers pays $6,500/month for SSO alone. Kinde includes SSO free on Plus ($75/mo).
WorkOS focuses on human identity — no OAuth 2.0 Client Credentials flow for service-to-service authentication. You'll need a separate solution for M2M/API auth.
WorkOS is fully managed SaaS with no self-hosted option. Organizations requiring on-premises deployment or air-gapped environments cannot use WorkOS.
Unlike Clerk's pre-built OrganizationSwitcher component, WorkOS doesn't provide drop-in React components for organization management. Admin Portal handles SSO config but not day-to-day org management.
10 framework SDKs vs. Clerk's 18 or Auth0's 16. Missing official SDKs for Vue, Nuxt, Astro, SvelteKit, Flutter, React Native, and Android/iOS.