# Auth0 Alternatives for Indie Developers (2026 Prices)

> Auth0 alternatives for indie developers in 2026: Clerk, Supabase Auth, WorkOS, Cognito, Better Auth and more, with verified prices and costs at 10k-100k MAU.

- Canonical: https://zeroraised.com/blog/auth0-alternatives-for-indie-developers
- Published: 2026-11-14T13:30:00Z
- Author: ZeroRaised Team (https://zeroraised.com/blog/authors/zeroraised)
- Publisher: ZeroRaised (https://zeroraised.com/)
- Section: Building
- Tags: authentication, alternatives, developer-tools, saas

**Short answer:** For most indie developers leaving Auth0, the best value is WorkOS AuthKit (first 1M MAU free) if you want hosted auth only, Supabase Auth (100,000 MAU included in Pro from $25/month) if you also want a Postgres database, and Clerk if you want polished drop-in UI and are under 50,000 users. If you are happy to run it yourself, Better Auth is MIT-licensed and has no per-user fee.

Every price and limit below comes from the vendor's own pricing page or docs, checked on 14 Nov 2026. The advice between them is ours and is labelled.

## TL;DR

- **Why people leave Auth0:** the Free plan is generous (up to 25,000 MAU), but paid B2C Essentials is $35/mo at 500 MAU and $700/mo at 10,000 MAU ([Auth0 pricing](https://auth0.com/pricing)).
- **The startup program is not for bootstrappers:** it requires being venture-backed ([Auth0 for Startups](https://auth0.com/startups)).
- **Cheapest hosted at scale:** WorkOS AuthKit, free to 1M MAU ([WorkOS pricing](https://workos.com/pricing)).
- **Best bundle:** Supabase Auth, 50,000 MAU free and 100,000 MAU on Pro from $25/month ([Supabase pricing](https://supabase.com/pricing)).
- **Cheapest pay-per-user:** Amazon Cognito Lite at $0.0055 per MAU above a 10,000 MAU free tier ([Cognito pricing](https://aws.amazon.com/cognito/pricing/)).
- **Free forever, self-hosted:** Better Auth (MIT), Keycloak (Apache 2.0), Logto (MPL-2.0).
- **Migrate early:** Auth0 hands over password hashes only on paid plans, by support ticket, with no ETA.

**Disclosure:** ZeroRaised publishes this guide and is a launch site for bootstrapped products. We have no commercial relationship with any auth vendor named here and earn nothing if you sign up. Facts come from the linked sources as checked on 14 Nov 2026.

## How this differs from our other auth posts

Our [free auth providers roundup](https://zeroraised.com/blog/free-auth-providers) compares free tiers, [Clerk vs Supabase Auth](https://zeroraised.com/blog/clerk-vs-supabase-auth-for-bootstrapped-saas) goes deep on those two, and [passkeys vs passwords](https://zeroraised.com/blog/passkeys-vs-passwords-for-saas) covers login methods. This post is for someone on Auth0 who wants to know the bill at 10k to 100k users elsewhere, and how to get users out.

## Why indie developers leave Auth0

Auth0's Free plan is better than its reputation. Its pricing page lists "Up to 25,000 monthly active users", passwordless login, unlimited social connections, 5 organizations, one custom domain (with card verification) and one enterprise connection with self-service SSO ([Auth0 pricing](https://auth0.com/pricing)).

The problem is the first paid step (monthly base prices, same page):

| Auth0 plan | 500 MAU | 10,000 MAU |
|---|---|---|
| B2C Essentials | $35 | $700 |
| B2C Professional | $240 | $1,600 |
| B2B Essentials | $150 | $2,100 |
| B2B Professional | $800 | $2,400 |

Enterprise connections are where B2B apps feel it. B2B Essentials includes 3 and B2B Professional includes 5, with extra connections at $100/month each, up to 30 ([Auth0 pricing](https://auth0.com/pricing)).

What about the startup deal? Auth0 for Startups offers "One year of Auth0, free for your startup" on B2B Professional with 100k MAU, but you must be venture-backed with less than $5M in funding, under $1M ARR and less than two years from incorporation ([Auth0 for Startups](https://auth0.com/startups)). A customer-funded company is out on the first condition, and even if you qualify, year two is full price.

Our read: if your product will stay under 25,000 users and needs only the Free plan's features, staying on Auth0 is fine. People leave when they need a paid feature (more organizations, extra enterprise connections, removing limits) and find that $700/mo at 10,000 users is more than their whole hosting bill.

## Auth0 alternatives compared

Prices are monthly list prices from each vendor's page on 14 Nov 2026. "MAU" means monthly active users. Clerk bills on monthly retained users (MRU) instead, so check its definition before comparing like for like.

| Provider | Free tier | First paid price | Enterprise SSO | Self-host | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auth0 | 25,000 MAU | $35/mo (B2C Essentials, 500 MAU) | 1 connection on Free; B2B plans 3-5 included, then $100/mo each | No | Proprietary |
| Clerk | 50,000 MRU per app | $25/mo Pro ($20 annual), 50,000 MRU included | 1 included, then $75/mo each (2-15) | No | Proprietary |
| Supabase Auth | 50,000 MAU | Pro from $25/mo, 100,000 MAU included | SAML: 50 SSO MAU included, then $0.015 per MAU | Not verified today | Not verified today |
| Firebase Auth (Identity Platform) | 50K MAU | Blaze: no cost to 50K MAU, then Google Cloud pricing | 50 SAML/OIDC MAU free | No | Proprietary |
| WorkOS AuthKit | First 1M MAU | $2,500/mo per extra 1M MAU | $125/connection (1-15) | No | Proprietary |
| Kinde | 10,500 MAU | Pro $25/mo, then $0.0175 per extra MAU | 1 on Free/Pro; unlimited on Plus ($75/mo) | No | Proprietary |
| Stytch | 10,000 MAU and AI agents | Pay as you go (per-MAU rate not listed) | 5 included, then $125/connection | No | Proprietary |
| Amazon Cognito | 10,000 MAU (Lite, Essentials) | Lite $0.0055/MAU; Essentials $0.015/MAU | 50 federated MAU free, then $0.015/MAU | No | Proprietary |
| PropelAuth | 10,000 MAU | Growth $150/mo, then $0.05 per user | Unlimited SAML on Growth | No | Proprietary |
| Logto | Up to 50,000 MAU (cloud) | Pro from $24/mo, unlimited MAU | $48 per connector | Yes | MPL-2.0 |
| Better Auth | Free library | None | Your own setup | Yes (runs in your app) | MIT |
| Keycloak | Free server | None | Your own setup | Yes | Apache 2.0 |

Each row is sourced in the vendor sections below and in the Sources list.

## The alternatives, one by one

### WorkOS AuthKit: the cheapest hosted option at scale

WorkOS lists the "First 1M MAUs" of AuthKit free, then $2,500/mo for each additional 1M. Its money comes from enterprise features: SSO and Directory Sync connections start at $125 each for 1-15 connections, and a custom domain is $99/mo ([WorkOS pricing](https://workos.com/pricing)).

Our read: the best fit for a B2B SaaS that expects to sell to companies later. You pay nothing for users and pay per connection only when a customer asks for SSO, which is a moment you can price into an annual contract.

### Supabase Auth: auth that comes with your database

Supabase's Free plan includes 50,000 MAU. Pro starts from $25/month with 100,000 MAU included, then $0.00325 per MAU, and third-party MAU follow the same rule. SAML SSO on Pro includes 50 SSO MAU, then $0.015 per MAU ([Supabase pricing](https://supabase.com/pricing)).

Our read: the lowest-cost pick if you would use Supabase's Postgres anyway, because user rows live next to your data and row-level security can key off them. If you want only auth, the database is a lot of extra surface. Our [Clerk vs Supabase Auth](https://zeroraised.com/blog/clerk-vs-supabase-auth-for-bootstrapped-saas) post covers the trade-offs in depth.

### Clerk: the fastest drop-in UI

Clerk's Hobby plan covers 50,000 MRU per app. Pro is $25/mo ($20/mo billed annually) with 50,000 MRU included, then $0.02 each up to 100,000 and $0.018 from 100,001 to 1M. One enterprise SSO connection is included per app, then $75/mo each for connections 2-15 ([Clerk pricing](https://clerk.com/pricing)).

Our read: if you build on React or Next.js and want sign-in, user profile and organization UI in an afternoon, Clerk is the shortest path. Its $0.02 rate above 50,000 is among the higher per-user rates in this list, so model your growth first.

### Amazon Cognito: cheapest per user if you are already on AWS

Cognito Lite and Essentials both include 10,000 MAU free each month per account. Above that, Lite is $0.0055 per MAU, dropping to $0.0046 past 100,000 per the page's own example, and Essentials is $0.015 per MAU. SAML or OIDC federated users get 50 MAU free, then $0.015 each ([Cognito pricing](https://aws.amazon.com/cognito/pricing/)).

Our read: hard to beat on price, but you build more of the experience yourself. Pick it if your stack is already on AWS and you are comfortable with its console.

### Also on the shortlist

- **Firebase Authentication:** 50K MAU at no cost on Spark and Blaze, Google Cloud pricing above that, SMS billed per message ([Firebase pricing](https://firebase.google.com/pricing)). We could not load Google's Identity Platform rate card today, so we quote no rate above 50K.
- **Kinde:** Pro $25/mo and Plus $75/mo, both with 10,500 MAU included; Plus adds unlimited enterprise SSO. Kinde says its prices "are indicative and will vary monthly based on actual usage" ([Kinde pricing](https://kinde.com/pricing/)).
- **Stytch:** $0 to start with 10,000 users and AI agents and 5 SSO/SCIM connections, then $125 per connection. No per-user rate is shown, so it is not in our worked example ([Stytch pricing](https://stytch.com/pricing)).
- **PropelAuth:** Growth $150/mo with 10,000 MAU, $0.05 per extra user, and unlimited SAML connections ([PropelAuth pricing](https://www.propelauth.com/pricing)). Our read: costly per user, but flat SSO suits a B2B app with few seats per customer.

### Logto, Better Auth and Keycloak: own it yourself

- **Logto** offers a cloud Free plan up to 50,000 MAU and Pro from $24/mo with unlimited MAU (add-ons and token overage billed separately), with enterprise SSO at $48 per connector ([Logto pricing](https://logto.io/pricing)). The code is MPL-2.0 and can be self-hosted ([Logto on GitHub](https://github.com/logto-io/logto)).
- **Better Auth** is an MIT-licensed open source auth library that you add to your own app, so user data stays in your stack ([Better Auth on GitHub](https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth)). Auth.js users take note: Better Auth announced on 22 Sep 2025 that "Auth.js, formerly known as NextAuth.js, is now being maintained and overseen by Better Auth team" ([Better Auth blog](https://www.better-auth.com/blog/authjs-joins-better-auth)).
- **Keycloak** is a full identity server under Apache 2.0 ([Keycloak on GitHub](https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak)). It is a separate service you run and upgrade yourself, which is the main cost.

Our read: self-hosting removes the per-user bill but not the cost. Login is the part of your app attackers aim at first. If you go this way, work through our [security checklist for vibe-coded apps](https://zeroraised.com/blog/vibe-coded-app-security-checklist) and keep the auth service patched.

## Worked example: monthly cost at 10k, 50k and 100k MAU

**Example, our arithmetic.** These are auth fees only, for a consumer app with email and social login and no enterprise SSO, using list prices checked on 14 Nov 2026. We assume every user is active in the month, and treat Clerk's MRU as equal to MAU, which it may not be for your app. Taxes, SMS, add-ons and hosting are excluded.

| Provider | 10,000 users | 50,000 users | 100,000 users |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auth0 Free | $0 | Over the 25,000 Free limit | Over the 25,000 Free limit |
| Auth0 B2C Essentials | $700 | Not listed on the tiers we checked | Not listed on the tiers we checked |
| WorkOS AuthKit | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Supabase (Free, then Pro) | $0 | $0 | $25 (100,000 included) |
| Clerk (Hobby, then Pro) | $0 | $0 | $25 + 50,000 × $0.02 = $1,025 |
| Cognito Lite | $0 | 40,000 × $0.0055 = $220 | 90,000 × $0.0055 = $495 |
| Cognito Essentials | $0 | 40,000 × $0.015 = $600 | 90,000 × $0.015 = $1,350 |
| Kinde (Free, then Pro) | $0 | $25 + 39,500 × $0.0175 = $716.25 | $25 + 89,500 × $0.0175 = $1,591.25 |
| PropelAuth Growth | $150 (or $0 on Free) | $150 + 40,000 × $0.05 = $2,150 | $150 + 90,000 × $0.05 = $4,650 |
| Firebase | $0 | $0 | Above 50K: Google Cloud rates (not verified) |
| Better Auth / Keycloak | $0 licence | $0 licence | $0 licence |

Supabase's $25 is the Pro base for the whole project; compute and storage can add more. Cognito's 100,000 figure matches the page's own example of "90,000 MAUs x $0.0055 = $495".

Our read: the gap is small at 10,000 users and very large at 100,000. For a free consumer product with many signups and low revenue per user, choose for the 100,000 column now, because migrating later is the expensive part.

## Migrating off Auth0

The hard part is passwords. Social and passwordless users can sign in with the new provider as soon as you set up the same connections. Database (email and password) users need their hashes moved, or they need to reset.

What Auth0's docs say, checked today:

1. **Hashes only on paid plans.** Auth0's export data page says password hash export "is not available for our Free subscription tier" ([Auth0 export data](https://auth0.com/docs/troubleshoot/customer-support/manage-subscriptions/export-data)).
2. **Support ticket plus PGP.** You open a support case with your tenant name and a PGP public key of "4096 bits or greater" with "at least one RSA 4096-bit encryption subkey", set to expire at least 7 days after generation ([Auth0 export hashes](https://auth0.com/docs/manage-users/user-migration/export-password-hashes-and-mfa-secrets)).
3. **No date promised.** "Auth0 does not provide ETAs for eligible exports because fulfillment depends on resource and access availability." The download link "Expires after 3 days" (same page).
4. **Profiles are self-serve.** Bulk user export jobs give you user data as newline-delimited JSON or CSV ([Auth0 bulk export](https://auth0.com/docs/manage-users/user-migration/bulk-user-exports)).

A practical order of work (our read):

1. Export profiles with a bulk export job and import them into the new provider, keeping Auth0's user ID as an external ID so your own database rows still match.
2. If you are on a paid plan, request the hash export early, before you cancel, since there is no ETA.
3. If you are on Free, or the export is slow, run a lazy migration: on first login to the new system, check the password against Auth0, then save it in the new provider. Check your target provider's migration docs for whether it supports this, and how.
4. Keep Auth0 running read-only for a month or two, then email the remaining users a reset link.
5. Re-check enterprise SSO connections with each customer's IT team, because the callback URLs change.

If a customer has a security questionnaire or SOC 2 report request in flight, tell them about the change. Our [SOC 2 for bootstrapped startups](https://zeroraised.com/blog/soc-2-for-bootstrapped-startups) guide explains why your auth vendor shows up in that paperwork.

## Decision table

Our editorial picks, based on the verified prices above.

| Your situation | Our pick |
|---|---|
| B2B SaaS that will sell SSO to companies | WorkOS AuthKit |
| You already use (or want) Postgres from Supabase | Supabase Auth |
| React or Next.js app, want auth UI in an afternoon, under 50,000 users | Clerk |
| Already on AWS, want the lowest per-user rate | Cognito Lite |
| Mobile app already on Firebase | Firebase Authentication |
| B2B with many enterprise customers and few users each | PropelAuth Growth or Kinde Plus (flat SSO) |
| Want zero vendor fees and auth in your own codebase | Better Auth |
| Want a standalone self-hosted identity server | Keycloak (or self-hosted Logto) |
| Under 25,000 users and happy with Auth0 Free features | Stay on Auth0 |

## Launch once login works

When your new auth is live, [submit your product to ZeroRaised](https://zeroraised.com/submit) for free. Our [guide to launching a bootstrapped app](https://zeroraised.com/blog/how-to-launch-a-bootstrapped-app) covers the rest of the launch, and the [ZeroRaised newsletter](https://zeroraised.com/newsletter) sends more cost-checked tool guides like this one.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the cheapest Auth0 alternative for an indie developer?

On list prices checked on 14 Nov 2026, WorkOS AuthKit is the cheapest hosted option at scale because its pricing page lists the first 1M MAU free. Supabase Auth is the cheapest if you also want a database, with 50,000 MAU on Free and 100,000 MAU included in Pro from $25/month. If you will run your own servers, Better Auth (MIT) and Keycloak (Apache 2.0) have no per-user fee at all.

### Is Auth0 still free for small apps?

Yes, up to a point. Auth0's pricing page lists a Free plan for up to 25,000 monthly active users with unlimited social connections, passwordless login, one custom domain (card verification required) and one enterprise connection. The jump comes when you need a paid plan: B2C Essentials starts at $35/mo for 500 MAU and is $700/mo at 10,000 MAU.

### Can I get Auth0 free through its startup program?

Only if you are venture-backed. Auth0 for Startups offers one year of the B2B Professional plan with 100k MAU, but its page requires the startup to be venture-backed with less than $5M in funding, less than $1M ARR and less than two years since incorporation. A bootstrapped company does not meet the first condition.

### Can I export password hashes from Auth0 when I migrate?

Yes, on paid plans, by opening a support case with your tenant name and a PGP public key (4096-bit RSA encryption subkey). Auth0's docs say the operation is not available on the Free tier, that Auth0 does not provide ETAs, and that the download link expires after 3 days. On the Free tier, plan a lazy migration where users re-enter their password once.

### Should I self-host auth instead of paying per user?

Our read: only if you already run servers and want to own the user table. Better Auth runs inside your app as a library, while Keycloak and Logto run as separate services. You avoid per-user fees, but you take on patching, uptime and security reviews for the most sensitive part of your app.

## Sources

- [Auth0 pricing](https://auth0.com/pricing), last checked 14 Nov 2026
- [Auth0 for Startups](https://auth0.com/startups), last checked 14 Nov 2026
- [Auth0 Docs: Export Data](https://auth0.com/docs/troubleshoot/customer-support/manage-subscriptions/export-data), last checked 14 Nov 2026
- [Auth0 Docs: Export Password Hashes and MFA Secrets](https://auth0.com/docs/manage-users/user-migration/export-password-hashes-and-mfa-secrets), last checked 14 Nov 2026
- [Auth0 Docs: Bulk Export User Data](https://auth0.com/docs/manage-users/user-migration/bulk-user-exports), last checked 14 Nov 2026
- [Clerk pricing](https://clerk.com/pricing), last checked 14 Nov 2026
- [Supabase pricing](https://supabase.com/pricing), last checked 14 Nov 2026
- [Firebase pricing](https://firebase.google.com/pricing), last checked 14 Nov 2026
- [WorkOS pricing](https://workos.com/pricing), last checked 14 Nov 2026
- [Kinde pricing](https://kinde.com/pricing/), last checked 14 Nov 2026
- [Stytch pricing](https://stytch.com/pricing), last checked 14 Nov 2026
- [Amazon Cognito pricing](https://aws.amazon.com/cognito/pricing/), last checked 14 Nov 2026
- [PropelAuth pricing](https://www.propelauth.com/pricing), last checked 14 Nov 2026
- [Logto pricing](https://logto.io/pricing), last checked 14 Nov 2026
- [Logto on GitHub](https://github.com/logto-io/logto), last checked 14 Nov 2026
- [Better Auth on GitHub](https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth), last checked 14 Nov 2026
- [Better Auth: Auth.js joins Better Auth](https://www.better-auth.com/blog/authjs-joins-better-auth), last checked 14 Nov 2026
- [Keycloak on GitHub](https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak), last checked 14 Nov 2026

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the cheapest Auth0 alternative for an indie developer?

On list prices checked on 14 Nov 2026, WorkOS AuthKit is the cheapest hosted option at scale because its pricing page lists the first 1M MAU free. Supabase Auth is the cheapest if you also want a database, with 50,000 MAU on Free and 100,000 MAU included in Pro from $25/month. If you will run your own servers, Better Auth (MIT) and Keycloak (Apache 2.0) have no per-user fee at all.

### Is Auth0 still free for small apps?

Yes, up to a point. Auth0's pricing page lists a Free plan for up to 25,000 monthly active users with unlimited social connections, passwordless login, one custom domain (card verification required) and one enterprise connection. The jump comes when you need a paid plan: B2C Essentials starts at $35/mo for 500 MAU and is $700/mo at 10,000 MAU.

### Can I get Auth0 free through its startup program?

Only if you are venture-backed. Auth0 for Startups offers one year of the B2B Professional plan with 100k MAU, but its page requires the startup to be venture-backed with less than $5M in funding, less than $1M ARR and less than two years since incorporation. A bootstrapped company does not meet the first condition.

### Can I export password hashes from Auth0 when I migrate?

Yes, on paid plans, by opening a support case with your tenant name and a PGP public key (4096-bit RSA encryption subkey). Auth0's docs say the operation is not available on the Free tier, that Auth0 does not provide ETAs, and that the download link expires after 3 days. On the Free tier, plan a lazy migration where users re-enter their password once.

### Should I self-host auth instead of paying per user?

Our read: only if you already run servers and want to own the user table. Better Auth runs inside your app as a library, while Keycloak and Logto run as separate services. You avoid per-user fees, but you take on patching, uptime and security reviews for the most sensitive part of your app.