AppBreakup

Zitadel alternatives: 5 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Oct 25, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank

Common reasons people leave Zitadel: AGPL licence may need legal review for some companies, and smaller community than Keycloak. We ranked 5 alternatives by how directly each one replaces Zitadel, then by reviews, real visits and how recently each app's facts were checked against its own website. Keycloak currently ranks first.

Quick comparison

#AppPricingOpen sourcePlatformsVerified factsScore
1Logto logoLogtoOpen sourceYesWeb, Self-hosted4 of 462.6
2Ory logoOryOpen sourceYesWeb, Self-hosted4 of 459.6
3Auth0 logoAuth0Free plan + paidNoWeb4 of 457.2
4WorkOS logoWorkOSFree plan + paidNoWeb4 of 455.3
  1. Logto logo

    1. LogtoTop pick

    Best for: SaaS developers who want open-source, standards-based auth with an affordable cloud

    Open sourceSelf-hostableWeb, Self-hosted

    62.6

    score / 100

    Why switch from Zitadel

    Open-source with a polished developer experience and a cheaper starting cloud plan.

    Pros

    • Open source and self-hostable, with a free cloud tier
    • Clean admin console and customisable sign-in pages
    • Multi-tenant organisations and RBAC built in

    Cons

    • Smaller ecosystem than Auth0 or Keycloak
    • Some enterprise features are cloud or paid only
    • Usage-based token billing takes some estimating
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.387
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.1585
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is Logto a good Zitadel alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    License
    MPL-2.0
    Checked Oct 25, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Free plan
    Up to 50,000 MAU
    Checked Oct 25, 2026logto.io(opens source in a new tab)
    Starting price
    Pro from $24/month
    Checked Oct 25, 2026logto.io(opens source in a new tab)
    Self-hosting
    Yes
    Checked Oct 25, 2026logto.io(opens source in a new tab)
  2. Ory logo

    2. Ory

    Best for: Engineering teams that want modular, API-first identity at large scale

    Open sourceSelf-hostableWeb, Self-hosted

    59.6

    score / 100

    Why switch from Zitadel

    Headless, modular components with an Apache licence for teams building their own UI.

    Pros

    • Apache-licensed components you can self-host freely
    • Separate services for login, OAuth2 and permissions
    • Proven at very large scale

    Cons

    • Headless design means building or adapting your own UI
    • Managed plans are priced for businesses, billed annually
    • Several components to learn and operate
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.377
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.1585
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is Ory a good Zitadel alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    License
    Apache-2.0 (Kratos)
    Checked Oct 25, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Starting price
    Ory Network Production $770/year
    Checked Oct 25, 2026ory.sh(opens source in a new tab)
    Growth plan
    $9,350/year
    Checked Oct 25, 2026ory.sh(opens source in a new tab)
    Notable user
    OpenAI
    Checked Oct 25, 2026ory.sh(opens source in a new tab)
  3. Auth0 logo

    3. Auth0

    Best for: Product teams that want a mature hosted login with SDKs for almost every stack

    Free plan + paidWeb

    57.2

    score / 100

    Why switch from Zitadel

    Fully managed with a big ecosystem if self-hosting is no longer appealing.

    Pros

    • SDKs and quickstarts for nearly every language and framework
    • Actions allow custom logic in login and sign-up flows
    • Large free tier for consumer apps

    Cons

    • Costs rise sharply once you need B2B or enterprise features
    • Cloud only for most customers; no self-hosted edition
    • Dashboard and docs can be confusing alongside Okta's own products
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.369
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.1585
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is Auth0 a good Zitadel alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    Free plan
    Up to 25,000 monthly active users
    Checked Oct 25, 2026auth0.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Starting price
    Essentials from $35/month
    Checked Oct 25, 2026auth0.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Free trial
    22 days of paid features
    Checked Oct 25, 2026auth0.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Startup program
    Free for a year for eligible startups
    Checked Oct 25, 2026auth0.com(opens source in a new tab)
  4. WorkOS logo

    4. WorkOS

    Best for: B2B SaaS companies selling to enterprises that ask for SSO and SCIM

    Free plan + paidWeb

    55.3

    score / 100

    Why switch from Zitadel

    Managed B2B auth free up to a million users, paying only for enterprise connections.

    Pros

    • First million monthly active users are free
    • Self-serve Admin Portal for customers' IT admins
    • Clean APIs and docs for SSO and directory sync

    Cons

    • Each enterprise SSO connection is billed monthly
    • Cloud only
    • Less suited to consumer apps with heavy fraud concerns
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.363
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.1585
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is WorkOS a good Zitadel alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    Free plan
    First 1 million active users free
    Checked Oct 25, 2026workos.com(opens source in a new tab)
    SSO price
    $125 per connection/month (1–15)
    Checked Oct 25, 2026workos.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Above 1M users
    $2,500/month per additional million
    Checked Oct 25, 2026workos.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Admin portal
    Self-serve SSO setup for IT admins
    Checked Oct 25, 2026workos.com(opens source in a new tab)

The best Zitadel alternative for…

The highest-ranked app in this list for each need.

Keycloak logo

Best Zitadel alternative for most people

Keycloak

More established open-source server with a permissive Apache licence.

Logto logo

Best Zitadel alternative for a free option

Logto

Open-source with a polished developer experience and a cheaper starting cloud plan.

Auth0 logo

Best Zitadel alternative for a free plan you can upgrade

Auth0

Fully managed with a big ecosystem if self-hosting is no longer appealing.

Ory logo

Best Zitadel alternative for open source

Ory

Headless, modular components with an Apache licence for teams building their own UI.

Keycloak logo

Best Zitadel alternative for self-hosting

Keycloak

More established open-source server with a permissive Apache licence.

Keycloak logo

Best Zitadel alternative for Mac

Keycloak

More established open-source server with a permissive Apache licence.

Keycloak logo

Best Zitadel alternative for Windows

Keycloak

More established open-source server with a permissive Apache licence.

Keycloak logo

Best Zitadel alternative for Linux

Keycloak

More established open-source server with a permissive Apache licence.

WorkOS logo

Best Zitadel alternative for working in the browser

WorkOS

Managed B2B auth free up to a million users, paying only for enterprise connections.

Zitadel alternatives: common questions

What is the best alternative to Zitadel?

Keycloak ranks first right now. More established open-source server with a permissive Apache licence. Logto and Ory follow it in our ranking.

Is there a free alternative to Zitadel?

Yes. Keycloak (open source), Logto (open source), Ory (open source) and Auth0 (free plan + paid) have a free option. Check each app's verified facts for current plan limits.

Is there an open-source alternative to Zitadel?

Yes: Keycloak, Logto and Ory. Keycloak, Logto and Ory can also be self-hosted.

Which Zitadel alternatives work on Linux?

Keycloak runs on Linux.

Why do people switch from Zitadel?

The complaints we hear most: AGPL licence may need legal review for some companies; smaller community than Keycloak; free cloud tier is limited in daily active users.

How is this list ranked?

Every app is scored with the same published formula: how directly it replaces Zitadel, reviews (weighted by verification), visits from AppBreakup, how recently its facts were checked against its own website, and reader votes.