Best auth providers in 2026
Sign-in, user management and single sign-on for your app. 12 tools, ranked by live GitHub and npm numbers.
Auth comparisons
ClerkvsAuth0
Clerk is a hosted authentication service with prebuilt UI components, billing by monthly retained users per app since February 2026, with a free tier covering 50,000 users.
ClerkvsNextAuth.js
Clerk is a hosted authentication and user management service with prebuilt UI components, billed by monthly retained users after a free tier.
OryvsAuth0
Ory is open source identity infrastructure, with components for authentication, authorization and OAuth2 and OIDC, that you can self-host for free or use through Ory Cloud.
Auth0vsWorkOS
Auth0 is an identity and access management platform owned by Okta that adds login, social sign-in, SSO and MFA for consumer and business apps, with a free plan up to 25,000 monthly active users.
Alternatives
How to choose
Auth tools handle sign-up, sign-in, sessions and user management so you do not build them yourself. Hosted services run everything for you and often ship ready-made sign-in screens. Open source tools can be self-hosted, which keeps user data on your own servers.
The main cost driver is monthly active users, so check the free allowance and what happens above it. If you sell to companies, look at single sign-on and directory sync early, because these are often priced separately, per connection.
What to compare
- Hosted, self-hosted or both
- Free allowance of monthly active users
- How it bills above the free plan
- Prebuilt sign-in and profile components
- Enterprise SSO and SCIM, and how they are priced
- Open source or closed
Questions
Should I build my own authentication?
For most apps, no. Sessions, password resets, multi-factor sign-in and account recovery are easy to get wrong, and a dedicated tool keeps up with security fixes. Building your own makes sense only with unusual requirements and the time to maintain it.
What is a monthly active user?
It is a user who signs in or uses a session during the month. Most auth pricing is based on this number, so a large base of occasional users can cost more than you expect. Each tool page gives the free allowance.
When do I need single sign-on?
When you sell to companies that want their staff to sign in through their own identity provider. It is usually requested by larger customers, and many auth tools charge for it per connection.