This article is written by the team that builds Casdoor, so we are not neutral, and we say where we think Casdoor fits and where it doesn't. Facts about other products come from their own websites as of November 8, 2026 (listed under Sources) and may have changed. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
Okta and Auth0 are the same company. Okta acquired Auth0 in 2021, and both products are sold by Okta today. They are not interchangeable: Okta Workforce Identity is built for employees signing in to company applications, and Auth0 is built for the customers of your own product.
Short answer: choose Okta Workforce if you are buying SSO, MFA and lifecycle management for employees. Choose Auth0 if you are building a SaaS product and need customer login, organizations and per-tenant SSO. If you want an open-source alternative with a flat price, Casdoor covers both cases without per-user or per-connection fees.
Who each product is for
| Okta Workforce Identity | Auth0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary user | Employees | Your product's customers and partners |
| Buyer | IT and security | Product and engineering |
| Typical setup | App catalog, HR-driven lifecycle, MFA, access policies | Login pages, SDKs, social and enterprise connections |
| Pricing unit | Per user per month | Monthly active users and connections |
Okta also sells Customer Identity, which overlaps with Auth0. The distinction is commercial more than technical: Okta Customer Identity is sold through Okta's enterprise sales motion, while Auth0 is developer-led and self-service. Large organizations sometimes end up with both.
Pricing in 2026
Okta Workforce has three published tiers:
| Plan | Price per user per month | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $6 | Basic SSO and MFA |
| Core Essentials | $14 | Adds lifecycle and access controls |
| Essentials | $17 | Broader workforce feature set |
Workforce has a $1,500 annual minimum, so a small team pays the minimum rather than the per-user arithmetic. Okta Customer Identity starts at a $3,000 monthly platform fee, with B2C and B2B suites quoted separately.
Auth0 prices by monthly active users:
| Plan | B2C | B2B | What it includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 25,000 MAU, 1 enterprise connection |
| Essentials | $35/month | $150/month | Higher MAU tiers and more features |
| Professional | $240/month | $800/month | More MAU and enterprise connections |
Auth0's free tier is generous for a side project but not a production enterprise plan: 25,000 MAU sounds large until the product grows, and enterprise SSO connections are limited.
Feature differences that matter
- Employee lifecycle. Okta Workforce connects to HR systems and directories to create, move and disable employee accounts. Auth0 has no HR integration out of the box; customer accounts are created by your product.
- Multi-tenancy. Auth0 Organizations gives each B2B customer its own login and SSO connection. Okta Workforce models employees, not customer tenants.
- Extensibility. Auth0 Actions let you run JavaScript during login, token issuance and other flows. Okta uses inline hooks and Workflows.
- Protocols. Both support SAML, OpenID Connect and OAuth 2.0. Okta has broader legacy and on-premises application coverage; Auth0 is stronger for mobile and single-page apps.
- Operations. Auth0 is self-service from a credit card; Okta Workforce usually goes through a sales process, especially above the Starter tier.
A worked comparison
A 500-person company buying employee SSO:
- Okta Workforce Starter: $6 per user per month is about $3,000 per month, above the $1,500 annual minimum.
- Auth0: 500 MAU would be free, but Auth0 is not designed for employee SSO, and the free tier does not include HR-driven lifecycle.
A SaaS product with 50,000 MAU and 20 enterprise customers:
- Auth0 B2B: the Professional plan starts at $800 per month, then rises with MAU tiers and enterprise connections.
- Okta Customer Identity: starts at the $3,000 monthly platform fee before quoting the B2C or B2B suite.
- WorkOS: $125 per connection per month, so 20 connections is $2,500 per month.
The numbers are list prices and exclude negotiation, which is common at these volumes.
The open-source alternative
Casdoor sits between the two: it handles employee and customer identities in one service, with organizations for B2B tenants, SAML and OIDC connections, SCIM, MFA and passkeys. There are no per-user or per-connection fees. Self-host it for free, or run a dedicated instance on Casdoor Cloud from $6.67/month billed yearly, with unlimited users and connections.
How to choose
- Employees, Microsoft 365, HR-driven lifecycle: Okta Workforce, or Entra ID if you are already on Microsoft.
- A SaaS product with developer-led adoption: Auth0, especially if you want the SDKs and Actions ecosystem.
- A large enterprise contract with customer identity: Okta Customer Identity.
- Cost control, self-hosting or a mixed employee and customer user base: Casdoor or Keycloak.
FAQ
Did Okta buy Auth0? Yes. Okta completed the acquisition of Auth0 in 2021, and both products remain separately branded and sold.
Is Auth0 cheaper than Okta? For a small number of users, Auth0's free tier is cheaper. At employee scale, Okta's per-user pricing is usually cheaper than Auth0's MAU tiers, and Okta Workforce has a $1,500 annual minimum rather than a large platform fee.
Can Auth0 be used for employee SSO? Technically yes; it supports SAML and OIDC connections. It lacks Okta's HR-driven lifecycle and app catalog, which is why most companies use Okta Workforce for employees.
Can Okta be used for customer identity? Yes, through Okta Customer Identity. It is positioned for enterprise contracts; Auth0 is the developer-led option for the same problem.
What is the best open-source alternative to Okta and Auth0? Casdoor and Keycloak are the closest full replacements. Casdoor includes organizations, SAML and OIDC connections, SCIM and LDAP in one service; Keycloak is the most established self-hosted option.
Sources
Product names are trademarks of their respective owners.