Okta vs Auth0

A practical comparison of Okta and Auth0 for teams evaluating identity and access management — covering pricing, free tiers, and whether you need workforce SSO or customer-facing login.

Updated 2026-09 · 2026

Okta

Enterprise workforce identity and access management

From $2/user/mo (SSO); full suites quoteduser/month

Strengths

+Deep enterprise SSO and employee lifecycle management
+7,000+ pre-built integrations in the Okta Integration Network
+Strong directory sync with AD/LDAP and HR systems

Weaknesses

-No real free production tier — sales-driven pricing for most plans
-Overkill and costly for customer-facing (CIAM) use cases
-Steep learning curve without dedicated IT/security staff

Best for

Mid-size to large companies managing employee/partner access across many SaaS apps

Auth0

Developer-first authentication for apps and APIs

Free up to 25,000 MAU; paid from $35/momonth

Strengths

+Generous free tier (25,000 monthly active users) for early products
+Built for developers: SDKs, APIs, extensible Actions
+Easy to add social login, passwordless, and MFA to apps

Weaknesses

-Costs escalate quickly past the free MAU tier
-Custom domains and enterprise connections gated to higher plans
-Less suited to internal workforce SSO than Okta proper

Best for

Startups and product teams adding login/auth to their own apps and APIs

Feature Comparison

Feature	Okta	Auth0
Primary use case	Workforce/employee identity	Customer-facing app identity (CIAM)
Free tier	No permanent free production tier (trial only)	Yes, up to 25,000 MAU
Starting price	~$2/user/mo (SSO)	$35/mo after free tier (Essentials)
Pre-built app integrations	7,000+ (Okta Integration Network)	Smaller marketplace, focused on IdPs/social
AD/LDAP directory sync	Native, deep support	Limited, via enterprise connections
Social login providers	Available but secondary focus	Core feature, broad provider support
Custom login page branding	Available on paid plans	Available, more design flexibility
Developer APIs/SDKs	Okta Management API	Extensive, developer-first SDK ecosystem
MFA	Included, adaptive MFA on higher tiers	Included, available on free tier
Compliance certifications	SOC 2, FedRAMP, HIPAA options	SOC 2, ISO 27001
Pricing model	Per user/month	Per monthly active user (MAU)
Best for team size	50+ employees, IT-managed	Any size, dev-managed

The Verdict

Okta and Auth0 aren't fully interchangeable — Okta secures employee access to internal apps, while Auth0 (which Okta acquired in 2021) is built for adding login to your own product. Pick Auth0 if you're a small dev team building a customer-facing app and want a real free tier to start; pick Okta if you need SSO/MFA locked down for your own staff across many SaaS tools. Teams outgrowing both eventually land in Okta's pricier Customer Identity Cloud, which absorbs Auth0-style CIAM needs.

How to switch from Okta to Auth0

1Export your Okta users and group data via Directory > People > Export (CSV) or the Okta Users API (GET /api/v1/users), capturing profile attributes, group memberships, and app assignments — note that hashed passwords cannot be exported.
2Import the CSV into Auth0 using its Bulk User Import extension (batches of up to 500 users in a JSON file) or the Management API's /api/v2/jobs/users-imports endpoint.
3Recreate your SSO/social connections in Auth0 (Google, Microsoft, SAML/OIDC enterprise connections) matching what was configured as Identity Providers in Okta.
4Rebuild automation logic — convert Okta Workflows/hooks into Auth0 Actions (post-login, pre-registration triggers) since the automation models aren't directly portable.
5Update your app's SDKs and redirect URIs to point at your new Auth0 tenant domain, and test login flows end-to-end in staging before cutover.
6Notify users of the required password reset (passwords don't migrate), run both systems in parallel briefly, then deprovision the Okta org once traffic fully shifts to Auth0.

Okta vs Auth0: common questions

How do I export my user data out of Okta?+

Use Okta's Directory > People > Export feature to download a CSV of user profiles and group memberships, or pull data programmatically via the Users API (GET /api/v1/users). Hashed passwords cannot be exported, so migrated users will need to reset their password in the new system.

What features do we lose moving from Okta to Auth0?+

You lose Okta's deep AD/LDAP directory sync and fine-grained employee lifecycle provisioning (joiner/mover/leaver automation). Auth0 is built for authenticating users into your own app, not managing internal employee access across dozens of enterprise SaaS tools.

Is Auth0's free tier enough for a small team?+

Yes for most early-stage products — 25,000 monthly active users free covers pre-revenue and small B2C apps. You'll hit limits on custom domains, branding customization, and the number of social/enterprise connections before you outgrow the MAU cap.

Does Auth0 integrate with the same tools as Okta?+

Not as many prebuilt app integrations — Okta's Integration Network has 7,000+ compared to Auth0's smaller catalog. Auth0 covers what most dev teams actually need though: social logins, SAML/OIDC, and custom Actions/webhooks to connect the rest.

Will switching from Okta to Auth0 save money long-term?+

For customer-facing authentication, usually yes — Auth0's free tier and per-MAU pricing beats Okta's per-user SSO/MFA licensing at consumer scale. But if you still need workforce SSO for employees, you'll likely keep paying for Okta separately, or move to Okta's own pricier Customer Identity Cloud instead.