When it comes time to decide on a CIAM solution for your application, the potential options can be overwhelming. Sure, it's tempting to build your own auth, but you really shouldn't. You need to find a trusted partner who knows the industry, and can help you keep your user data secure.
Why Find a Stych Alternative?
Stytch was built with startups in mind. Unfortunately, that construction comes with some drawbacks. Looking around the Internet, you'll see that developers are often unhappy with how often they have to rely on the support team. Further, since the app is so forward-looking, it's often difficult or impossible to integrate Stytch with legacy identity providers.
Developers are looking for a Stytch alternative that works with both the past and the future. Legacy IdP's shouldn't be a sticking point for a full-featured CIAM product. Further, the inability to remove Stytch branding from certain emails leaves a bad taste in some developer mouths.
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Top 8 Stytch Alternatives
We've already covered what Stytch brings to the table, but in the realm of CIAM, these features are pretty standard. Just about every user login platform offers essentials like SSO and MFA. The real differentiators among providers today aren't so much about the features themselves, but rather the costs tied to them. It's not unusual for CIAM providers to charge based on the number of identity providers (IdPs), limit the number of monthly active users (MAUs), or hit you with hefty shared hosting fees.
When evaluating CIAM providers, we hone in on a few key aspects:
- Pricing
- Setup time
- Customization
- Migration options
- Key features or Use cases
These are the elements this guide will focus on. We'll provide a brief overview of each service, but we'll also highlight their costs, setup times, and what it takes to get them operational. Additionally, it's crucial to be aware of any issues or major changes a provider has gone through, such as the Okta security breach in 2023 or Forgerock's acquisition by Ping Identity.
FusionAuth as a Stytch Alternative
FusionAuth is a comprehensive authentication and user management platform trusted by industry leaders, with over 10 million downloads. What sets FusionAuth apart is its hosting flexibility, allowing you to choose between self-hosting (even in air-gapped environments) or using FusionAuth Cloud, all while maintaining the same feature set.
- Pricing: FusionAuth offers a free Community plan, which includes passkeys starting from version 1.52.0 if you register a license. Paid plans begin at $125 per month for self-hosted options supporting up to 10,000 users, while cloud hosting starts at $37 per month.
- Setup Time: You can get FusionAuth up and running in as little as five minutes.
- Customization: The platform provides a backend GUI and API-based customization options. You can create themes and assign them per tenant or application.
- Migration: FusionAuth's documentation supports various migration methods and data sources, accommodating any password hashing scheme.
- Hosting: Choose between self-hosted or single-tenant cloud options.
- Getting Started: Contact FusionAuth for a custom quote or purchase FusionAuth online.
Key Features: FusionAuth is developer-focused, offers support from actual engineers, provides private cloud hosting, allows for self-hosting, and has a lower overall cost compared to many competitors.
Forgerock
ForgeRock is a well-known identity and access management (IAM) platform that offers organizations tools for managing digital identities, securing application access, and handling user privacy and consent. However, there are several drawbacks that potential users should be aware of:
- Pricing: Implementing ForgeRock can be quite expensive, with initial setup costs typically around $20,000 and ongoing expenses reaching approximately $8,000 per month for global enterprises.
- Setup Time: Due to the platform's complexity, especially for organizations with intricate IAM needs, the implementation process can be lengthy and challenging.
- Customization: While ForgeRock offers extensive customization options, including UI adjustments and support for various authentication methods, leveraging these features requires significant technical expertise.
- Migration: The lack of integrated, simplified documentation means users often have to rely on a separate portal for guidance, adding to the complexity of migration processes.
- Hosting: ForgeRock can be deployed both on-premises and in the cloud, but managing either option can be resource-intensive and may necessitate specialized skills.
Key Features: ForgeRock provides a range of IAM features, including single sign-on (SSO), multi-factor authentication (MFA), identity federation, and user self-service. However, some users have noted that certain functionalities, such as reporting capabilities, are not as robust as those offered by competitors
FrontEgg
Multi-tenant SaaS is a common story in the world of CIAM. Frontegg is exactly that, and the company focuses almost solely on B2B SaaS applications. There are some factors to consider, especially in light of the company’s somewhat recent funding round. The typical story is that funding happens, investors seek a fast return, and the company has to quickly shift its pricing model to something that never benefits their customer.
- Pricing: Starting at $99 per month for up to 1,000 users. This is already a sticking point, where higher MAUs mean higher prices early in a company’s lifecycle.
- Setup Time: Complex integrations might slow the process of deployment. Although generally speaking, Frontegg is able to hold its promise to being ready within hours.
- Customization: Frontegg’s customization options may require additional resources or technical expertise. Smaller companies might find this challenging.
- Migration: Developer reviews say that the company’s documentation can be unclear. Although Frontegg does support Bcrypt, Scrypt, and Firebase hashed password import, expect to be in talks with their support team.
- Hosting: Multi-tenant only. While many companies can operate well in a multi-tenant environment, it raises unnecessary risk for compromised data.
Key Features: B2B SaaS focus. Otherwise Frontegg is a pretty standard CIAM offering.
Cognito
As part of the AWS ecosystem, Cognito is seemingly a default choice for many companies. Amazon spends a lot of time and money touting its seamless integration with other AWS services, and touting its scalability.
- Pricing: Cognito does have a free starter tier. However, their MAU-based pricing model can be overly complex, leading to huge costs for those with large user bases.
- Setup Time: The most simplistic of setups are fast. However, it does have a complex learning curve. Cognito’s API rate limits can also be problematic for large-scale operations.
- Customization: Minimal. UIs, workflows, and data synchronization tasks all require AWS Lambda triggers, which can be complex and demand vast resources.
- Migration: There is minimal support or documentation for migrating to Cognito.
- Hosting: Multi-tenant only. No surprise here. AWS is built on multi-tenant ideals.
Key Features: The AWS integration is really the only standout feature of Cognito. Internet searches reveal that developers regularly have data migration issues, problems with token expiration, and integration challenges for features such as magic links.
Firebase
Owned by Alphabet, the parent company of Google, Firebase is a large development platform that happens to have CIAM as one of its tools. Because of its bevy of functions, Firebase tends to be a popular choice, especially for developers of mobile and web apps.
- Pricing: Firebase does offer a free tier, but costs can escalate quickly as usage increases. The Blaze plan, for example, charges based on data usage which can lead to unexpected high bills.
- Setup Time: The setup time for Firebase can vary significantly based on the platform and the specific services that are being used.
- Customization: Firebase supports some level of customization, but it is limited compared to other platforms. Customizing workflows and user interfaces often requires additional coding and integration efforts.
- Migration: There is very little information available for those migrating from other providers. Users have reported challenges in migrating user data and ensuring compatibility with Firebase’s authentication mechanisms.
- Hosting: As you might expect, Firebase only offers multi-tenant hosting.
Key Features: While Firebase does have a wide variety of tools, some developers have reported that doing so much means that it doesn’t do any one thing particularly well. Anyone who has a long history of using Google products also knows that the company has a habit of killing off its projects without much warning.
WorkOS
Claiming to be enterprise-ready with few code changes, WorkOS is an appealing option for larger companies. It does have drawbacks, but still remains a solid alternative to Stytch for CIAM.
- Pricing: WorkOS pricing starts at $125 per month for a single SSO or Directory Sync connection. This can become expensive for applications that require multiple integrations, especially as the number of enterprise customers grows.
- Setup Time: While WorkOS promotes quick feature addition, the initial setup can be time-consuming due to the variety of options and configurations available. This can be particularly challenging for teams unfamiliar with enterprise authentication requirements
- Customization: WorkOS does have customization options, but WorkOS has customization issues as well.. No profile images for Azure SSO connections, white flashes on a dark theme are some complaints that developers have lodged.
- Migration: There is no true migration support for major auth vendors, creating an annoyance for those wanting to switch.
- Hosting: Multi-tenant only. For an enterprise-focused product, this is a strange choice.
Key Features: If you’re an enterprise developer, there’s a good chance that WorkOS should be in consideration. However, for anything smaller, feature bloat is a potential concern.
Open Source Alternatives to Stytch
Keycloak
Pros:
- Comprehensive Features: Keycloak offers a wide range of features, including Single Sign-On (SSO), user federation, strong authentication, and support for standard protocols like OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0, and SAML.
- Customizability: It allows for extensive customization and integration with existing identity providers and databases.
- Community Support: As an open-source project, Keycloak benefits from strong community support and regular updates.
Cons:
- Complex Setup: Keycloak requires self-hosting, which means managing servers and infrastructure, potentially increasing complexity and maintenance overhead.
- Resource Intensive: Scaling Keycloak to meet growing demands can require significant internal resources.
Ory
Pros:
- Modular Architecture: Ory's architecture allows for flexible integration of various authentication and authorization components.
- Scalability: Designed to scale with growing companies, offering a global edge network for reliable access.
- Open Standards: Supports OAuth2 and OIDC, providing portability and avoiding vendor lock-in.
Cons:
- Complexity: The modular nature can introduce complexity, requiring a deep understanding to fully leverage its capabilities.
- Initial Setup: Setting up and configuring Ory might be time-consuming for teams new to its ecosystem.
SuperTokens
Pros:
- High Customizability: Offers extensive customization options for authentication flows, including passwordless and social logins.
- Community Support: Strong community backing with options for self-hosted solutions.
- Cost-Effective: The self-hosted version is free for an unlimited number of users.
Cons:
- Setup Complexity: Users have reported that SuperTokens can be complicated and challenging to set up.
- Limited Features: Compared to more mature platforms like FusionAuth, it may lack some advanced features.
FusionAuth Is the Best Stytch Alternative
Hey, I know what you're thinking: "Of course they're going to say they're the best." But stick with me for a second.
We created FusionAuth with developers in mind because we are developers. When you have a question, you're not getting shuffled off to some entry-level support person. Nope, you're talking directly to the folks who built this system. We're right there in the trenches with you.
Our team? They're seasoned pros who have been around the block a few times. We've seen it all, built it all, and now we're here to help you do the same.
Let's be honest, dealing with user login and authentication is a beast. Sure, you could build it yourself, but then you're stuck maintaining that monster forever. Why put yourself through that? We've got the expertise, we've got the passion, and we're ready to lift that burden off your shoulders.
So here's our offer: Download our free Community edition today. Let's create something amazing together.
