Head to head
Stytch vs WorkOS
As a authentication & identity API, WorkOS rates higher on the APIbenchmarks Index, 86.5 to 82.3, a 4.2-point gap. Here is how they compare on each criterion.
Criterion by criterion
| Criterion | Stytch | WorkOS |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | ||
| Reliability | ||
| Ecosystem & SDKs | ||
| Accessibility | ||
| APIbenchmarks Index | 82.3 | 86.5 |
Specifications
| Stytch | WorkOS | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Passwordless & B2B auth, no feature gates | Enterprise SSO & SCIM for B2B |
| Free tier | 10k MAU + 5 SSO/SCIM connections | Up to 1M MAU on AuthKit; $125/connection for SSO/SCIM |
| Pricing | Usage-based (MAU + connections) | Per connection / MAU-based |
| Official SDKs | 9 languages | 12 languages |
Is Stytch better than WorkOS?
On the APIbenchmarks Index, WorkOS rates higher (86.5 vs 82.3). It leads on the four weighted criteria, but price is reported separately, so the best choice still depends on your budget.
Verdict in one line
WorkOS leads by 4.2 points (86.5 vs 82.3) and wins 3 of 4 criteria.
Winner by criterion
| Criterion | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | 86 | 90 | |
| Reliability | 78 | 84 | |
| Ecosystem & SDKs | 76 | 82 | |
| Accessibility | 90 | 90 | Tie |
Choose Stytch if… / choose WorkOS if…
- →your use case matches its focus: passwordless & b2b auth, no feature gates
- →documentation & dx matters most to you (90 vs 86)
- →reliability matters most to you (84 vs 78)
- →ecosystem & sdks matters most to you (82 vs 76)
- →you need broad SDK coverage (12 official SDKs vs 9)
- →your use case matches its focus: enterprise sso & scim for b2b
Pricing side by side
- Model
- Usage-based (MAU + connections)
- Free tier
- 10k MAU + 5 SSO/SCIM connections
- Pay as You Go (B2B & Consumer)$0/mo base
- SSO/SCIM connection add-on$125 per connection
- Brand customization / remove Stytch branding$99 (one-time, all projects)
- Device fingerprinting (fraud)$0.005 per fingerprint
- EnterpriseCustom (contact sales)
- Model
- Per connection / MAU-based
- Free tier
- Up to 1M MAU on AuthKit; $125/connection for SSO/SCIM
- Pay as You GoUsage-based
- Annual Credits (Enterprise)Custom
- AuthKit (User Management)Free up to 1M MAUs, then $2,500/mo per additional 1M MAUs
- Single Sign-On / Directory Sync$125 per connection/mo (volume discounts to $50 at 101–200)
- Audit Logs$125/mo per SIEM stream + $99/mo per 1M events retained
- Radar (Bot & Fraud Protection) / Custom DomainRadar: free first 1k checks then $100/50k; Custom Domain $99/mo
Vendor-published pricing, verified 2026-06-27 (Stytch) and 2026-06-27 (WorkOS).
SDK and language coverage
Both · 6
JavaScript (vanilla-js)Node.jsPythonGoRubyJava
Only Stytch · 3
ReactNext.jsREST API
Only WorkOS · 6
PHPPHP (Laravel)Kotlin.NETElixirAuthKit for React / Next.js / Remix / React Router
Strengths and weaknesses
- +Transparent usage-based pricing with a large 10,000-MAU free tier and no hard pricing cliffs
- +No feature gating: SSO, SCIM, RBAC, MFA, passkeys, and M2M available even on the free plan
- +Highly rated developer experience and SDK quality, repeatedly cited by Auth0 migrators
- –Integrating with legacy/on-prem identity providers is difficult and sometimes impractical
- –Several reviewers report relying on support more often than they'd like for non-trivial setups
- –Removing Stytch branding on certain emails is a paid ($99) add-on that annoys some developers
- +First 1 million AuthKit MAUs are free, one of the most generous free tiers in the auth market
- +Excellent, developer-friendly documentation repeatedly praised in G2 reviews
- +Admin Portal lets customers' IT admins self-serve their own SSO/SCIM setup, cutting vendor support load
- –Per-connection SSO/Directory Sync pricing ($125/connection/mo) scales with customer count, not revenue, the most common complaint
- –A single SSO customer can cost more than a SaaS vendor's own lowest-tier plan, blocking SSO-on-all-tiers strategies
- –Surrounding features, SDKs and docs described as having 'paper cuts', less mature than Auth0/Okta in places
Stytch vs WorkOS: questions
- Which has better documentation, Stytch or WorkOS?
- WorkOS scores higher on documentation and developer experience: 90 vs 86 out of 100.
- Which is more reliable, Stytch or WorkOS?
- WorkOS scores higher on reliability: 84 vs 78 out of 100.
- Do Stytch and WorkOS have a free tier?
- Stytch: yes (10k MAU + 5 SSO/SCIM connections). WorkOS: yes (Up to 1M MAU on AuthKit; $125/connection for SSO/SCIM).
- How are Stytch and WorkOS priced?
- Stytch: Usage-based (MAU + connections). WorkOS: Per connection / MAU-based.
- Which has more official SDKs?
- WorkOS lists 12 official SDKs, Stytch lists 9.