Honest 5-way comparison of Modern Auth for Developers (Clerk · Auth0 · WorkOS · Stytch · Supabase Auth) platforms. No vendor sponsorship. Calling Matrix by buyer persona below — operator's siren-based read on which one to pick when you're forced to pick.
Honest read on positioning, ideal customer, and where each one is the wrong call. No vendor sponsorship, no affiliate links — operator-grade signal.
The dev-experience default for B2C and B2B SaaS. Drop-in React/Next components, hosted UI that doesn't look generic, organizations + multi-tenancy first-class. Most popular pick for new B2B SaaS in 2025-2026.
The enterprise-procurement-defensible standard. Largest IDP integration list, deepest SAML/OIDC/SCIM support, broadest compliance certifications. Pricing reflects enterprise positioning.
The enterprise-features layer for B2B SaaS. Built specifically to add SAML SSO + SCIM + Audit Logs to apps that don't want to become identity vendors. Often paired with Clerk/Stytch (Clerk for normal users, WorkOS for enterprise customers).
The passwordless-first auth platform. Strong on magic links, passkeys, biometrics, OTP. Lower-friction signup flows than password-based competitors. Good API DX.
The bundled-with-database default if you're already on Supabase. Free tier covers a lot, integrates seamlessly with Postgres RLS for row-level security. Good enough for most early-stage products.
Most comparison sites refuse to forced-rank because their revenue depends on staying neutral. SideGuy ranks because it doesn't take vendor money. Here's the call by buyer persona.
Your problem: You need auth working in production tonight. You're React/Next-stack. The signup-to-app gap is what's blocking your first paying customer.
Your problem: Your buyers are sending security questionnaires asking for SAML SSO + SCIM provisioning + Audit Logs. Your existing auth (Clerk/Supabase) doesn't do these. Engineering wants to ship features, not become identity engineers.
Your problem: You're consolidating identity across 50+ internal apps + customer-facing surfaces. Compliance requires SOC 2 + ISO 27001 + GDPR. Procurement wants a vendor with SLAs and a board-defensible brand.
Your problem: Your Auth0 bill scales with MAU and just hit $X0K/yr. You don't need every Auth0 feature. Your team can absorb a migration if the savings justify it.
These rankings are SideGuy's lived-data + observed-buyer-pattern read as of 2026-05-11. They're directional, not gospel. The right answer for YOUR specific situation may diverge — text PJ for a 10-min operator-honest read on your actual buying context.
Vendor pricing + features + market positioning shift quarterly. SideGuy may earn referral commissions from some of these vendors, but rankings are independent — affiliate relationships never change rank order. Sister doctrines: /open/ live operator dashboard · install packs · operator network.
Auth0 is a complete identity stack (login, MFA, SSO, user management, customer/employee identity). WorkOS is a layer that adds enterprise features (SAML SSO, SCIM provisioning, Audit Logs) to apps that already have their own auth. They overlap but solve different problems. Many B2B SaaS use Clerk for normal users + WorkOS for enterprise customer SSO.
Clerk has the strongest React/Next.js developer experience by a large margin in 2026 — hosted UI components, server actions support, App Router-native. Supabase Auth is competitive if you're already on Supabase. Auth0 and Stytch both have React SDKs but UX is less polished.
Supabase Auth (yes — Supabase is open-source). Auth0 had a self-hosted enterprise tier (Auth0 Private Cloud) but it's deprecated for new customers. Clerk, Stytch, WorkOS are managed-cloud only. If self-host is a hard requirement, look at Keycloak (OSS, no commercial vendor) or Authentik.
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