Auth & Identity
Kinde vs WorkOS
Side by side
- Pricing model
- KindePer monthly active user
- WorkOSFlat rate
- Starting price
- Kinde$25/mo
- WorkOS$125/connection/mo
- Free tier
- KindeYes — 10,500 monthly active users free
- WorkOSYes — AuthKit free to 1M MAU; SSO free for first connections
- Availability
- KindeGenerally available
- WorkOSGenerally available
- Last checked
- KindeOct 12, 2026
- WorkOSOct 12, 2026
| Fact | Kinde | WorkOS |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per monthly active user | Flat rate |
| Starting price | $25/mo | $125/connection/mo |
| Free tier | Yes — 10,500 monthly active users free | Yes — AuthKit free to 1M MAU; SSO free for first connections |
| Availability | Generally available | Generally available |
| Last checked | Oct 12, 2026 | Oct 12, 2026 |
When each one fits
Choose Kinde when…
Startups needing affordable auth + flags
Generous free tier plus product primitives
SaaS wanting auth that grows with them
MAU pricing with room to scale
Kinde strengths
Very generous free tier
Startup-friendly extras
Clean developer experience
Choose WorkOS when…
B2B SaaS selling to enterprises
SSO/SCIM/audit logs out of the box
Teams needing SAML fast
Drop-in enterprise connections
WorkOS strengths
Purpose-built for enterprise SSO/SCIM
Fast path to enterprise-ready
Generous AuthKit free tier
Trade-offs
Known weaknesses from each tool’s record. Sourced ones link to where they came from.
Kinde
SCIM support is not yet available on the Scale plan
Free plan has strict limits on custom roles and permissions
Free plan limits the number of environments
WorkOS
SSO and Directory Sync costs scale linearly with the number of enterprise connections, becoming expensive for large customer bases.
Audit Log storage and streaming incur additional per-unit costs beyond the base service.