Passport vs Auth0

Side-by-side — pricing, strengths, tradeoffs, and fit.

Passport

Simple, unobtrusive authentication middleware for Node.js.

Auth0

Enterprise-grade authentication and authorization platform with extensive identity-provider support.

At a glance

Open SourceFree Tier
◌ Declining·From $0
Free TierEnterprise
● Established·From $35/mo

Overview

One-liner

Simple, unobtrusive authentication middleware for Node.js.

One-liner

Enterprise-grade authentication and authorization platform with extensive identity-provider support.

Maturity

Declining

Maturity

Established

Open source

✓ Yes

Open source

✕ No

Pricing

Free tier

✓ Available

Open source — free to use

Free tier

✓ Available

25,000 monthly active users on the free plan

Starts at

$0

Starts at

$35/mo

Model

Flat rate

Model

Per MAU

Enterprise

✕ None

Enterprise

✓ Available

Best for

✓ Best for

Developers building Node.js apps who need a flexible and modular authentication solution
Teams that require integration with multiple OAuth providers
Projects needing custom authentication methods without cluttering the main application code

✓ Best for

Enterprise B2B apps needing SSO/SAMLMature enterprise connections and compliance
Teams needing fine-grained authorizationRBAC and Actions cover complex authz

Not ideal for

✕ Not for

Applications requiring real-time user session management beyond basic authentication
Projects looking for a fully managed authentication service (e.g., Auth0, Firebase)

✕ Not for

—

Strengths

↑ Strengths

Flexible authentication strategies
Unobtrusive middleware design
Extensive plugin ecosystem for various authentication methods

↑ Strengths

Deep enterprise identity features
Huge ecosystem of connections/rules
Battle-tested at scale

Weaknesses

↓ Weaknesses

Steep learning curve for new users
Limited official documentation
Vendor lock-in concerns
Performance overhead in large-scale applications

↓ Weaknesses

Essential enterprise features like Enterprise Connections and SCIM are not available on the Essentials or Professional plans.
The free tier requires credit card verification to enable custom domains.
Full Passport profile →Full Auth0 profile →