FusionAuth vs WorkOS Pricing (2026)
How do these two stack up on price? Here's what each one costs, what you get, and where the value sits.
| FusionAuth | WorkOS | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | $162/mo | Custom |
| Number of plans | 4 | 2 |
| Free plan | ||
| Free trial | — | |
| Pricing model | usage-based | usage-based |
Community
- Core authentication standards & features most apps need
- Community support (forums, Slack, Github)
- Self-host FusionAuth on your own infrastructure for free.
Starter
Popular- Premium authentication features
- Breached Password Detection, authentication, Machine-to-Machine, and more
- Community support (forums, Slack, Github)
- Includes basic hosting
Essentials
- Advanced connectivity, MFA, & security features
- Custom OAuth scopes
- Email support (24 to 48 hour response time during business hours)
- Includes business hosting
Enterprise
- Advanced threat detection
- SSO Tenant Manager
- 24/7 support (email and phone)
- Private Slack channel (with contract)
- Solution architect guidance
- Advanced governance & contract requirements
- Includes High availability hosting
Pay as you go
- Automatic volume discounts
- First 1 million active users free
- Deploy in minutes
- Dedicated Slack channel
- Transparent pricing
Annual Credits
Popular- Pre-pay credit discounts
- 99.99% uptime SLA
- Guided migration and onboarding
- Guaranteed support SLA
FusionAuth vs WorkOS FAQ
- Which one is cheaper?
- One or both use custom pricing, so it depends on your specific needs.
- Can I use either one for free?
- Both offer free plans, so you can try each without paying. Start with whichever fits your workflow better and upgrade when you hit the limits.
- How do they charge?
- Both use a usage-based model, so the comparison is straightforward — it comes down to features and limits at each price point.
- Which one is a better deal?
- Depends on what you need. FusionAuth: FusionAuth sits in the mid-market auth space competing with Auth0 and Okta CIC, and they're clearly positioning as the more developer-friendly, cost-transparent alternative. At $162/mo for 1K MAUs, they're not the cheapest (Clerk and Stytch have aggressive lower tiers) but they undercut Auth0 significantly at scale, targeting teams that got burned by Auth0's pricing as they grew. WorkOS: WorkOS is clearly targeting mid-market SaaS companies that need enterprise auth features (SSO, SCIM, Audit Logs) without building them in-house — they're not the cheapest option, but they're cheaper than the engineering cost of rolling your own. They're competing directly with Auth0 and Okta's developer products, positioning on simplicity and transparent usage pricing rather than seat-based opacity.
Still deciding? See the best FusionAuth alternatives or the best WorkOS alternatives, ranked with verified pricing.
Keep tabs on both.
We'll monitor pricing changes for FusionAuth and WorkOS and let you know when something moves.