Best Self-Hosted Alternatives to Auth0
Auth0 makes authentication effortless — and then charges per active user as you grow. The self-hosted identity providers below give you the same OIDC, SAML, and social-login building blocks on infrastructure you own, so your auth bill stops tracking your signups.
Auth0 costs about $420/year and keeps your data on its servers. These researched, open-source alternatives give you the same workflow on hardware you own — here's what each needs to run.
The alternatives
What you give up by leaving Auth0
Self-hosting your identity provider means taking on what Auth0 quietly guarantees: uptime and an SLA, anomaly and breached-password detection, compliance certifications, and a global login endpoint you never maintain. Run Keycloak, authentik, or Zitadel yourself and you own the database of every credential — which means you own its backups, patching, and availability too. For teams that want control, data residency, or an end to per-user pricing it's worth it; just size the operational commitment honestly, because it is the front door to everything.
Head-to-head
A tiny forward-auth gate vs. a full identity provider.
Modern and self-hoster-friendly vs. the enterprise standard.
A full identity platform vs. a passkey-only sign-in box.
Common questions
Is self-hosting actually cheaper than Auth0?
Auth0 costs $420/year. A VPS from $4.59/mo covers any of the 3 alternatives below, saving roughly $365/year.
Are these Auth0 alternatives really free?
The software is open-source and free to run. Your only cost is the server it runs on — often a few dollars a month, less than most SaaS subscriptions.
How much server do I need to self-host one?
Most of these run comfortably on a small VPS — 1–2 GB of RAM is enough for a single-user or small-team setup. Each app's page lists its minimum RAM.
Will I lose features by leaving Auth0?
It depends on the app. The alternatives below cover the core workflow; polish and integrations vary, so check each one's stack and difficulty before you commit.