Breaking down SSO costs: Auth0 vs WorkOS vs Clerk pricing comparison

Single Sign-On (SSO) has become table stakes for enterprise software, but beneath its surface lies a complex pricing landscape where "free" connections and hidden fees can inflate costs by tens of thousands per year. While Auth0, WorkOS, and Clerk all advertise competitive rates for basic functionality, their true expense emerges when accounting for the "feature tax"—additional charges tied to SAML connections and SCIM provisioning that aren’t always transparent upfront.

The invisible cost structure of enterprise SSO

Most B2B platforms structure pricing around Monthly Active Users (MAU), which accurately reflects infrastructure costs. However, when SAML and SCIM capabilities enter the equation, vendors apply distinct billing strategies that can dramatically alter total expenses. The three core pricing dimensions to evaluate are:

• - Platform base cost (MAU-based, universally applied)
• - SAML connection fees (per identity provider integration)
• - SCIM provisioning costs (automated user management)

Auth0’s recent pricing shift, for instance, now bundles a single enterprise connection with its free tier up to 25,000 MAU—appearing cost-effective until organizations need multiple integrations. Clerk’s model offers one free SSO connection before tiered pricing kicks in, while WorkOS applies a flat $125/month per SAML connection regardless of MAU. These variations highlight why comparing only headline prices can obscure true long-term costs.

Scenario analysis: How costs scale with enterprise adoption

To illustrate real-world spending, let’s examine three common enterprise maturation stages, tracking the cumulative impact of SSO requirements across different vendor stacks.

Stage 1: First enterprise contract (1,000 MAU)

At this inflection point, organizations typically require one SAML connection with SCIM provisioning:

Vendor          Base Plan   SSO Cost   SCIM Cost   Monthly Total   Annual Total
Authagonal      $29         $0         $0          $29             $319
Clerk          $25         $0*        $0          $25             $300
WorkOS         $0          $125       $125        $250             $3,000
Auth0          $0**        Included   Included    $0              $0

Clerk includes one free SSO connection at this tier *Auth0’s free tier covers one enterprise connection up to 25,000 MAU

At this scale, WorkOS stands out as an outlier, charging $3,000 annually for what competitors either bundle or omit entirely. Auth0’s approach appears most cost-effective here, but the calculus changes as integration requirements grow. The "feature tax" remains largely hidden at this stage, with base platform costs representing the primary expense for most vendors.

Stage 2: Multiple enterprise integrations (10,000 MAU)

As SSO becomes a standard requirement across customer onboarding processes, the per-connection billing model begins to dominate expenses:

Vendor          Base Plan   SSO Cost   SCIM Cost   Monthly Total   Annual Total
Authagonal      $149        $0         $0          $149            $1,639
Clerk          $25         $150       $0          $175            $2,100
WorkOS         $0          $375       $375        $750            $9,000
Auth0          Budgeted separately (see notes below)

With three required connections, WorkOS’s per-connection pricing drives its annual cost to $9,000, while Authagonal maintains a flat rate that includes all SSO and SCIM functionality. Clerk’s model shows its first fee kicking in at this stage, with one free connection followed by $75 per additional SAML integration. The gap between vendors becomes more pronounced as integration requirements scale with business growth.

Stage 3: SSO as a baseline requirement (50,000 MAU)

At this maturity level, SSO is no longer optional but mandatory for customer acquisition:

Vendor          Base Plan   SSO Cost   SCIM Cost   Monthly Total   Annual Total
Authagonal      $339        $0         $0          $339            $3,729
Clerk          $25         $675       $0          $700            $8,400
WorkOS         $0          $1,250     $1,250      $2,500           $30,000
Auth0          Budgeted separately (see notes below)

The disparity becomes stark: Authagonal’s total annual cost of $3,729 covers platform usage, unlimited SAML connections, SCIM provisioning, MFA, audit capabilities, and branding. WorkOS’s SSO and SCIM fees alone reach $30,000 annually—more than eight times Authagonal’s total bill. This represents money spent on identical functionality (SAML handshakes and user provisioning) that was already implemented and delivered to all customers. The difference amounts to approximately $26,000 in annual savings by choosing a vendor that doesn’t apply the feature tax.

Demystifying the pricing models

Understanding these discrepancies requires examining how vendors structure their fees:

• - Auth0 now includes one enterprise SAML connection with SCIM in its free tier up to 25,000 MAU. Subsequent connections fall under separate enterprise pricing tiers that aren’t publicly disclosed, requiring direct negotiation for exact costs.

• - Clerk charges a $25/month base fee with MAU scales that accommodate up to 50,000 users before modest overage fees. Its pricing model offers one free SSO connection before applying $75 per additional connection, with SCIM provisioning included with any paid connection.

• - WorkOS structures its entire pricing around per-connection fees, with the platform itself effectively "free" up to 1 million MAU. The $125/month per SAML connection and identical SCIM fee create a linear cost model that scales directly with integration requirements rather than user counts.

• - Authagonal maintains a simple MAU-based pricing structure where SSO and SCIM are included at all tiers. Its $29/month plan applies a 15% discount for annual billing (effectively $319/year), making it the most predictable option for organizations prioritizing cost control.

The choice between these models ultimately depends on an organization’s integration complexity. Companies standardizing on a single identity provider will find Auth0’s bundled approach most cost-effective initially. Those managing multiple customer identity systems will see WorkOS’s per-connection model become prohibitively expensive as adoption grows. Authagonal’s flat-rate structure emerges as the optimal balance for teams seeking predictable costs without sacrificing functionality.

Looking ahead, the SSO pricing wars will likely intensify as vendors compete for enterprise budgets. The companies that emerge victorious will be those that can deliver comprehensive identity management without applying hidden fees for basic capabilities. Until then, organizations must perform thorough due diligence to avoid paying what amounts to annual licenses for functionality that should be included as standard.