SuperTokens
Open source alternative to Auth0/Firebase Auth/Cognito
The Lens
By Erik Loyd, SaaS CEO and former COO/CFO of an AWS Premier Partner.
Updated Jul 2026
SuperTokens is the open source authentication platform: signup, password reset, social login, multi-factor auth, without Auth0 prices or Firebase lock-in. It handles session management, email verification, passwordless login, and social OAuth out of the box.
Self-hosting is free with all features. The managed cloud has a free tier up to 5,000 monthly active users (MAUs), which covers most startups. Paid tiers kick in at scale.
The catch: the self-hosted version requires running a Java-based core service alongside your app. That's a real dependency: Java runtime, separate process, separate database. The cloud version eliminates this but you're trusting a smaller company with your auth. And the SDK ecosystem, while growing, is narrower than Auth0's. Check that your framework is supported before committing.
Free vs Self-Hosted vs Paid
open coreSelf-hosted (free): All features included: email/password, social login, passwordless, MFA, session management. Requires running the SuperTokens core (Java) with a PostgreSQL or MySQL database. No user limits.
Cloud free tier: Up to 5,000 MAUs. All auth features included. No credit card required.
Cloud paid: $0.02/MAU beyond 5,000. So 10,000 MAUs = $100/mo. 50,000 MAUs = $900/mo.
Compared to Auth0: Auth0's free tier is 7,500 MAUs but with significant feature restrictions. At 10,000 MAUs, Auth0's Essentials plan is $240/mo. SuperTokens is $100/mo, less than half.
When to pay: If you don't want to run Java in production. The cloud version is meaningfully cheaper than Auth0 at every tier.
Self-host free. Cloud free up to 5K MAUs, then $0.02/MAU, roughly half of Auth0's pricing.
Get tools like this every Wednesday
One featured tool, three on the radar. No fluff.
Similar Tools
Open Source Identity and Access Management For Modern Applications and Services
SSO multi-factor portal for web apps
Flexible identity provider
Headless cloud-native identity management
Auth infrastructure for SaaS and AI apps
A low score is not a verdict on quality. Young and niche tools start low by design. How we calculate scores
Trust Signals
About
- Stars
- 15,251
- Forks
- 846
Explore Further
More tools in the directory
openclaw
Your own personal AI assistant. Any OS. Any Platform. The lobster way. 🦞
385.4k ★everything-claude-code
The agent harness performance optimization system. Skills, instincts, memory, security, and research-first development for Claude Code, Codex, Opencode, Cursor and beyond.
238.3k ★hermes-agent
The agent that grows with you
226.7k ★