{"category":"auth","title":"Auth & Identity for AI Agents","description":"Compare authentication and identity tools for building AI agents","tools":[{"name":"Auth0","slug":"auth0","category":"auth","type":"cloud","website":"https://auth0.com","pricing":"freemium","pricing_tiers":["Free up to 25k MAU","$35/mo Essentials","Custom Enterprise"],"open_source":false,"self_hosted":false,"sdk_languages":["python","javascript","typescript","go","java","csharp","ruby","php"],"frameworks":["langchain","llamaindex","vercel-ai","openai-agents"],"agent_features":{"agent_sdk":true,"token_delegation":true,"human_in_the_loop":true,"fga":true,"mcp_support":true,"async_authorization":true},"compliance":["soc2","hipaa","gdpr","pci-dss"],"best_for":"Multi-tenant SaaS, token delegation for agents, fine-grained authorization at scale","limitations":"Vendor lock-in on cloud plan; self-hosted (Private Cloud) is enterprise-tier only; dynamic client registration for MCP requires Enterprise plan to secure against abuse","verified_by":"editorial","last_verified":"2026-04-17","source_urls":{"changelog":"https://auth0.com/changelog","pricing":"https://auth0.com/pricing","docs":"https://auth0.com/docs/get-started"}},{"name":"Clerk","slug":"clerk","category":"auth","type":"cloud","website":"https://clerk.com","pricing":"freemium","pricing_tiers":["Free up to 10k MAU","$25/mo Pro","Custom Enterprise"],"open_source":false,"self_hosted":false,"sdk_languages":["javascript","typescript"],"frameworks":["vercel-ai","langchain","nextjs","remix"],"agent_features":{"agent_sdk":true,"token_delegation":false,"human_in_the_loop":false,"fga":false,"mcp_support":null,"async_authorization":false},"compliance":["soc2","gdpr"],"best_for":"Next.js and React AI apps needing fast auth setup with prebuilt UI components","limitations":"JavaScript/TypeScript only; no token delegation or FGA; not designed for complex agent authorization patterns","verified_by":"editorial","last_verified":"2026-04-17","source_urls":{"changelog":"https://clerk.com/changelog","pricing":"https://clerk.com/pricing","docs":"https://clerk.com/docs"}},{"name":"WorkOS","slug":"workos","category":"auth","type":"cloud","website":"https://workos.com","pricing":"freemium","pricing_tiers":["Free up to 1M MAU","Pay-as-you-go after","Custom Enterprise"],"open_source":false,"self_hosted":false,"sdk_languages":["javascript","typescript","python","go","ruby","java"],"frameworks":["langchain","vercel-ai"],"agent_features":{"agent_sdk":false,"token_delegation":true,"human_in_the_loop":null,"fga":true,"mcp_support":null,"async_authorization":null},"compliance":["soc2","gdpr","hipaa"],"best_for":"Enterprise SSO, M2M authentication, and fine-grained authorization for B2B agent products","limitations":"No dedicated agent SDK; FGA is strong but relatively new; async authz patterns require custom integration","verified_by":"editorial","last_verified":"2026-04-17","source_urls":{"changelog":"https://workos.com/changelog","pricing":"https://workos.com/pricing","docs":"https://workos.com/docs"}},{"name":"Stytch","slug":"stytch","category":"auth","type":"cloud","website":"https://stytch.com","pricing":"freemium","pricing_tiers":["Free up to 25 orgs","Usage-based Pro","Custom Enterprise"],"open_source":false,"self_hosted":false,"sdk_languages":["javascript","typescript","python","ruby","go"],"frameworks":["langchain","vercel-ai"],"agent_features":{"agent_sdk":false,"token_delegation":true,"human_in_the_loop":null,"fga":false,"mcp_support":null,"async_authorization":null},"compliance":["soc2","gdpr"],"best_for":"API-first auth for AI startups; headless identity with flexible session management","limitations":"No FGA, no dedicated agent SDK, no human-in-the-loop; good primitives but requires more DIY for complex agent patterns","verified_by":"editorial","last_verified":"2026-04-17","source_urls":{"changelog":"https://stytch.com/blog","pricing":"https://stytch.com/pricing","docs":"https://stytch.com/docs"}},{"name":"Descope","slug":"descope","category":"auth","type":"cloud","website":"https://descope.com","pricing":"freemium","pricing_tiers":["Free up to 7.5k MAU","$0.05/MAU Pro","Custom Enterprise"],"open_source":false,"self_hosted":false,"sdk_languages":["javascript","typescript","python","go","java"],"frameworks":["langchain","vercel-ai","openai-agents"],"agent_features":{"agent_sdk":true,"token_delegation":true,"human_in_the_loop":true,"fga":true,"mcp_support":true,"async_authorization":true},"compliance":["soc2","gdpr"],"best_for":"AI agent auth from day one; built specifically for agentic workflows including MCP server authorization","limitations":"Newer product with smaller community and ecosystem compared to Auth0 or Clerk; enterprise support is still maturing","verified_by":"editorial","last_verified":"2026-04-17","source_urls":{"changelog":"https://docs.descope.com/changelog","pricing":"https://www.descope.com/pricing","docs":"https://docs.descope.com"}},{"name":"Ory","slug":"ory","category":"auth","type":"hybrid","website":"https://ory.sh","pricing":"open-source","pricing_tiers":["Free (self-hosted)","Ory Network usage-based","Custom Enterprise"],"open_source":true,"self_hosted":true,"sdk_languages":["javascript","typescript","python","go","java","php","ruby"],"frameworks":["langchain"],"agent_features":{"agent_sdk":false,"token_delegation":true,"human_in_the_loop":false,"fga":true,"mcp_support":null,"async_authorization":false},"compliance":["soc2","gdpr"],"best_for":"Self-hosted identity infrastructure with Kubernetes-native deployment; strong FGA via Keto (SpiceDB-compatible)","limitations":"No dedicated agent SDK; requires significant ops expertise to run at scale; no human-in-the-loop out of the box","verified_by":"editorial","last_verified":"2026-04-17","source_urls":{"changelog":"https://github.com/ory/kratos/releases","pricing":"https://www.ory.sh/pricing/","docs":"https://www.ory.sh/docs"}},{"name":"Keycloak","slug":"keycloak","category":"auth","type":"self-hosted","website":"https://keycloak.org","pricing":"open-source","pricing_tiers":["Free (self-hosted)","Red Hat SSO (commercial support)"],"open_source":true,"self_hosted":true,"sdk_languages":["javascript","java","python","go"],"frameworks":[],"agent_features":{"agent_sdk":false,"token_delegation":true,"human_in_the_loop":false,"fga":false,"mcp_support":null,"async_authorization":false},"compliance":["gdpr"],"best_for":"Enterprise on-prem identity; legacy system integration; organizations standardized on Red Hat / Java stacks","limitations":"No agent SDK, no FGA, no human-in-the-loop; UI and developer experience are dated; heavy Java-based deployment","verified_by":"editorial","last_verified":"2026-04-17","source_urls":{"changelog":"https://www.keycloak.org/docs/latest/release_notes/index.html","pricing":"https://www.keycloak.org","docs":"https://www.keycloak.org/documentation"}},{"name":"Firebase Auth","slug":"firebase-auth","category":"auth","type":"cloud","website":"https://firebase.google.com/products/auth","pricing":"freemium","pricing_tiers":["Free up to 50k MAU","Blaze pay-as-you-go","Phone auth: 10¢/verification"],"open_source":false,"self_hosted":false,"sdk_languages":["javascript","typescript","python","java","swift","kotlin","go"],"frameworks":["langchain","vercel-ai"],"agent_features":{"agent_sdk":false,"token_delegation":false,"human_in_the_loop":false,"fga":false,"mcp_support":null,"async_authorization":false},"compliance":["soc2","gdpr"],"best_for":"Rapid prototyping and Google-native stacks; low-friction auth for AI apps that don't need agent-specific authorization","limitations":"No token delegation, no FGA, no agent SDK; vendor lock-in to Google Cloud; limited authorization model","verified_by":"editorial","last_verified":"2026-04-17","source_urls":{"changelog":"https://firebase.google.com/support/release-notes/js","pricing":"https://firebase.google.com/pricing","docs":"https://firebase.google.com/docs/auth"}},{"name":"Supabase Auth","slug":"supabase-auth","category":"auth","type":"hybrid","website":"https://supabase.com/docs/guides/auth","pricing":"freemium","pricing_tiers":["Free up to 50k MAU","$25/mo Pro","Custom Enterprise"],"open_source":true,"self_hosted":true,"sdk_languages":["javascript","typescript","python","dart","swift","kotlin"],"frameworks":["langchain","vercel-ai"],"agent_features":{"agent_sdk":false,"token_delegation":false,"human_in_the_loop":false,"fga":false,"mcp_support":null,"async_authorization":false},"compliance":["soc2","gdpr","hipaa"],"best_for":"AI apps built on the Supabase BaaS stack; projects that need auth + database + storage in one platform","limitations":"Auth is tightly coupled to Supabase's ecosystem; no token delegation, no FGA, no agent SDK; auth is secondary to the BaaS offering","verified_by":"editorial","last_verified":"2026-04-17","source_urls":{"changelog":"https://supabase.com/changelog","pricing":"https://supabase.com/pricing","docs":"https://supabase.com/docs/guides/auth"}},{"name":"Amazon Cognito","slug":"cognito","category":"auth","type":"cloud","website":"https://aws.amazon.com/cognito/","pricing":"freemium","pricing_tiers":["Free up to 50k MAU","$0.0055/MAU after","SAML federation extra"],"open_source":false,"self_hosted":false,"sdk_languages":["javascript","typescript","python","java","swift","kotlin","go","ruby"],"frameworks":["langchain"],"agent_features":{"agent_sdk":false,"token_delegation":true,"human_in_the_loop":false,"fga":false,"mcp_support":null,"async_authorization":false},"compliance":["soc2","hipaa","gdpr","pci-dss","fedramp"],"best_for":"AWS-native agent stacks; teams already using API Gateway, Lambda, and IAM; compliance-heavy environments on AWS","limitations":"Poor developer experience; documentation is dense; no agent SDK, no FGA, no human-in-the-loop; locked to AWS","verified_by":"editorial","last_verified":"2026-04-17","source_urls":{"changelog":"https://aws.amazon.com/releasenotes/?tag=Cognito","pricing":"https://aws.amazon.com/cognito/pricing/","docs":"https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cognito/"}}],"feature_definitions":{"agent_sdk":"Dedicated SDK for agentic workflows — agent sessions, token lifecycle, and authorization requests","token_delegation":"Issue scoped tokens an agent can use downstream without exposing user credentials","human_in_the_loop":"Pause agent execution and require explicit user approval before proceeding","fga":"Fine-Grained Authorization — relationship-based or attribute-based access control, not just role-based","mcp_support":"Native OAuth/OIDC authorization layer for Model Context Protocol servers","async_authorization":"Non-blocking approval workflows — agent continues and gets notified when approval is granted"},"comparisons":[{"slug":"auth0-vs-clerk","title":"Auth0 vs Clerk","tools":["auth0","clerk"],"popular":true},{"slug":"auth0-vs-cognito","title":"Auth0 vs Amazon Cognito","tools":["auth0","cognito"],"popular":true},{"slug":"auth0-vs-descope","title":"Auth0 vs Descope","tools":["auth0","descope"],"popular":false},{"slug":"auth0-vs-firebase-auth","title":"Auth0 vs Firebase","tools":["auth0","firebase-auth"],"popular":false},{"slug":"auth0-vs-keycloak","title":"Auth0 vs Keycloak","tools":["auth0","keycloak"],"popular":false},{"slug":"auth0-vs-ory","title":"Auth0 vs Ory","tools":["auth0","ory"],"popular":false},{"slug":"auth0-vs-stytch","title":"Auth0 vs Stytch","tools":["auth0","stytch"],"popular":false},{"slug":"auth0-vs-supabase-auth","title":"Auth0 vs Supabase","tools":["auth0","supabase-auth"],"popular":false},{"slug":"auth0-vs-workos","title":"Auth0 vs WorkOS","tools":["auth0","workos"],"popular":false},{"slug":"clerk-vs-cognito","title":"Clerk vs Amazon Cognito","tools":["clerk","cognito"],"popular":false},{"slug":"clerk-vs-descope","title":"Clerk vs Descope","tools":["clerk","descope"],"popular":false},{"slug":"clerk-vs-firebase-auth","title":"Clerk vs Firebase","tools":["clerk","firebase-auth"],"popular":false},{"slug":"clerk-vs-keycloak","title":"Clerk vs Keycloak","tools":["clerk","keycloak"],"popular":false},{"slug":"clerk-vs-ory","title":"Clerk vs Ory","tools":["clerk","ory"],"popular":false},{"slug":"clerk-vs-stytch","title":"Clerk vs Stytch","tools":["clerk","stytch"],"popular":false},{"slug":"clerk-vs-supabase-auth","title":"Clerk vs Supabase","tools":["clerk","supabase-auth"],"popular":false},{"slug":"clerk-vs-workos","title":"Clerk vs WorkOS","tools":["clerk","workos"],"popular":true},{"slug":"cognito-vs-descope","title":"Amazon Cognito vs Descope","tools":["cognito","descope"],"popular":false},{"slug":"cognito-vs-firebase-auth","title":"Amazon Cognito vs Firebase","tools":["cognito","firebase-auth"],"popular":false},{"slug":"cognito-vs-keycloak","title":"Amazon Cognito vs Keycloak","tools":["cognito","keycloak"],"popular":false},{"slug":"cognito-vs-ory","title":"Amazon Cognito vs Ory","tools":["cognito","ory"],"popular":false},{"slug":"cognito-vs-stytch","title":"Amazon Cognito vs Stytch","tools":["cognito","stytch"],"popular":false},{"slug":"cognito-vs-supabase-auth","title":"Amazon Cognito vs Supabase","tools":["cognito","supabase-auth"],"popular":false},{"slug":"cognito-vs-workos","title":"Amazon Cognito vs WorkOS","tools":["cognito","workos"],"popular":false},{"slug":"descope-vs-firebase-auth","title":"Descope vs Firebase","tools":["descope","firebase-auth"],"popular":false},{"slug":"descope-vs-keycloak","title":"Descope vs Keycloak","tools":["descope","keycloak"],"popular":false},{"slug":"descope-vs-ory","title":"Descope vs Ory","tools":["descope","ory"],"popular":false},{"slug":"descope-vs-stytch","title":"Descope vs Stytch","tools":["descope","stytch"],"popular":false},{"slug":"descope-vs-supabase-auth","title":"Descope vs Supabase","tools":["descope","supabase-auth"],"popular":false},{"slug":"descope-vs-workos","title":"Descope vs WorkOS","tools":["descope","workos"],"popular":false},{"slug":"firebase-auth-vs-keycloak","title":"Firebase Auth vs Keycloak","tools":["firebase-auth","keycloak"],"popular":false},{"slug":"firebase-auth-vs-ory","title":"Firebase Auth vs Ory","tools":["firebase-auth","ory"],"popular":false},{"slug":"firebase-auth-vs-stytch","title":"Firebase vs Stytch","tools":["firebase-auth","stytch"],"popular":false},{"slug":"firebase-auth-vs-supabase-auth","title":"Firebase Auth vs Supabase Auth","tools":["firebase-auth","supabase-auth"],"popular":true},{"slug":"firebase-auth-vs-workos","title":"Firebase Auth vs WorkOS","tools":["firebase-auth","workos"],"popular":false},{"slug":"keycloak-vs-ory","title":"Keycloak vs Ory","tools":["keycloak","ory"],"popular":true},{"slug":"keycloak-vs-stytch","title":"Keycloak vs Stytch","tools":["keycloak","stytch"],"popular":false},{"slug":"keycloak-vs-supabase-auth","title":"Keycloak vs Supabase Auth","tools":["keycloak","supabase-auth"],"popular":false},{"slug":"keycloak-vs-workos","title":"Keycloak vs WorkOS","tools":["keycloak","workos"],"popular":false},{"slug":"ory-vs-stytch","title":"Ory vs Stytch","tools":["ory","stytch"],"popular":false},{"slug":"ory-vs-supabase-auth","title":"Ory vs Supabase Auth","tools":["ory","supabase-auth"],"popular":false},{"slug":"ory-vs-workos","title":"Ory vs WorkOS","tools":["ory","workos"],"popular":false},{"slug":"stytch-vs-supabase-auth","title":"Stytch vs Supabase","tools":["stytch","supabase-auth"],"popular":false},{"slug":"stytch-vs-workos","title":"Stytch vs WorkOS","tools":["stytch","workos"],"popular":false},{"slug":"supabase-auth-vs-workos","title":"Supabase Auth vs WorkOS","tools":["supabase-auth","workos"],"popular":false}],"body":"# Auth & Identity for AI Agents\n\nChoosing an auth provider for an AI agent is different from choosing one for a traditional web app. Agents need to act on behalf of users across sessions, delegate tokens to downstream services, and often require fine-grained authorization to constrain what they're permitted to do.\n\nThe table above covers the features that matter most for agentic workloads: agent SDKs, token delegation, human-in-the-loop approval flows, fine-grained authorization (FGA), MCP support, and async authorization patterns.\n\n**What each feature means:**\n\n- **Agent SDK** — a dedicated SDK or library designed for agentic workflows, not just a standard auth SDK repurposed. Includes tooling for managing agent sessions, token lifecycle, and authorization requests programmatically.\n- **Token delegation** — the tool supports issuing scoped tokens an agent can use downstream without exposing the user's primary credentials. The agent acts on behalf of the user with limited, auditable access.\n- **Human-in-the-loop** — the auth layer can pause a request and require explicit user approval before proceeding. Essential for high-stakes agent actions like sending money, deleting data, or accessing sensitive resources.\n- **FGA (Fine-Grained Authorization)** — the tool supports relationship-based or attribute-based access control, not just role-based. Lets you model permissions like \"user X can read document Y\" rather than \"admins can read all documents.\"\n- **MCP support** — native support for the Model Context Protocol as an authorization target. The tool can act as the OAuth/OIDC layer for MCP servers, handling client registration, token issuance, and tool-level access control.\n- **Async authorization** — the tool supports approval workflows that don't block synchronously. The agent can fire a request, continue other work, and be notified when approval is granted or denied.\n\nA `?` in the comparison table means the feature is unverified at the time of the last editorial check, not that it's absent. Check `last_verified` and follow `source_urls` to confirm current status."}