Zitadel
Open source identity and access platform with built-in multi-tenancy, SSO, MFA and a managed Zitadel Cloud SaaS.
Quick answer
What is Zitadel?
Short answer
Zitadel is an open source identity and access platform built around multi-tenancy from day one. It provides authentication, SSO, MFA, OIDC / OAuth2, SAML, machine-to-machine credentials and a management API, available as self-hosted open source or as Zitadel Cloud. It is often picked by SaaS builders who want a B2B-ready identity layer they can host themselves or consume as SaaS.
- Best for
- B2B SaaS teams that want multi-tenant identity with both self-hosted open source and managed cloud options.
- When to choose
- You are building B2B SaaS, need multi-tenant identity, and want to choose between self-hosted and SaaS.
- When not to choose
- You want a no-code CIAM with deep prebuilt funnels or already standardized on Okta / Entra for everything.
Categories
Common use cases
- B2B SaaS multi-tenant auth
- SSO and SAML federation
- Machine-to-machine clients
- Self-hosted identity for regulated environments
Strengths
- First-class multi-tenancy
- Open source with managed option
- Modern API-driven design
- Active development
Limitations & considerations
- Smaller ecosystem than Auth0
- UI customization more limited than CIAM specialists
- Some advanced features tied to paid tiers
Pricing model summary
Open source is free to self-host. Zitadel Cloud offers free, pay-as-you-go and enterprise tiers, with paid plans typically scaling by active users and features.
View vendor pricing page ↗Integrations
Fit
Alternatives & comparisons
Auth0 is a developer-centric customer identity and access management (CIAM) platform offering authentication, authorization, and user management for web and mobile applications, now operating as Okta Customer Identity Cloud.
Compare Zitadel vs Auth0 →Keycloak is the most widely deployed open source IAM platform, providing enterprise-grade SSO, MFA, SAML, OIDC, LDAP, and Kerberos support in a self-hosted, Apache 2.0 licensed package maintained by Red Hat.
Compare Zitadel vs Keycloak →Open source identity, authorization and zero trust stack (Kratos, Hydra, Keto, Oathkeeper) available self-hosted or as Ory Network SaaS.
Compare Zitadel vs Ory →Open source auth library with prebuilt UI, session management and self-hosted or managed deployment options.
Compare Zitadel vs SuperTokens →Zitadel and its logo are trademarks of their respective owner. IDSync is an independent buyer resource and does not imply endorsement unless explicitly stated.