Auth & Backend · side by side
Descope vs WorkOS
Compare Descope, WorkOS by active-user allowances, social login, MFA, SSO, organizations and audit logs.
Auth & Backend pricing calculator
50K
Descope
$2,049 / mo
Growth · 50K monthly active users
WorkOS
$0 / mo
Pay as you go · 50K monthly active users
Listed USD plan fees and tracked usage only. Unlisted compute, transfer, extras, taxes and contract terms are excluded. Custom or unsupported plan usage is not estimated.
Auth & Backend overview & pricing
| Auth & Backend | Descope | WorkOS |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Descope | WorkOS |
| Billing unit | monthly active users | monthly active users |
| Plan at selected usage | Growth | Pay as you go |
| Monthly estimate | $2,049/mo | $0/mo |
| Workload | 50K monthly active users | 50K monthly active users |
| Free access | 7.5K MAUs | 1M MAUs free (AuthKit) |
| Published plans | Free Forever, Pro, Growth, Enterprise | Pay as you go, Annual Credits |
| Prices checked | 2026-10-08 | 2026-10-08 |
Provider
- Descope
- Descope
- WorkOS
- WorkOS
Billing unit
- Descope
- monthly active users
- WorkOS
- monthly active users
Plan at selected usage
- Descope
- Growth
- WorkOS
- Pay as you go
Monthly estimate
- Descope
- $2,049/mo
- WorkOS
- $0/mo
Workload
- Descope
- 50K monthly active users
- WorkOS
- 50K monthly active users
Free access
- Descope
- 7.5K MAUs
- WorkOS
- 1M MAUs free (AuthKit)
Published plans
- Descope
- Free Forever, Pro, Growth, Enterprise
- WorkOS
- Pay as you go, Annual Credits
Prices checked
- Descope
- 2026-10-08
- WorkOS
- 2026-10-08
Auth & Backend monthly cost
Descope: $2,049WorkOS: $0
Cost by monthly active users
Cost curve data
| monthly active users | Descope | WorkOS |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | $0 | $0 |
| 12.5K | $374 | $0 |
| 25K | $799 | $0 |
| 50K | $2,049 | $0 |
| 100K | $4,549 | $0 |
| 250K | $12,049 | $0 |
| 500K | $24,549 | $0 |
0
- Descope
- $0
- WorkOS
- $0
12.5K
- Descope
- $374
- WorkOS
- $0
25K
- Descope
- $799
- WorkOS
- $0
50K
- Descope
- $2,049
- WorkOS
- $0
100K
- Descope
- $4,549
- WorkOS
- $0
250K
- Descope
- $12,049
- WorkOS
- $0
500K
- Descope
- $24,549
- WorkOS
- $0
Auth & Backend feature comparison
| Auth & Backend | Descope | WorkOS |
|---|---|---|
| Social login | Not listed | |
| Base monthly price | $799 | Not listed |
| MAUs included / Additional MAU fee | 25,000 ($0.05 additional) | Not listed |
| Tenants included / Additional tenant fee | 100 ($1 additional) | Not listed |
| SSO connections included / Additional SSO conn. fee | 10 ($50 additional) | Not listed |
| Federated apps included | Unlimited (SAML / OIDC) | Not listed |
| M2M exchanges included / Additional M2M exchange fee | 100,000 ($2 per 1000 exchanges) | Not listed |
| Test users included | 500 | Not listed |
| MACs included / Additional MAC fee | 10,000 ($0.05 additional) | Not listed |
| MATKs included / Additional MATK fee | 10,000 ($0.05 additional) | Not listed |
| Biometrics / Passkeys | Not listed | |
| Email Magic Links | Not listed | |
| Email OTP | Not listed | |
| Authenticator Apps | Not listed | |
| SMS / voice call delivery with Descope | Up to 100 per month | Not listed |
| SMS / voice calls with your connector | Unlimited | Not listed |
| Email delivery with Descope | Up to 10,000 per day | Not listed |
| Email delivery with your connector | Unlimited | Not listed |
| Google One Tap | Not listed | |
| SAML / OIDC SSO | Up to 10 connections (Add-on available) | Not listed |
| Custom OIDC Provider | Not listed | |
| Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) | Not listed | |
| Fine-Grained Authorization (FGA) | Not listed | |
| User Provisioning (SCIM) | Not listed | |
| SSO Setup Suite - Widgets | Not listed | |
| SSO Setup Suite - Admin Portal | Not listed | |
| Localization | Not listed | |
| Audit Interface | Descope UI + external connectors | Not listed |
| Audit Retention | 1 month (Add-on available) | Not listed |
| Anonymous Users | 1M | Not listed |
| SSO Migration | Not listed | |
| Secure Session Management | Not listed | |
| Adaptive MFA | Not listed | |
| Step-up Authentication | Not listed | |
| Bot Protection | Not listed | |
| Custom Domain | Not listed | |
| SOC 2 Reports | Not listed | |
| HIPAA BAA | Not listed | |
| Scriptlets | Not listed | |
| Connectors | Not listed | |
| CI / CD Integration | Up to 10 Projects | Not listed |
| Multi-Region Deployments | Not listed |
Social login
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Base monthly price
- Descope
- $799
- WorkOS
- Not listed
MAUs included / Additional MAU fee
- Descope
- 25,000 ($0.05 additional)
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Tenants included / Additional tenant fee
- Descope
- 100 ($1 additional)
- WorkOS
- Not listed
SSO connections included / Additional SSO conn. fee
- Descope
- 10 ($50 additional)
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Federated apps included
- Descope
- Unlimited (SAML / OIDC)
- WorkOS
- Not listed
M2M exchanges included / Additional M2M exchange fee
- Descope
- 100,000 ($2 per 1000 exchanges)
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Test users included
- Descope
- 500
- WorkOS
- Not listed
MACs included / Additional MAC fee
- Descope
- 10,000 ($0.05 additional)
- WorkOS
- Not listed
MATKs included / Additional MATK fee
- Descope
- 10,000 ($0.05 additional)
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Biometrics / Passkeys
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Email Magic Links
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Email OTP
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Authenticator Apps
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
SMS / voice call delivery with Descope
- Descope
- Up to 100 per month
- WorkOS
- Not listed
SMS / voice calls with your connector
- Descope
- Unlimited
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Email delivery with Descope
- Descope
- Up to 10,000 per day
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Email delivery with your connector
- Descope
- Unlimited
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Google One Tap
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
SAML / OIDC SSO
- Descope
- Up to 10 connections (Add-on available)
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Custom OIDC Provider
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Fine-Grained Authorization (FGA)
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
User Provisioning (SCIM)
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
SSO Setup Suite - Widgets
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
SSO Setup Suite - Admin Portal
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Localization
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Audit Interface
- Descope
- Descope UI + external connectors
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Audit Retention
- Descope
- 1 month (Add-on available)
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Anonymous Users
- Descope
- 1M
- WorkOS
- Not listed
SSO Migration
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Secure Session Management
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Adaptive MFA
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Step-up Authentication
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Bot Protection
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Custom Domain
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
SOC 2 Reports
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
HIPAA BAA
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Scriptlets
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Connectors
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
CI / CD Integration
- Descope
- Up to 10 Projects
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Multi-Region Deployments
- Descope
- WorkOS
- Not listed
Showing 15 of 42
Which authentication & backend providers fit your needs?
Descope features & plan notes
- No-code flows
- Passwordless
- B2B SSO
- 25,000 Monthly active users (MAUs)
- 100 Monthly active tenants
- 10 SSO connections
- Unlimited Federated apps (SAML / OIDC)
- 500 Test users
- 100,000 M2M exchanges
- 10,000 Monthly active consents (MACs)
- 10,000 Monthly active tokens (MATKs)
- Everything in Pro, plus:
- Bot protection
- 1M Anonymous users
- Zero-downtime SSO migration
- SCIM provisioning
- Admin Portal
- Fine-grained authorization
- External audit connectors
- Multi-region data residency
- HIPAA BAA
- FedRAMP High add-on
WorkOS features & plan notes
- SSO + SCIM
- Admin portal
- Enterprise-ready
- Automatic volume discounts
- First 1 million active users free
- Deploy in minutes
- Dedicated Slack channel
- Transparent pricing
- Social Auth
- Email + Password
- Magic Auth
- Multi-Factor Auth (MFA)
- Email verification
- Organization auth policies
- Just-in-time (JIT) user provisioning
- Biometric / Passkey Auth
- Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
- CLI Authentication
How to compare authentication & backend providers
Check how each provider defines an active user and separates consumer identity from enterprise organizations. SAML, MFA, custom domains and audit logs can be gated behind higher plans. A backend platform can also charge separately for storage, functions and traffic.
Browse Auth & Backend pricing