Our take
Pick authentik if homelab and platform teams who will self-host OSS at $0 for OIDC/SAML SSO, then move to Enterprise at $5/internal user/month (annual) plus $0.02/external user when they need PAM, Entra/Workspace sync, or ticketed support over $1k. Pick FusionAuth if app teams who will stay on Community at $0 (self-host, unlimited MAUs, forum support) while they open a first Users table, then buy Starter at
auth admin desk
Best for
authentik SSO you start at $0
FusionAuth Users you start at $0
Free plan
authentik $0 · / Free. OIDC, SAML, LDAP, SCIM, RADIUS, Kerberos, proxy. OpenID Certified™. Web-based RDP/SSH. Community Discord. No vendor support
FusionAuth $0 · self-hosted. Unlimited. Core authentication. Community support (forums, GitHub). Passkeys / biometrics need a Free License. No FusionAuth Cloud hosting on this card
Lowest paid
authentik Enterprise $5/mo
FusionAuth Essentials $2/mo
Next step up
authentik
FusionAuth Starter $162/mo yearly
Runs where
authentik Local or hosted
FusionAuth Local or hosted
Watch out
authentik There is no authentik Cloud
FusionAuth $162 / $2,970 are the 1,000-MAU tiles
Last checked
authentik 2026-10-22 · goauthentik.io/pricing
FusionAuth 2026-10-23 · fusionauth.io/pricing
homelab and platform teams who will self-host OSS at $0 for OIDC/SAML SSO, then move to Enterprise at $5/internal user/month (annual) plus $0.02/external user when they need PAM, Entra/Workspace sync, or ticketed support over $1k.
Read the authentik pageapp teams who will stay on Community at $0 (self-host, unlimited MAUs, forum support) while they open a first Users table, then buy Starter at $162/month billed annually (1,000 MAU slider) when they need Cloud hosting, advanced MFA, and application themes.
Read the FusionAuth page