Our take
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 $162/month billed annually (1,000 MAU slider) when they need Cloud hosting, advanced MFA, and application themes. Pick ZITADEL if app teams who will stay on Cloud Free $0 (100 DAU, 3 IdPs, unlimited orgs, no card) while they invite a first user, then buy
auth admin desk
Best for
FusionAuth Users you start at $0
ZITADEL Login you start at $0
Free plan
FusionAuth $0 · self-hosted. Unlimited. Core authentication. Community support (forums, GitHub). Passkeys / biometrics need a Free License. No FusionAuth Cloud hosting on this card
ZITADEL $0 · / month. All security features. 100 daily active users. Unlimited stored users. Unlimited organizations. 3 identity providers. Custom workflows. Data residency: EU, US, Switzerland, Australia
Lowest paid
FusionAuth Essentials $2/mo
ZITADEL Pro $100
Next step up
FusionAuth Starter $162/mo yearly
ZITADEL
Coding agent
FusionAuth
ZITADEL Users
Runs where
FusionAuth Local or hosted
ZITADEL Local; you host it
Watch out
FusionAuth $162 / $2,970 are the 1,000-MAU tiles
ZITADEL Free is 100 daily active users
Last checked
FusionAuth 2026-10-23 · fusionauth.io/pricing
ZITADEL 2026-10-22 · zitadel.com/pricing
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 $162/month billed annually (1,000 MAU slider) when they need Cloud hosting, advanced MFA, and application themes.
Read the FusionAuth pageapp teams who will stay on Cloud Free $0 (100 DAU, 3 IdPs, unlimited orgs, no card) while they invite a first user, then buy Pro at $100/month when they need 25k DAU, a custom domain, and the 99.5% uptime card.
Read the ZITADEL page