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Authorizer Review

Authorizer is an open-source authentication and authorization platform that users can self-host, allowing them to manage user data in their own database.

shipped Sep 2, 2026researchfree
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Authorizer — product screenshot

Why it matters

1Authorizer is an open-source, self-hosted authentication and authorization solution.
2It supports 13+ databases and offers OAuth2, SAML, and OpenID Connect support.
3Authorizer v2, released April 2, 2026, introduced configuration via CLI flags and enhanced security.
4It integrates with AI assistants via a built-in Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for permission-aware AI.

About Authorizer

Business Model
Open Source
Platforms
Web, API
Target Audience
Developers and teams looking for self-hosted authentication solutions.
API DocsGitHubOpen Source

Specs

API Docs

View Documentation →

GitHub

View Repository →

API Available

Yes, public API

overview

What is Authorizer?

Authorizer is an open-source authentication and authorization tool developed by Authorizer that enables developers and teams to manage user data in their own database. It provides a comprehensive suite of authentication and authorization functionalities, acting as an enforcement decision point for access control.

Authorizer allows developers to integrate robust authentication and fine-grained authorization without building it from scratch, maintaining full control over user data by connecting to existing databases. It supports various authentication methods, including email/password, social logins (Google, GitHub, Facebook, LinkedIn, Apple, Discord, Twitter, Twitch, Roblox, Microsoft), passwordless login with magic links, and WebAuthn/passkey registration. Multi-factor authentication (TOTP, email OTP, SMS OTP via Twilio, and passkey as a second factor) is also supported. For authorization, it offers role-based access management and fine-grained authorization (FGA) through an embedded OpenFGA (Zanzibar ReBAC) engine. Enterprise SSO capabilities include SAML 2.0 (as Service Provider and Identity Provider), OIDC federation, SCIM 2.0 provisioning, verified email domains, and home-realm discovery. Machine-to-machine authentication is facilitated via client_credentials flow, secretless workload identity (RFC 7523 client assertions), SPIFFE JWT-SVIDs, and Kubernetes TokenReview. A notable feature is its integration with AI assistants via a built-in Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, enabling permission-aware AI agents to check user permissions before data retrieval, thus supporting secure Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) systems. Multi-tenancy is supported with organizations, org-scoped admins, and verified email domains.

features

Key Features of Authorizer

Authorizer provides a robust set of features for identity and access management, focusing on self-hosting and developer control.

  • Self-hosted authentication and authorization platform.
  • Support for OAuth2, SAML 2.0, and OpenID Connect (OIDC) protocols.
  • Role-based access control (RBAC) and fine-grained authorization (FGA) via OpenFGA.
  • Permission-aware AI integrations through a built-in Model Context Protocol (MCP) server.
  • Compatibility with 13+ databases, including PostgreSQL and MongoDB.
  • Multi-factor authentication (MFA) with TOTP, email OTP, SMS OTP, and passkey.
  • Enterprise SSO features: SAML 2.0 (SP/IdP), OIDC federation, SCIM 2.0, verified email domains.
  • Machine-to-machine authentication with client_credentials flow and secretless workload identity.

use cases

Who Should Use Authorizer?

Authorizer is designed for developers and organizations that require full control over their user data and prefer self-hosting their authentication and authorization infrastructure.

  • Developers implementing various login methods (social, email/password, passwordless, WebAuthn/passkey) in their applications.
  • Teams/companies with data residency requirements or those preferring to operate critical security infrastructure themselves.
  • Organizations managing role-based access and fine-grained authorization for their applications.
  • Enterprises requiring Single Sign-On (SSO) capabilities via SAML 2.0 or OIDC federation.
  • Teams/companies seeking a self-hosted alternative to commercial identity platforms for cost predictability and data control.

how to use

How to Use Authorizer

To begin using Authorizer, users typically deploy the open-source solution to their infrastructure and configure it to connect to their existing database. The platform provides SDKs for various programming languages to facilitate integration into applications.

  • 1Download and deploy the Authorizer open-source solution to your preferred platform (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker, Heroku).
  • 2Configure Authorizer to connect to your existing database (e.g., PostgreSQL, MongoDB) for user data management.
  • 3Utilize the provided SDKs (e.g., @authorizerdev/authorizer-js v3, @authorizerdev/authorizer-react v2) to integrate authentication flows into your application.
  • 4Set up desired authentication methods such as social logins, email/password, or passwordless options.
  • 5Define roles and policies for role-based access control and fine-grained authorization within the Authorizer console.
  • 6Implement Enterprise SSO or machine-to-machine authentication as required for specific use cases.

pricing

Authorizer Pricing & Plans

Authorizer is an open-source project and is available for free. Users incur costs only for the infrastructure required to self-host the solution.

  • Open-source: Free

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Pros

  • +Complete control over user data by self-hosting and connecting to existing databases.
  • +Open-source and free to use, offering cost predictability by only paying for infrastructure.
  • +Comprehensive authentication methods including social logins, passwordless, and WebAuthn/passkey.
  • +Robust authorization capabilities with role-based access control and fine-grained authorization via OpenFGA.
  • +Integration with AI assistants for permission-aware AI and secure RAG systems.
  • +Supports Enterprise SSO (SAML 2.0, OIDC federation) and machine-to-machine authentication.

Cons

  • −Requires self-hosting and operational management, which may be more complex than managed identity services.
  • −Lacks I18n for email templates, as noted in user reviews.
  • −Vue SDK could benefit from further polish, according to user feedback.
  • −Initial setup might require more configuration compared to hosted solutions with pre-built UIs.

Similar Tools

Authorizer vs Competitors

Authorizer positions itself as a self-hosted, open-source alternative to managed identity platforms, offering users complete control over their data and infrastructure.

1
Keycloak↗

A comprehensive, enterprise-grade identity and access management solution with extensive features for single sign-on (SSO), multi-factor authentication (MFA), and social logins.

Keycloak is more mature and feature-rich than Authorizer, offering a broader range of enterprise-grade capabilities out-of-the-box. However, its Java-based architecture might be heavier to deploy and manage for smaller projects compared to Authorizer's Go-based backend.

2
Authentik↗

An open-source identity provider that emphasizes flexibility, visual authentication flows, and policy-driven access management.

Authentik offers a highly customizable and visual approach to authentication flows, which can be more intuitive for defining complex policies than Authorizer. It might have a steeper learning curve for initial setup due to its extensive configuration options.

3
SuperTokens↗

An open-source authentication solution designed for simplicity and developer experience, offering pre-built UI components and modular features for login, sign-ups, and session management.

SuperTokens focuses heavily on providing a developer-friendly experience with pre-built UI and SDKs, potentially making integration faster for common authentication flows than Authorizer. While it handles core authentication and session management well, its built-in advanced authorization features might be more limited compared to Authorizer's fine-grained authorization capabilities.

4
ZITADEL↗

A cloud-native, API-first identity platform built in Go, offering strong multi-tenancy support and an event-sourced architecture for auditability.

ZITADEL is designed with multi-tenancy and cloud-native principles in mind, which can be a significant advantage for SaaS applications compared to Authorizer. Its event-sourced architecture provides strong auditability, but might introduce different operational considerations for database management.

See every Authorizer alternative, compared→

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