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Open-source multi-tenant identity (cloud or self-hosted)

Zitadel

Open-source, multi-tenant identity platform from Switzerland, self-hosted or as Zitadel Cloud with data residency in the EU, US, Switzerland or Australia and pricing by daily active users.

Visit zitadel.com ↗ Alternatives Open source Open source Self-hostable EU region
Zitadel homepage
§1

Overview

Zitadel is an identity platform built with multi-tenancy at its core: you add organizations and grant projects to them, which suits B2B SaaS where each customer brings its own users and identity provider. It offers a customisable hosted login, APIs to build your own login UI, passkeys, MFA, social and enterprise SSO templates, role-based access control, machine users and Actions that run custom code after events.

The project is open source and can be self-hosted for free. Zitadel Cloud lets you choose data residency in the EU, US, Switzerland or Australia. Its free tier stores unlimited users and organizations but allows only 100 daily active users, so it is for development and small tools rather than a public launch.

Cloud Pro costs $100 a month and includes 25,000 daily active users, a custom domain, three enterprise or social identity providers and a 99.5% uptime SLA, with usage billed on top. An optional $999 a month add-on adds extended support and a 99.95% SLA. Enterprise contracts add a commercial licence, unlimited DAU and 99.99% uptime.

§2

Pricing and plans

Free tier

Zitadel Cloud Free: unlimited stored users and organizations, 100 daily active users, 3 identity providers, all security features, choice of data region; self-hosting is free

At the limit Not stated The vendor does not say what happens at the limit, or we have not found it yet.

Plan Price What you get
Self-hosted Free Open source, your infrastructure
Cloud Free Free 100 DAU, 3 IdPs, unlimited users and organizations
Cloud Pro $100/mo 25,000 DAU included, custom domain, 3 IdPs, 99.5% SLA; card billing, monthly
Extended Support and SLA $999/mo Optional Pro add-on, 99.95% uptime
Enterprise Custom Cloud or own infrastructure, unlimited DAU, commercial license, 99.99% SLA

Zitadel Cloud bills on daily active users, not monthly users. Pro prepays the $100 base and bills usage (extra DAU, active external identity providers, management API requests, logs, extra domains) at the end of the period; the per-unit overage rates were not shown on the pages read. Pro is card-only and monthly; annual billing and invoices are Enterprise-only. Zitadel's help centre suggests Enterprise above roughly 175,000 DAU or 150 external IdPs. Compliance certifications were not listed on the pages read.

Source: zitadel.com/pricing · prices as published, excluding tax.

§3

What it does

Multi-tenant organizations
Organizations are first-class, each with its own users, identity providers, branding and granted projects.
Hosted or custom login
Use the customisable hosted login page or build your own UI on the APIs.
Passkeys and MFA
Passwordless passkeys and enforced multi-factor authentication.
Actions
Custom code executed after predefined events without deploying your own service.
Data residency
Cloud regions in the EU, US, Switzerland and Australia.
Machine users
Service accounts and agent identities managed alongside human users.
§4

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • Open source and self-hostable
  • Choice of EU, Swiss, US or Australian data residency, including on the free tier
  • Multi-tenancy built into the data model
  • Pro includes 25,000 daily active users for $100/mo

Limitations

  • Free cloud tier is capped at 100 daily active users
  • Overage rates are not shown on the main pricing page
  • Pro is card-only and monthly; annual billing needs Enterprise
  • Only 3 external identity providers included before usage charges
§5

Who it suits

Good for

  • B2B SaaS where each customer is an organization with its own IdP
  • European teams needing EU or Swiss data residency
  • Teams wanting open source with a managed option

Look elsewhere if

  • Hobby apps expecting more than 100 daily users on a free hosted plan
  • Teams that need prebuilt front-end components for React
§6

Alternatives to Zitadel

Tool From Free option Stages
Scalekit Auth for AI agents and MCP servers
$99/mo Free tier
Stytch Hosted auth API (B2B and consumer)
$125/mo Free tier
WorkOS AuthKit Hosted auth with enterprise SSO
$125/mo Free tier
Ory Network Headless IAM (open source and SaaS)
$770/yr Free tier
FusionAuth Self-hostable CIAM server
$162/mo Free tier
Authgear Open-source CIAM (cloud, VPC or one-time self-host licence)
$50/mo Free tier

All auth and identity →

§7

Questions

Is Zitadel free?

Self-hosting is free. Zitadel Cloud's free tier allows 100 daily active users and unlimited stored users.

How much does Zitadel Cloud Pro cost?

$100 a month, including 25,000 daily active users, a custom domain and three identity providers, with usage billed beyond that.

Where can Zitadel Cloud store data?

In the EU, US, Switzerland or Australia.

Does Zitadel bill by MAU?

No. Zitadel Cloud bills by daily active users.

Sources read for this page