Startups need workforce IAM (SSO + MFA for employees) and possibly CIAM (authentication for their own product). For workforce: Google Workspace or JumpCloud. For CIAM: Auth0 or Clerk. Don't build authentication yourself — it's the most common security mistake startups make.
5 best for startups highlighted below, plus 10 more in this category.
Usage-based pricing · Cloud · Free trial
Auth0 (Okta-owned) is the developer-first identity platform — strongest for SaaS applications that need customer-facing authentication (CIAM) — but pricing spikes dramatically at scale.
Best for: SaaS and application development teams that need customer-facing authentication (login, signup, social login, MFA) with developer-friendly SDKs and APIs.
Per-user · Cloud · Free trial
Cisco Duo is the most popular MFA solution — simplest push-based authentication for users and administrators — but its MFA-first, and full SSO and lifecycle features require higher-tier plans.
Best for: Organizations that need to deploy MFA quickly across the workforce with minimal user friction and administrative overhead. The push notification experience is the benchmark.
Per-user · Cloud · Free trial
Google Workspace provides identity management (SSO, MFA, directory) as part of its productivity suite — strongest for Google-first organizations — but IAM depth is limited compared to dedicated identity platforms.
Best for: Google-first organizations that want SSO, MFA, and endpoint management included in their productivity suite licensing without adding a separate identity vendor.
Per-user · Cloud · Free trial
miniOrange is a budget IAM provider offering SSO, MFA, and directory integration at significantly lower pricing than Okta — but capabilities, UX, and support quality reflect the price point.
Best for: Budget-conscious SMBs that need basic SSO, MFA, and directory integration without the per-user costs of Okta, Duo, or Entra ID.
Custom quote · Cloud
Rippling unifies HR, IT, and identity management — the only platform where hiring an employee automatically provisions their identity, apps, and devices — but its an HR platform with IAM, not an IAM platform.
Best for: Companies that want to eliminate the gap between HR onboarding and IT provisioning — hiring triggers automatic identity creation, app provisioning, and device setup.
These tools are part of the identity & access management systems category but may not match the for startups filter above. Worth reviewing if the primary options don't fit.
Custom quote · Cloud
CyberArk Identity combines workforce IAM with the leading privileged access management (PAM) platform — the strongest choice when identity and privileged access need to converge.
Device-based · Cloud · Free trial
JumpCloud is positioned here as a endpoint management software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Open source · Cloud / On-prem · Free trial
Keycloak is the dominant open-source IAM — full SSO, MFA, identity federation, and user management — but self-hosted operational burden is the primary cost that commercial alternatives eliminate.
Per-user · Cloud · Free trial
Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) is the most cost-effective enterprise IAM for Microsoft-centric environments — included in M365 — but capabilities outside the Microsoft ecosystem lag behind Okta.
Per-user · Cloud · Free trial
Okta is the market leader in cloud identity — strongest SSO and lifecycle management for multi-cloud, multi-SaaS environments — but per-user pricing with add-on modules makes total cost hard to predict.
Custom quote · Cloud / On-prem
One Identity (Quest Software) covers IAM, IGA, and PAM in a single vendor portfolio — strongest for organizations that want to consolidate identity vendors — but integration between products can feel fragmented.
Per-user · Cloud · Free trial
OneLogin (now One Identity by Quest) offers competitive SSO and MFA at lower per-user pricing than Okta — but the Quest acquisition has slowed product development and created roadmap uncertainty.
Custom quote · Cloud · Free trial
PingOne (Ping Identity) is strongest for large enterprises with hybrid identity requirements — on-premises AD integration with cloud SSO — but complexity and pricing position it as an enterprise-only option.
Custom quote · Cloud
RSA ID Plus (formerly RSA SecurID) is a legacy MFA platform repositioning toward modern identity — strongest for existing RSA SecurID customers — but new buyers have better options.
Custom quote · Cloud
SailPoint is the leader in identity governance and administration (IGA) — access certification, role mining, and compliance — but its focused on governance, not operational IAM like Okta or Entra ID.
Buy. Building auth is the most common startup security mistake. Auth0 (free for 7,500 MAU), Clerk, or Firebase Auth handle login, MFA, social login, and session management. The engineering time to build and maintain auth exceeds Auth0's cost within months.
Google Workspace (if Google-first) or M365 (if Microsoft-first) — both include SSO and MFA. Add JumpCloud when you need cross-platform device management alongside identity. Add Okta only when you have 10+ SaaS apps needing SSO.
Clerk for simpler integration and better developer experience in React/Next.js apps. Auth0 for complex auth flows (enterprise SSO, organizations, machine-to-machine). Clerk is faster to implement. Auth0 is more flexible at scale.
