Authentik vs Zitadel.
Last verified 2026-05-07
When Authentik wins
- Authentik has auth: push mfa; Zitadel does not
- Authentik has authz: abac; Zitadel does partially
When Zitadel wins
- Zitadel has SOC 2 Type II; Authentik does not
- Zitadel has ISO 27001; Authentik does not
- Zitadel has auth: sms otp; Authentik does not
- Zitadel has user mgmt: progressive profiling; Authentik does partially
- Zitadel has DX: graphql api; Authentik does not
- Zitadel has security: pii minimization; Authentik does partially
Both win
- Both support WebAuthn passkeys natively
- Both support social login at scale
Pricing comparison
| MAU band | Authentik | Zitadel |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 MAU | $200/mo | $100/mo |
| 100,000 MAU | $600/mo | $600/mo |
| 500,000 MAU | $1,800/mo | $2,400/mo |
| 1,000,000 MAU | $3,500/mo | $4,500/mo |
Side-by-side capability matrix
| Capability | Authentik | Zitadel |
|---|---|---|
| Password authentication | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Social login | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Magic links | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| SMS OTP | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
| Email OTP | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| TOTP (authenticator app) | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Push MFA | ✓ Yes | ✕ No |
| WebAuthn / passkeys | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Biometric | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Hardware security keys | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| SAML SSO | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| OIDC SSO | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| OAuth 2.0 SSO | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Enterprise federation | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Passwordless-only flows | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Adaptive MFA | ~ Partial | ~ Partial |
| Step-up auth | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Capability | Authentik | Zitadel |
|---|---|---|
| RBAC | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| ABAC | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| ReBAC | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| FGA engine | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| API authorization | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Fine-grained permissions | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Capability | Authentik | Zitadel |
|---|---|---|
| Self-service registration | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Progressive profiling | ~ Partial | ✓ Yes |
| Self-service account | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Bulk user import | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Admin user search | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Custom user metadata | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Organizations / tenants | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Multi-tenancy | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Capability | Authentik | Zitadel |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| GraphQL API | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
| SDKs | 4 listed | 6 listed |
| CLI | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Terraform provider | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Local emulator | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Extension model | Flow stages (configurable) + Python policy expressions | Actions (custom code) + Event-driven webhooks |
| Capability | Authentik | Zitadel |
|---|---|---|
| Bot detection | ✕ No | ~ Partial |
| Breached password detection | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Brute-force protection | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Anomaly detection | ~ Partial | ~ Partial |
| Log streams | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Audit logs | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| GDPR data export | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| PII minimization | ~ Partial | ✓ Yes |
| Post-quantum roadmap | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Capability | Authentik | Zitadel |
|---|---|---|
| MCP support | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| OAuth 2.1 | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Dynamic client registration | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Agent vs human token separation | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Web Bot Auth | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Capability | Authentik | Zitadel |
|---|---|---|
| SOC 2 Type II | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
| ISO 27001 | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
| ISO 27018 | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| HIPAA | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| PCI DSS | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| GDPR | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| CCPA | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| FedRAMP | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| EU data residency | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Capability | Authentik | Zitadel |
|---|---|---|
| Consent management | ~ Partial | ~ Partial |
| Preference center | ~ Partial | ~ Partial |
| Purpose-specific consent | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Integrates with CMPs | n/a | n/a |
FAQ
- How does Authentik compare to Zitadel on pricing?
- Authentik prices on tiered-mau; Zitadel prices on tiered-mau. See the pricing comparison table on this page for our editorial estimates at 10k / 100k / 500k / 1M MAU using the standard methodology assumptions.
- Should I switch from Authentik to Zitadel?
- Switching is a 60–90 day exercise in either direction once SDK rewrites and hooks/Actions migration are accounted for. If your team is hitting cost or feature ceilings on Authentik, evaluate Zitadel on the specific axes flagged in the "When Zitadel wins" list. If you're operating well within Authentik, the switching cost rarely pays back.
- Do Authentik and Zitadel both support passkeys?
- Both Authentik and Zitadel support WebAuthn passkeys natively per public documentation. Adoption rates depend on orchestration quality (device-aware prompting, conditional UI), not raw protocol support, see the passwordless guide for the orchestration question.
This comparison is auto-generated from the underlying capability matrix and pricing data on each vendor's profile. Editorial verdict lists below are seeded heuristically from the matrix diff; a maintainer review refines them before the page goes public.