Observed Signal · Jul 3, 2026 · Pricing Analysis · Source: DEV Community · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
Identity Provider (IdP) & SSO Market: SSO tax: SAML costs at Auth0, WorkOS, Clerk
This pricing analysis compares SAML/SCIM and platform costs across Authagonal, Clerk, WorkOS and Auth0 using each vendor's published June 2026 rates. The author models three customer-size scenarios (1k, 10k, 50k MAU) and shows how per-connection SAML and SCIM meters — the "SSO tax" — can add thousands annually. WorkOS charges roughly $125/month per SAML connection (plus ~$125 for SCIM), producing large recurring bills in the examples. Clerk offers one free connection then about $75/month per additional connection with SCIM included. Auth0 bundles one enterprise connection and SCIM on its Free plan up to 25k MAU but moves production/multi-connection use to a quote-only B2B tier. Authagonal's inclusive MAU-tiered pricing yields substantially lower all-in bills in the scenarios presented. The piece also notes alternative vendor models (Okta, Duende) and highlights OAuth client caps as a secondary meter.
Highlights recurring SSO/SCIM pricing differences that materially affect B2B SaaS costs and vendor selection but does not constitute an industry-shifting platform policy or major-platform technical change.
Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Analysis uses vendors' published June 2026 pricing to model three scenarios at ~1k, ~10k and ~50k MAU.
- WorkOS charges about $125/month per SAML connection plus ~ $125/month for SCIM, making SSO+SCIM the primary bill driver in the examples.
- Clerk offers a $25/mo plan with the first SSO connection free, then approximately $75/month per additional connection and SCIM included with a connection.
- Auth0 includes one enterprise connection, self-service SSO, and SCIM in its Free plan up to 25,000 MAU, but routes production or multi-connection use to a quote-only B2B track.
- In the 50k MAU scenario the article compares Authagonal's all-in annual bill ($3,729) to WorkOS's SSO+SCIM annual cost ($30,000), illustrating the author's 'SSO tax' point.
Connected Companies & Entities
3 Entities mappedAuth0
Developer-first cloud identity platform for apps and APIs.
“Auth0 now bundles one enterprise connection, SSO, and SCIM into its Free plan, free up to 25,000 MAU; beyond that it routes production/multi...”
Okta
Cloud identity and access management software for enterprises.
“Okta licenses SSO per user, ~$2/user à la carte, scaling with the humans behind each connection rather than the connection count....”
WorkOS
Developer APIs for enterprise-ready SaaS features.
“WorkOS bills about $125/mo per SSO connection (plus another ~$125 for SCIM); its whole bill in examples is the per-connection tax....”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
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