Descope vs FusionAuth
Descope
descope.comFusionAuth
fusionauth.ioSide by side
| Figure | Descope | FusionAuth |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $249/mo | $162/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 8 |
| Spec score · Multi-Factor Authentication APIs | 8.7 (#4) | 9.3 (#2) |
| Spec score · Identity and Access Management Software | 8.6 (#8) | 9.2 (#1) |
| Spec score · Passkey Authentication Software | 8.6 (#10) | 9.2 (#4) |
| Spec score · Authentication Software | 8.5 (#6) | 9.2 (#2) |
| Spec score · Single Sign-On Software | 8.6 (#7) | 9.3 (#1) |
| Spec score · Customer Identity and Access Management Software | 8.7 (#6) | 9.3 (#3) |
| Spec score · OAuth Server Software | 8.5 (#10) | 9.1 (#2) |
| Spec score · Passwordless Authentication Software | 8.5 (#9) | 9.2 (#3) |
| Authentication | Supported authentication methods include magic links, passkeys, social login, one-time passwords, SSO, biometrics, MFA, authenticator apps and passwords. | It supports username/password login, identity providers, passkeys, and one-time passwords. |
| Headquarters | Los Altos, California, United States | United States |
| Integrations | Descope documents more than 50 third-party connectors for CRM, identity verification, fraud prevention and audit use cases. | Identity-provider integrations include Apple, Facebook, Google, Twitter and arbitrary OIDC or SAML v2 providers, with connectors, plugins and monitoring integrations also available. |
| Security certifications | Descope states that it is SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, FedRAMP High, CSA STAR Level 2 and PCI DSS certified or authorized, and GDPR and HIPAA compliant. | FusionAuth reports SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001 compliance and provides reports through its trust center for eligible customers. |
| Support | The Free Forever plan includes community support and a 99% SLA; Pro includes web and email support and a 99.99% SLA; Growth includes a 99.99% SLA. | Community support is provided through forums, Slack, and GitHub; Essentials includes email support with a 24 to 48 hour business-hours response time, and Enterprise includes 24/7 email and phone support. |
Plans
Descope
- Free ForeverFree
- Pro$249 a month
- Growth$799 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
FusionAuth
- CommunityFree
- CommunityFree
- Starter$162 a month
- Starter$162 a month
- Enterprise$2,970 a month
- Enterprise$2,970 a month
- Essentials$2,970 a month
- Essentials$2,970 a month
In their own words
Descope
Descope is a customer and agentic identity platform for authentication, user management, authorization and identity journeys. Developers can use Descope Flows to build login screens and authentication journeys visually, without writing code. Authentication options include magic links, passkeys, social login, one-time passwords, SSO, biometrics, MFA, authenticator apps and passwords. The platform provides client, mobile and backend SDKs, plus REST APIs for custom implementations; Descope says its SDKs are open source. Listed framework and language integrations include React, Next.js, Vue.js, JavaScript, Angular, Python, Node.js, Java,.NET, Go, PHP, Ruby, Kotlin, Swift, React Native and Flutter. Native mobile SDKs support Swift iOS, Kotlin Android, Flutter and React Native apps. Descope documents more than 50 third-party connectors for CRM, identity verification, fraud prevention and audit use cases. The Free Forever plan costs nothing and includes 7,500 MAUs, 10 monthly active tenants and 3 SSO connections. Pro costs $249 a month, billed annually; Growth costs $799 a month, billed annually.
FusionAuth
FusionAuth is a Customer Identity and Access Management server for authentication, authorization, and user management. It supports username and password login, passkeys, one-time passwords, and external identity providers, including Apple, Facebook, Google, and Twitter. It implements OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, and SAML v2. Authorization includes role-based access across users, roles, groups, applications, and entities, plus fine-grained authorization integration. Teams can customize pages and messages and use lambda functions and webhooks. It can run locally, on-premises, in private or air-gapped cloud environments, or as a managed FusionAuth Cloud instance. The free Community Edition is self-hosted and unlimited, with no trial clock. Starter costs $162 a month billed annually and includes one connector and 100 machine-to-machine entities; Essentials and Enterprise cost $2,970 a month billed annually. FusionAuth supports Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows, web, and API deployments.