Comparison

Descope vs Zitadel

On the evidence we track, Descope leads this comparison with a composite score of 85/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
★Descope85
Zitadel56
Score
vioscaleAI score
Descope85 / 100medium · 71%
Zitadel56 / 100low · 43%
Pricing
Free tier
Descope✓
Zitadel✓
Model
Descopefreemium
Zitadelfreemium
Price level
Descopelow
Zitadelhigh
Starting price
Descope–
Zitadel$100
Transparent
Descope✗
Zitadel✓
Integrations
Count
Descope50
Zitadel3
Security
Disclosure policy
Descope✓
Zitadel✓
Fedramp
Descope✓
Zitadel–
Gdpr
Descope✓
Zitadel✓
Hipaa
Descope✓
Zitadel–
Iso27001
Descope✓
Zitadel–
Pci
Descope✓
Zitadel–
Soc2
Descope✓
Zitadel–
Trust center
Reliability
Sla pct
Descope99.99
Zitadel99.5
Status page
Descope✓
Zitadel✓
Adoption
Dependent repos
Descope–
Zitadel0
Github stars
Descope–
Zitadel15,201
Activity
Commits last 30d
Descope–
Zitadel32
Release
Cadence days
Descope–
Zitadel3
History
Descope–
Zitadel20 items
License
Spdx
Descope–
ZitadelAGPL-3.0
Language
Primary
Descope–
ZitadelGo
Content
Faq
Descope7 items
Zitadel8 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for auth & identity software. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Deployment
Hosting
DescopeCloud only
ZitadelCloud + self-hosted
Methods
Social login
Descope✓
Zitadel✓
Passwordless
Descope✓
Zitadel✓
Passkeys / WebAuthn
Descope✓
Zitadel✓
Multi-factor auth
Descope✓
Zitadel✓
Enterprise
SAML SSO
Descope✓
Zitadel✓
SCIM provisioning
Descope✓
Zitadel✓
B2B / multi-tenancy
Descope✓
Zitadel✓
Standards
OpenID Connect provider
Descope✓
Zitadel✓
Delivery
Hosted UI
DescopeBoth
ZitadelBoth
Access
RBAC
Descope✓
Zitadel✓
Licensing
Self-hostable OSS core
Descope✗
Zitadel✓

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Descope

Leader

A managed identity and access management service that enables businesses to build and customize authentication journeys across applications. Supports passwordless authentication, multi-tenant configurations, role-based access control, and integration with external identity providers.

Independently observed

Zitadel

Zitadel is an identity and access management platform that provides API-first authentication, authorization, and user management. It supports multiple deployment models (cloud and self-hosted), comprehensive authentication methods including passwordless and passkeys, and is designed for B2B multi-tenant applications.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Descope

Leader
HybridFree tier

Usage-based pricing with Monthly Active Consents (MAC), Monthly Active Tokens (MATK), and M2M Exchanges. Free tier available.

  • Free ForeverFree
  • Pro-
as of verify ↗

Zitadel

from $100/moHybridFree tier

Free plan, Pro from $100/month, Enterprise custom pricing

  • FreeFree
    • All security features
    • Data Residency: EU, US, Switzerland, Australia
    • Store unlimited Users
    • Unlimited Organizations
    • 100 Daily Active Users
    • +3 more
  • Pro$100/month
    • Everything in Free
    • 25,000 Daily Active Users per month included
    • 3 identity providers included
    • Custom domain included
    • 99.5% uptime guarantee
    • +1 more
  • EnterpriseContact sales
    • Cloud or own infrastructure
    • Unlimited Daily Active Users
    • Custom Support SLA
    • Technical Account Manager
    • Volume discounts
    • +4 more
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Descope✓
Zitadel✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Descope✓
Zitadel✓
Self-hosted
Descope✗
Zitadel✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

In common (1)
  • OpenID Connect

Descope

Leader
23 total - 22 not shared
  • Vercel
  • OpenAI
  • Google Calendar
  • Facebook
  • MCP servers
  • Email/SMS platforms
  • CRM platforms
  • CDP platforms
  • Audit solutions
  • Fraud detection systems
  • SAML
  • Fingerprint
  • Sardine
  • Forter
  • Incode
  • Amazon Rekognition
  • Cloudflare
  • reCAPTCHA
  • Turnstile
  • AbuseIPDB
  • Box
  • Vercel AI SDK
Independently observed

Zitadel

12 total - 11 not shared
  • Google
  • Microsoft
  • GitHub
  • LDAP
  • SAML 2.0
  • SCIM 2.0
  • gRPC
  • connectRPC
  • REST API
  • Webhooks
  • Actions
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Descope or Zitadel: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.