# Descope vs Zitadel

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Descope

| Attribute | Descope | Zitadel |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 84.8 (71% (medium)) | 56.1 (43% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | - | 32 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | - | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | - | 15,201 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"Cloud-based identity platform that handles user authentication, single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, and access control through visual flow orchestration. Designed for B2B enterprises and supports passwordless methods, role-based access control, and multi-tenant configurations. It is indexed under Auth & Identity Software.","source":"https://www.descope.com/blog/post/m2m-agentic-identity-pricing-update","question":"What is Descope?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Descope offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans are also available: Free Forever and Pro. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.descope.com/blog/post/m2m-agentic-identity-pricing-update","question":"Is Descope free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Descope supports the web, iOS, Android and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://www.descope.com/blog/post/m2m-agentic-identity-pricing-update","question":"What platforms does Descope support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Descope, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://www.descope.com/blog/post/m2m-agentic-identity-pricing-update","question":"Can Descope be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 22 integrations for Descope, including Vercel, OpenAI, Google Calendar, Facebook, MCP servers, Email/SMS platforms, CRM platforms and CDP platforms, plus 14 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.descope.com/blog/post/m2m-agentic-identity-pricing-update","question":"What does Descope integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA and GDPR for Descope. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Descope not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://www.descope.com/security-compliance","question":"What security certifications does Descope have?","confidence":0.7},{"answer":"Descope is available in Australia and the EU. Its primary markets are the United States, the EU and Australia.","source":"https://www.descope.com/blog/post/m2m-agentic-identity-pricing-update","question":"Where is Descope available?","confidence":0.75}]` | `[{"answer":"An open-source identity platform providing multi-tenant architecture with support for passwordless authentication, social logins, multi-factor authentication, single sign-on, and enterprise integrations via standardized protocols like OIDC, SAML, and SCIM. It is indexed under Auth & Identity Software.","source":"https://zitadel.com/pricing","question":"What is Zitadel?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Zitadel is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the AGPL-3.0 licence. A commercial or hosted edition starts at $100 per month. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://zitadel.com/pricing","question":"Is Zitadel free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Zitadel. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://zitadel.com/pricing","question":"What platforms does Zitadel support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Zitadel can be deployed cloud / SaaS, hybrid and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://zitadel.com/pricing","question":"Can Zitadel be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 12 integrations for Zitadel, including Google, Microsoft, GitHub, LDAP, SAML 2.0, SCIM 2.0, OpenID Connect and gRPC, plus 4 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://zitadel.com/pricing","question":"What does Zitadel integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed GDPR for Zitadel. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Zitadel not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://zitadel.com/pricing/detail","question":"What security certifications does Zitadel have?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Zitadel is published under the AGPL-3.0 licence, a copyleft licence, so check its terms before embedding it in a closed-source product. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel","question":"Is Zitadel open source?","confidence":0.95},{"answer":"Zitadel is available in the United States, Australia and Switzerland. Its primary markets are the United States, Australia and Switzerland.","source":"https://zitadel.com/pricing","question":"Where is Zitadel available?","confidence":0.75}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | 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. | 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. |
| features.capabilities | `{"mfa":true,"oidc":true,"rbac":true,"hosting":"cloud","saml_sso":true,"hosted_ui":"both","open_source":false,"passwordless":true,"social_login":true,"b2b_multi_tenant":true,"passkeys_webauthn":true,"scim_provisioning":true}` | `{"mfa":true,"oidc":true,"rbac":true,"hosting":"both","saml_sso":true,"hosted_ui":"both","open_source":true,"passwordless":true,"social_login":true,"b2b_multi_tenant":true,"passkeys_webauthn":true,"scim_provisioning":true}` |
| integrations.count | 50 | 3 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Vercel"},{"name":"OpenAI"},{"name":"Google Calendar"},{"name":"Facebook"},{"name":"MCP servers"},{"name":"Email/SMS platforms"},{"name":"CRM platforms"},{"name":"CDP platforms"},{"name":"Audit solutions"},{"name":"Fraud detection systems"},{"name":"OpenID Connect","native":true,"category":"auth","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"SAML","native":true,"category":"auth","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Fingerprint","native":true,"category":"fraud"},{"name":"Sardine","native":true,"category":"fraud"},{"name":"Forter","native":true,"category":"fraud"},{"name":"Incode","native":true,"category":"identity_verification"},{"name":"Amazon Rekognition","native":false,"category":"identity_verification"},{"name":"Cloudflare","native":false,"category":"security"},{"name":"reCAPTCHA","native":false,"category":"security"},{"name":"Turnstile","native":false,"category":"security"},{"name":"AbuseIPDB","native":false,"category":"security"},{"name":"Box","native":false,"category":"document_management"},{"name":"Vercel AI SDK","native":false}]` | `[{"name":"Google"},{"name":"Microsoft"},{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"LDAP"},{"name":"SAML 2.0"},{"name":"SCIM 2.0"},{"name":"OpenID Connect"},{"name":"gRPC"},{"name":"connectRPC"},{"name":"REST API"},{"name":"Webhooks"},{"name":"Actions"}]` |
| language.primary | - | Go |
| license.spdx | - | AGPL-3.0 |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":["US","EU","AU"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":["AU","EU"],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"regional","availableCountries":["US","AU","CH","EU"],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free Forever","summary":"Free tier with M2M and agentic identity essentials","description":"Includes M2M and agentic identity essentials available to all developers","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Pro","contactSales":false}],"summary":"Usage-based pricing with Monthly Active Consents (MAC), Monthly Active Tokens (MATK), and M2M Exchanges. Free tier available.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.descope.com/blog/post/m2m-agentic-identity-pricing-update","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T08:38:03.189Z","billingPeriods":["month"]}` | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"$0/month","features":["All security features","Data Residency: EU, US, Switzerland, Australia","Store unlimited Users","Unlimited Organizations","100 Daily Active Users","Service Users / Agents","3 identity providers","Custom workflows"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"daily_active_users":"100"}},{"free":false,"name":"Pro","summary":"$100/month","features":["Everything in Free","25,000 Daily Active Users per month included","3 identity providers included","Custom domain included","99.5% uptime guarantee","1h response SLO"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":100,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"daily_active_users":"25000"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing","features":["Cloud or own infrastructure","Unlimited Daily Active Users","Custom Support SLA","Technical Account Manager","Volume discounts","Commercial license","Custom Security Questionnaires","99.99% uptime guarantee","Custom contract/MSA"],"contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"daily_active_users":"Unlimited"}}],"summary":"Free plan, Pro from $100/month, Enterprise custom pricing","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://zitadel.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-10-05T10:09:39.266Z","startingPrice":{"amount":100,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | low | high |
| pricing.starting_price | - | `{"amount":100,"currency":"USD"}` |
| pricing.transparent | no | yes |
| release.cadence_days | - | 3 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.19.4","date":"2026-10-01T13:03:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.19.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.19.3","date":"2026-09-29T16:16:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.19.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.19.2","date":"2026-09-28T06:27:26Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.19.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.19.1","date":"2026-09-23T16:33:07Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.19.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.19.0","date":"2026-09-23T05:36:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.19.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.18.0","date":"2026-09-21T11:56:42Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.18.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.17.3","date":"2026-09-04T06:44:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.17.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.17.2","date":"2026-08-31T09:04:57Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.17.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.17.1","date":"2026-08-14T06:41:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.17.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v3.4.15","date":"2026-08-14T07:59:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.4.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.17.0","date":"2026-08-12T08:37:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.17.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.16.3","date":"2026-08-07T17:10:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.16.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.16.2","date":"2026-07-29T05:55:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.16.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v3.4.14","date":"2026-07-29T07:30:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.4.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.16.1","date":"2026-07-17T08:44:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.16.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v3.4.13","date":"2026-07-17T09:07:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.4.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.16.0","date":"2026-07-10T05:56:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.16.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.15.3","date":"2026-06-22T11:46:24Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.15.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.15.2","date":"2026-06-17T04:21:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.15.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v3.4.12","date":"2026-06-17T07:09:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.4.12"}]` |
| reliability.sla_pct | 99.99 | 99.5 |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.certifications | `[{"name":"SOC 2 Type II","status":"active"},{"name":"ISO 27001","status":"active"},{"name":"FedRAMP High","status":"active"},{"name":"CSA STAR Level 2","status":"active"},{"name":"PCI DSS","status":"active"}]` | `[{"name":"OpenID Connect certified","status":"active"}]` |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.fedramp | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | yes |
| security.hipaa | yes | - |
| security.iso27001 | yes | - |
| security.pci | yes | - |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |
| security.trust_center | https://www.descope.com/security-compliance | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | - | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=helm&package_name=zitadel%2Fzitadel&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Auth & Identity Software)

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

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T22:13:03.595Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*