Seamless Auth vs Okta
Okta Workforce Identity signs employees in to the apps they use at work, with a directory, lifecycle and policy around it. Seamless Auth is an open source, passwordless-only auth server for the apps you build. Its workforce features are planned, not shipped.
Read the full comparisonChoose Okta if
- You need SSO into a large catalog of SaaS apps, including SAML apps.
- You need a workforce directory fed from HR or Active Directory.
- You need SCIM provisioning, deprovisioning and lifecycle. Seamless Auth plans these for v2.0.
- You need sign-in policies, device assurance, governance or privileged access.
- You need desktop MFA, RADIUS or LDAP access.
- You need a vendor’s compliance reports, such as FedRAMP or SOC 2.
Choose Seamless Auth if
- Users and sessions must stay inside your own boundary. Okta documents no self-hosted deployment of its service.
- You want the auth server, OpenID Provider, adapters, SDKs, dashboard and CLI under Apache-2.0.
- You want passkeys as the default, with no password flow at all.
- You do not want a per-user contract with an annual minimum.
- You want your audit trail in your own database, for as long as you keep it.
- What you need is sign-in for an app your team builds, or OIDC sign-in for some internal apps.
At a glance
| Feature | Seamless Auth | Okta |
|---|---|---|
| License | Apache-2.0 for the server, OpenID Provider, SDKs, dashboard and CLI | Commercial cloud service, sold as suites |
| Hosting | Self-host (Docker, Postgres) or Seamless Auth managed hosting | Operated by Okta, with agents you install for AD, LDAP and RADIUS |
| Passwords | No, by design | Yes, optional or disabled per group |
| SSO into other apps | OpenID Connect, through the OpenID Provider (not certified) | SAML, OIDC, SWA and WS-Federation; a large integration catalog |
| SAML identity provider, directory sync, lifecycle | Planned for v2.0, not shipped | Yes |
| Audit log retention | Your own Postgres, hash-chained | 90 days in the System Log |
This summary covers Okta Workforce Identity. For Okta Customer Identity and Auth0, see the Auth0 comparison.
Sources and the full table
The docs page has the full feature table, the architecture difference, when not to use Seamless Auth, and a source for every Okta detail with the date it was checked.
Seamless Auth vs Okta in the docs →What it costs
Prices change, so this site does not repeat them. Any published prices are in the docs comparison with their sources and dates, and the cost calculator puts Auth0 and Okta Customer Identity list prices next to the cost of running Seamless Auth yourself.
Open the cost calculator →