When should I pick Supabase over WorkOS?

Pick Supabase if: Your data is already in Supabase or Firebase.

When should I pick WorkOS over Supabase?

Pick WorkOS if: You sell to companies whose IT team will ask for SAML SSO or SCIM.

Which is cheaper, Supabase or WorkOS?

At monthly active users 10k MAU: Supabase $0/mo (Free), WorkOS $0/mo (AuthKit), at list prices.

Which do more makers use for authentication?

Among makers' products we track: Supabase 13, WorkOS 19.

How do Supabase and WorkOS compare in cost as you grow?

Both cost $0 up to 50k MAU; from 100k MAU WorkOS costs less ($0 vs $25); and still does at 1M MAU ($0 vs $2,950). Cheapest usable plan at each scale, at list prices.

Supabase vs WorkOS

Two sides of the authentication decision: bundled with your backend and hosted service. When each fits, what it costs, who moves from one to the other, and what makers who chose it say.

SupabaseBundled with your backendllms.txt MCP CLIIn Bolt, Lovable, v0

WorkOSHosted servicellms.txt MCP

Ask your AI about this, with this page as the source:ChatGPT ↗Claude ↗Perplexity ↗

Which fits you

Choose Supabase if

Your data is already in Supabase or Firebase

Use it whenYou want row-level security in Postgres tied directly to the signed-in user.

Trade-offLess polished UI components than dedicated auth services.

Choose WorkOS if

You sell to companies whose IT team will ask for SAML SSO or SCIM

Use it whenYour first big customer asks for SAML or SCIM.

Trade-offIts free tier covers basic sign-in, but enterprise SSO and directory sync are priced per connection — worth it once a customer pays for them.

At a glance

	Supabase	WorkOS
Used by	13 makers' products	19 makers' products · 11 open-source projects
Cost at default usagemonthly active users 10k MAU	$0/mo Free	$0/mo AuthKit
Downloads	25.4M/wk+96% vs npm	2.9M/wk+109% vs npm
Pricing	Free tier (inactive projects pause); paid plans per project plus usage. · paid from $25/mo	Free user-management tier; enterprise SSO and directory sync priced per connection. · paid from $125 per connection/mo
Free tier	Yes	Yes
Open source	Yes · self-hostable	No
Incidents, 90 daysfrom its status page	50+ (16 major)	24 (11 major)

Cost as you grow

Both cost $0 up to 50k MAU; from 100k MAU WorkOS costs less ($0 vs $25); and still does at 1M MAU ($0 vs $2,950). They're different kinds of tool — bundled with your backend and hosted service — so the prices don't buy the same thing.

WorkOS Supabasex: monthly active users (MAU) · cheapest usable plan at each point, list prices · try your own numbers

The numbers, plan by plan

Monthly active users	Supabase	WorkOS
100	$0 Free	$0 AuthKit
1,000	$0 Free	$0 AuthKit
5,000	$0 Free	$0 AuthKit
10,000	$0 Free	$0 AuthKit
25,000	$0 Free	$0 AuthKit
50,000	$0 Free	$0 AuthKit
100,000	$25 Pro	$0 AuthKit
250,000	$513 Pro	$0 AuthKit
1,000,000	$2,950 Pro	$0 AuthKit

From each vendor's pricing page: Supabase, WorkOS.

What makers say

Makers on using it for authentication, from Product Hunt and Starter Story interviews, each linked to the source. Products with a page of their own and fuller notes first.

On Supabase

Our real-time database and auth backbone. Supabase’s hosted PostgreSQL and Edge Functions give us version control, user management, and lightning-fast reads/writes out of the box.

Snapdeck, the makerSep 2026 ↗

Supabase is CatDoes' backend. We use their database, auth, storage, and real-time features. A platform like CatDoes requires a stable and scalable backend, and Supabase is providing that!

CatDoes, the makerSep 2026 ↗

Supabase makes backend work a breeze with instant APIs and real-time sync. We skip building auth and complex DB setups, letting us launch features faster and focus on what really matters.

Lamatic.ai, the makerSep 2026 ↗

10 more on the Supabase page →

On WorkOS

We use WorkOS for the enterprise identity pieces of Harden, so customers can get the access controls they need without us building that layer from scratch.

Harden, the makerSep 2026 ↗

We chose WorkOS because it's straightforward to integrate and easy to work with. It let us add the features we needed without unnecessary complexity.

Velo, the makerSep 2026 ↗

WorkOS made it extremely easy for us to add auth to our ActionKit playground - we also use them for SSO for our core product as well.

Paragon, the makerSep 2026 ↗

9 more on the WorkOS page →

Loved and watch-outs

Themes that recur in makers' words and Hacker News comments, each linked to what it summarises.

Supabase

Most loved

One project covers Postgres, auth, storage and realtime, so a solo founder ships without stitching vendors or hiring a backend team. PH PH 2 PH 3 PH 4
It is real Postgres with SQL, row-level security and pgvector rather than a proprietary store. PH PH 2 PH 3 PH 4
Open source and self-hostable, which reduces vendor lock-in. PH PH 2 HN PH 3

Watch-outs

Row-level security policies are hard to get right, so many apps end up exposing data publicly. HN HN 2 HN 3 HN 4
Reliability has been shaky for some, and it is not really built for self-hosting in practice. HN
Per-project billing adds up for developers running many small side projects. HN

On Product Hunt: 5.0★, 899 reviews · mentioned most: authentication features, easy setup, PostgreSQL integration · complaints: documentation gaps

WorkOS

Most loved

Enterprise SSO, SAML and SCIM directory sync arrive ready-made, integrated in weeks instead of months, so teams can close enterprise deals. PH HN
Organization separation and B2B features come built in alongside standard social login. PH
The free tier is permissive, and it works well even for B2C apps that skip enterprise features. HN HN 2 HN 3

Watch-outs

When WorkOS has an outage, logins fail for every app that depends on it. HN HN 2
SCIM integrations have broken for customers, and it withholds SAML and SCIM configs and password hashes, creating hard lock-in. HN
Pricing is confusing and gets expensive as enterprise connections grow. HN HN 2

On Product Hunt: 5.0★, 21 reviews · mentioned most: easy authentication integration, quick onboarding, enterprise-level security