As a result of Okta's acquisition of Auth0, many developers, product managers, and forward-thinking marketers are searching for alternatives to legacy security systems for identity management and authorization solutions that do not lock them into a specific vendor. Creating customer value through modern identity management is an essential aspect of any business, so finding the perfect solution for the task is vital.
Ory is the one solution that changes the game altogether.
Ory is an open-source identity platform that offers advanced features such as identity management, permissions, access control, and authorization standards such as OAuth2 and OpenID Connect. This makes Ory an ideal choice for businesses looking for a powerful, yet cost-effective solution for first-party data that complies with data regulatory requirements around consent and personal information (PII), such as GDPR. Ory is also a global system, making it a good choice for companies with operations in multiple countries.
Migrating from any proprietary aged stack such as Auth0 is challenging. Ory has the experience and comprehensive documentation explaining how to migrate successfully.
This article compares Auth0 and Ory while providing a step-by-step guide on how to migrate from Auth0 to Ory. After finishing this article, you can start reaping the benefits of the powerful Ory platform as soon as possible.
Why migrate to Ory from Auth0?
At first glance, Ory and Auth0 may seem similar. Both provide out-of-the-box authentication and authorization, allowing users to focus on developing their products and growing their businesses. Both are built on open standards and are API-centric, with comprehensive documentation and a developer-focused approach. Additionally, both Ory and Auth0 support their developer community with active chats and responsive community teams.
However, there are key differences between Ory and Auth0:
Cost
One of the most significant differences between the two is the total cost of ownership. Ory is significantly less expensive than Auth0, costing on average 50% less. Additionally, Ory's pricing model is fairer at scale and does not increase the price based on metrics like the number of social sign-in providers, making it a more cost-effective choice for growing businesses. Talk to us and reduce your bill by half!
Modularity
Another important difference between the two is the level of architectural modularity. Ory is more modular than Auth0, which allows for more flexibility and customization. With Ory, you build your own login and registration experience, which Auth0 makes cumbersome. Ory gives you full control over the user experience and enables you to create a seamless and secure login flow that aligns with your organization's specific needs and branding. Additionally, Ory's modularity allows for easy integration with other systems and technologies, making it possible to create a cohesive and streamlined user experience across entire customer-facing organizations.
Integration
Integration is another area where Ory excels. While Auth0 provides libraries for OAuth2 and OpenID Connect integration, these can be difficult to use, especially in edge cases. Ory, on the other hand, has a more web-focused architecture, which works better with web and mobile applications, making it easier and more secure to use.
Fine-grained authorization
Ory offers advanced, fine-grained permissions capabilities that are built into the platform out of the box. These permissions are based on the highly scalable Google Zanzibar model, which is designed to handle large-scale user access control and authorization. In contrast, Auth0 is currently working on a similar solution, still in the baby phase, and it is unclear how it will be priced. This means that customers looking to implement this feature in Auth0 will have to wait for the beta to end and the pricing model to be announced before they can begin evaluation. With Ory, fine-grained permissions are already available, and the pricing model is transparent, allowing customers to make informed decisions about their identity management solutions.
Open source
Ory is an open-source solution for identity management. The software that powers Ory Network is built with the same code that can be found on GitHub, with full transparency and control over the technology that is protecting your users' identities. By leveraging the power of open source, Ory can provide a flexible enterprise-grade solution that is not only highly customizable but also stays on the cutting edge of identity management technology. The source code is open to the public, the community contributes to the project, and a large community of developers and security experts constantly improves and reviews the code base. This ensures that Ory is constantly improving and evolving to meet the needs of its users.
In summary, Ory offers powerful and flexible identity management that includes advanced features such as fine-grained permissions, global deployment, and a cloud-native architecture. Ory is more secure and easier to use for web and mobile applications. With Ory, you can build your own login and registration experience with advanced, fine-grained permissions capabilities built-in. Ory is more affordable than Auth0 with fairer pricing at scale making Ory the open and cost-effective choice for growing businesses.
Ory Network or Self-Hosted?
The Ory Network is a fully-managed service that handles the deployment, maintenance, and scaling of Ory software. Stop worrying about managing the infrastructure and, with Ory, focus instead on integrating the identity management functionality into your application. In addition to its other features, Ory Network offers compliance and advanced security options as standard. For more information, please refer to the Ory Network security overview.
The core Ory software is open source. You can deploy Ory services on any infrastructure or tech stack, such as Kubernetes or AWS. This gives Ory's customers more flexibility and control over the software, but also adds complexity with a higher level of deployment and maintenance work.
While both options provide an identity management solution, using the Ory Network is recommended for most leading companies, as it takes care of the complexity of deployment and maintenance. Ory Network allows you to focus on integrating identity management functionality into any application.
Migration Guide
If you're thinking about migrating from Auth0 to Ory, a good first step is to speak with us about your specific use case. Our team of experts can help you to understand the benefits of migrating to Ory and guide you through the process. Schedule a call with us now!
Once your use case is discussed and you've decided to proceed with the migration, the next step is to prepare for the migration. This includes reviewing your current Auth0 configuration and identifying any customizations or specific requirements that need to be taken into account during the migration.
Next, you'll need to create a free Ory Developer account and configure it to match your Auth0 configuration. This includes customizing the user-facing UIs, creating a permission model, configuring OIDC providers, and passwordless login options.
Now you can start migrating your users, which is typically done by exporting your user data from Auth0, and importing the information into Ory. Please consult the Migrate from Auth0 to Ory documentation for details on how to migrate your user identities.
Finally, you'll need to update your application to use Ory for authentication and authorization. This includes updating your application's configuration to point to your Ory Network project and making any necessary changes to your application code to use the Ory SDK or API.
The OAuth2 configuration migration is straightforward, as both platforms support standard OAuth2 and OpenID Connect. This means that the process of migrating your OAuth2 configuration can be completed smoothly and quickly.
The developer documentation provided will be a great help for the process, it is also recommended that you consult with Ory's team of friendly experts to ensure a smooth and successful migration.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Ory is a powerful and flexible identity management solution that offers advanced features and services at a more affordable price point than Auth0. With its fair pricing model, modular design, and open-source nature, Ory is an attractive choice for businesses looking for a cost-effective solution that can be easily integrated and customized to fit their specific needs. Ory is the global leader in innovative open-source technology solutions for zero trust security with hundreds of millions of users and billions of transactions daily.
Ory is dedicated to helping all customers succeed. With a massive community of over 3000 active members, circa 40,000 GitHub stars, and billions of daily authorizations, you can be sure that you're getting a solution that is backed, tested and used by a dedicated and passionate community. Ory is here to help you through the migration process and provide you with the support you need to make the transition as smooth and successful as possible.