Auth0 is widely used, well-documented, and genuinely excellent — but for indie developers it has two recurring problems: it gets expensive fast (the free tier caps at 7,500 MAUs), and it's a US-hosted service, which means EU user data flows through Okta's US infrastructure.
If you're building for European users, or you simply want authentication that doesn't double your SaaS bill once you get traction, here's what's actually available in 2026.
What you're replacing
A typical Auth0 setup gives you:
- Email/password login
- Social OAuth (Google, GitHub, Apple…)
- Passwordless / magic link
- MFA
- Machine-to-machine tokens (client credentials)
- User management dashboard
- Customisable login UI (Universal Login)
Your replacement needs to hit most of these without requiring you to become a security engineer.
EU-based Auth0 alternatives
Keycloak (self-hosted, open source)
Keycloak is the enterprise-grade open-source identity provider from Red Hat. It supports OAuth 2.0, OIDC, SAML, social login, MFA, fine-grained permissions, and a full admin UI. Run it on any EU VPS.
The downside: Keycloak has a steep learning curve and requires a JVM runtime. Expect an hour or two of setup for a basic deployment, and real effort to tune it for production.
Best for: teams who need enterprise SSO, SAML federation, or fine-grained authorization policies.
Authentik (self-hosted, open source)
Authentik is the indie-friendly Keycloak alternative. It's written in Python/Django with a clean UI, Docker Compose setup, and support for OAuth2, OIDC, SAML, LDAP, and SCIM. Much easier to operate than Keycloak.
Deploy it on a Hetzner CX22 (€4/month), point your DNS at it, and you have a self-hosted auth server that's entirely under your control.
Best for: solo founders and small teams who want self-hosted auth without the Keycloak complexity.
Supabase Auth (EU region)
If you're already using Supabase as your backend (see our Firebase alternative guide), Supabase Auth is the cleanest option. It handles email/password, magic link, OAuth providers, and phone auth — all wired into your Postgres RLS policies. The Frankfurt region keeps everything EU-resident.
Best for: projects already on Supabase; zero extra infrastructure.
WorkOS (EU region)
WorkOS is a developer-first auth platform focused on enterprise SSO and SCIM provisioning. It's US-founded but offers an EU data residency option. If you need to sell to enterprise customers who require SAML SSO, WorkOS is the easiest path.
Best for: B2B SaaS selling to enterprises that need SSO/SCIM.
Pricing comparison (2026)
| Provider | Free tier | Paid starts at | EU hosted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auth0 | 7,500 MAU | ~$23/month | US (default) |
| Keycloak | Unlimited | Self-host cost | ✅ |
| Authentik | Unlimited | ~€5/month (VPS) | ✅ |
| Supabase Auth | 50,000 MAU | $25/month | ✅ (Frankfurt) |
| WorkOS | 1M MAU (SSO: paid) | $149/month | ✅ (opt-in) |
For most indie developers, Authentik on a €5 Hetzner VPS or Supabase Auth on the Frankfurt region covers 95% of use cases at a fraction of Auth0's price — while keeping data in the EU.
Migration checklist
- Audit your Auth0 usage — which grant types, social providers, and rules/actions do you use?
- Export users — Auth0 lets you export users with bcrypt password hashes for import into Keycloak/Authentik.
- Redirect URIs — update authorized callback URLs; your app code just changes the issuer URL.
- Test social providers — reconfigure OAuth apps with your new auth server's redirect URI.
- Sign a DPA — all EU-hosted providers listed above will sign a GDPR-compliant Data Processing Agreement.
Bottom line
Auth0 is no longer the default choice for EU-focused indie developers. Authentik and Supabase Auth have closed the gap significantly, and self-hosting auth on EU infrastructure is now a realistic option even for solo founders.
Browse all EU security tools and EU developer tools on EU Alts.