Single Sign-On (SSO) has become a SaaS essential. The popular authentication method allows companies to use trusted third-parties to authenticate users easily. SSO providers handle all authentication activities and save the business valuable development time since no proprietary authentication system is required. Interested in implementing a SSO solution? We have shortlisted the top options you must consider in 2022.

How Do Single Sign-On Solutions Work?

Firstly, let’s look at things from the perspective of the end-user. It’s pretty straightforward. Once the user has logged into the application successfully, it catches on all applications using exactly the same single sign-on (SSO) tool. Furthermore, SSO tools can be used with multiple protocols – Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML), OpenID Connect, and more.

As shown in the illustration above, the initial action is checking for SSO cookies. When it’s a first time login, there is no SSO cookie. The user then utilizes one of the predefined login methods, following which an SSO cookie (with an expiry date) is created for future use. The user can then proceed to using the application with minimal fuss.

Main benefits of using SSO platforms include:

• Added ease of use for end-users, which enhances customer satisfaction
• Less stress on developers to create new authentication solutions
• Improved security and compliance capabilities
• A seamless experience that is easy to integrate
• Better and easier to manage, especially while scaling up fast

Top 10 Single Sign-On Solutions for 2022

Before we closely inspect the best SSO solutions you can get today, please note that this list primarily includes Service Provider Initiated (SP-initiated) tools. It’s also not exhaustive in any way or form. We invite you to add your own recommendations in the comments section below or share your personal experience with the ones we are featuring here.

#1 – Okta

This popular identity management vendor has been providing a solid cloud-based SSO solution for years now.  Why is Okta so popular? Firstly, it has the ability to integrate all end-user web and mobile apps via their own IdP. The password reset option on offer is fully self-served. However, end-users have to perform a wide range of personalization and setup actions while getting started.

Pros: Good integration capabilities, Strong security
Cons: Costs add up quickly while scaling up fast, Learning curve
Pricing: $2/month/user (Basic), $8/month/user (Ent.) $1500 minimum

#2 – Auth0

Founded in 2013, Auth0 is now a trusted and dependable authentication solution for SaaS. The company is boasting over 100 million successful logins on a daily basis, a feat that is hard to argue with. The company has a strong B2C client portfolio (Siemens, Gymshark, Toast, WeTransfer) thanks to its strong B2C auth solution with strong social SSO functionality.

Pros: Multiple social login options, Intuitive dashboard, Good documentation 
Cons: Escalating pricing options, Iffy customer support, Better for B2C
Pricing: $130/month/3 SSO connections, up to 7000 MAU, up to 50 organizations only, M2M tokens adds to the pricing

#3 – Frontegg

Scaling up fast and need SSO? Frontegg provides an SSO solution for B2B companies in a customer-facing approach. The platform is fully enterprise-ready – integration with enterprise IDPs, SAML and OIDC protocols, and includes a customer-facing including Social SSO – all available with a fully embeddable login box. As evident in the screenshot below, it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3.

Every integration made by the developers is directly reflected to the end-users, who don’t need to engage with support to adopt them. This is one of the biggest advantages of using this solution. Besides that, Frontegg also provides granular security controls such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) with granular roles and permissions, although social integration functionality is still quite lackluster.

Pros: Easy SSO integration, Self Served, Intuitive UI, Strong support, Multi tenant, Customizable customer-facing UI, Granular security, Ideal for B2B
Cons: Relatively new company, Limited social logins right now
Pricing: Free for up to 10 tenants, Growth package up to 50 tenants for $499/month

#4 – OneLogin

OneLogin Secure is another compelling SSO offering that ticks all the right boxes and allows the creation of versatile SaaS apps. A unique selling point is the OneLogin integration across the users’ endpoint devices . They can also access multiple application logins, which is becoming the norm across most use-cases today. There is also a useful shared login feature for teams.

Pros: Shared logins, Strong user experience, Easy to use, Good support
Cons: Integration issues, Average API support, Iffy customization
Pricing: $2/month/user (Basic), $4/month/user (Advanced Directory)

#5 – PingIdentity

With marketing efforts featuring Terry Crews, what can possibly go wrong? PING is offering comprehensive SSO capabilities to banks, hospitals, and other operations. This solution can be deployed in the cloud or on-prem if needed. The platform is great for enterprise, as it supports integrations with dozens of apps, protocols, and platforms with pre-build provisioners and adapters.

Pros: Enterprise ready, Requires minimal training, Good customer support
Cons: Can be buggy at times for end-users, Complicated troubleshooting 
Pricing: $3/month/user (SSO and MFA, 30-day free trial) – We must mention that the pricing details not published on the company website 

#6 – WorkOS

WorkOS was founded just 3 years ago in 2018 and is already being recommended by many developers and companies. While online reviews and updates are scarce at this point, the company is already boasting clients like WebFlow, Eden, and AirBase. Clients can now access automatically created audit trails (SIEM) with SCIM provisioning and HRIS integration with Workday, Gusto, and more.

Pros: Strong integration capabilities, Attractive pricing, Fast onboarding
Cons: A very new company with all the risks that come with it
Pricing: $49/month/tenant

#7 – SecureAuth

Although SecureAuth is primarily an auth provider, its SSO offering is a pretty solid internal one for enterprise and SMB use. This cloud-based SSO solution offers a wide range of analytics and administration features to get actionable insights that can eventually improve the SaaS product quality. You also get integrated adaptive authentication for added peace of mind and security. 

Pros: Support for legacy systems, Emphasis on security
Cons: Small community, Support can be slow at times, Requires technical knowhow
Pricing: $1/month/user (5 apps/resources only), $3/month/user (unlimited)

Related: Top 10 PLG Tools for Your App

#8 – LoginRadius

LoginRadius has been named as Global Consumer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) Leader by Forrester, Kuppinger Cole, and Gartner for a reason. Besides identity management and account protection features, you also get a versatile Single Sign-On (SSO) solution that is also user-friendly and includes end-to-end user management via a centralized dashboard.  

Pros: Quick Implementation, Easy-to-Use, Wide range of open source SDKs
Cons: Lack of biometric authentication, Limited support
Pricing: $7/month (Developer), $39/month (Developer Pro), No SSO in Free version

#9 – FusionAuth

FusionAuth is another popular authentication and user management provider for the enterprise. Besides Single Sign-On and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) capabilities, customers also get advanced features like audit logs, brute force detection, and  entity management. Multi-tenancy requirements are also addressed with flexible architecture and diversified hosting options.

Pros: Flexible pricing options, Customizable,  Good customer support
Cons: Complicated user interface, CI/CD issues, Average documentation
Pricing: Prices vary based on self-hosted services and Business Cloud options

#10 – Keycloak

Keycloak is an open source identity and access management solution that is helping SaaS businesses jump start their user management operations. Besides Single Sign-On (SSO) capabilities, adopters also get to enjoy features like Social Logins, Identity Brokering, and clustering. There is also support for all leading protocols like ​​OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0, and SAML 2.0.

Pros: Good documentation, Multiple themes and customization options
Cons: Gear towards advanced users, Some migration issues have been reported
Pricing: Contact Keycloak to get a personalized offer for your specific use case

Frontegg: Enabling The Customer-Facing Approach for B2B Setups

Firstly, it’s quite evident that anything you develop today has to be PLG-centric. With this massive shift in user behavior, your Single Sign-On solution should ideally be self-served without overwhelming support teams with feature requests. This bottom-up shift will allow your devs to focus more on innovation and additional R&D efforts. A win-win situation.

Also, you need a SSO solution that can be implemented fast. With most Single Sign-On solutions today, end-users will face roadblocks in one way or another, creating a need for support intervention. Frontegg solves this problem with its robust, versatile, and self-served solution, which can be implemented and pushed out with zero friction.

Frontegg stands out from the (great) competition with its powerful login box that can be customized for literally any use-case, with MFA implementation if needed. But it doesn’t end there. You also get a comprehensive admin layer portal, where you can manage all parameters and roles with just a few clicks. It’s developer-first and proactive solution.

Looking for a strong and future-proof SSO flow? Self-service and Product-Led Growth should be your top priority today. Pick wisely.

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