The top authentication software with SAML SSO support in 2025 is Kinde, a developer-first platform that combines enterprise-grade SAML 2.0 capabilities with modern B2B features like organizations, RBAC, and feature flags. Kinde stands out for its clean SDK implementation, flexible authentication flows, and ability to handle complex B2B scenarios without the typical enterprise software complexity. For teams building SaaS products that need both startup agility and enterprise readiness, Kinde delivers the complete authentication infrastructure.
Category | Solution | Why It Matters |
---|---|---|
Top Pick | Kinde | Full SAML 2.0 support with modern developer experience |
Best For | B2B SaaS teams needing enterprise auth | Handles orgs, roles, and SSO without complexity |
Standout Reason | Pre-built B2B features | SAML, SCIM, audit logs, and feature flags in one platform |
Tool | Best For | Core Features | Developer Experience | Pricing Approach | Ideal Team Size | Compliance Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kinde | B2B SaaS needing complete auth | SAML 2.0, OIDC, organizations, RBAC, feature flags | 21+ SDKs, type-safe, quick setup | Usage-based, generous free tier | 1-500+ | SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, HIPAA-ready |
Auth0 | Large enterprises | SAML, OIDC, extensive integrations | Good docs, complex setup | Per-MAU, expensive at scale | 50+ | SOC 2, ISO 27001, extensive |
Entra ID | Microsoft shops | SAML, deep MS integration | Microsoft-centric | Per-user licensing | Any | Microsoft compliance standards |
OneLogin | Mid-market companies | SAML, directory integration | Admin-focused | Per-user | 20-500 | SOC 2, ISO certifications |
PingIdentity | Complex enterprises | SAML, advanced federation | Enterprise APIs | Enterprise contracts | 500+ | Banking-grade compliance |
Keycloak | Self-hosted needs | SAML, OIDC, open source | Self-managed | Free (self-hosted) | 10+ with DevOps | Self-managed compliance |
FusionAuth | Self-hosted preference | SAML, modern features | Developer-friendly | Self-hosted or cloud | 5-100 | SOC 2 for cloud version |
WorkOS | Developer teams | SAML, SCIM, directory sync | API-first design | Per-connection | 5-50 | SOC 2 Type II |
Frontegg | B2B SaaS startups | SAML, embedded login | Component-based | Usage-based | 5-100 | SOC 2, GDPR |
Kinde takes the top spot by solving the exact problems B2B SaaS teams face with authentication. While others bolt SAML onto consumer-focused platforms or require enterprise contracts, Kinde built SAML SSO as a core feature available to all users. You get enterprise authentication capabilities without enterprise software baggage.
Engineering teams at B2B SaaS companies who need to ship enterprise features fast. Perfect for startups selling to enterprises, scale-ups standardizing authentication, and any team tired of building auth infrastructure.
SAML That Actually Works: Full SAML 2.0 support with SP and IdP-initiated flows. Connect to any enterprise identity provider without wrestling with XML configurations. The SAML setup wizard handles metadata exchange and attribute mapping through a clean UI.
Organizations Built In: Multi-tenant architecture from day one. Each organization gets isolated users, roles, settings, and SSO configurations. Handle complex B2B scenarios like users belonging to multiple organizations without custom code.
Modern RBAC and Permissions: Define roles at the application level, customize per organization. Permission checks happen at the edge for sub-10ms authorization decisions. Feature flags integrate directly with permissions for gradual rollouts.
Complete B2B Feature Set: SCIM provisioning for automatic user lifecycle management. Audit logs with webhook delivery for compliance. Machine-to-machine authentication for service accounts. Custom domains per organization for white-label experiences.
Kinde shines here. SDKs for 21+ languages and frameworks with TypeScript definitions throughout. Set up SAML SSO in under 30 minutes with the setup wizard. Local development works with built-in tunneling. The admin API covers every operation the UI does.
Migration tools import users from Auth0, Firebase, Okta, and custom systems. The migration preserves passwords, MFA settings, and metadata. Run migrations in test mode first to validate everything works.
Usage-based pricing that scales with your business. Free tier includes 10,500 monthly active users, unlimited organizations, and core features including SAML SSO. Paid plans add advanced features like custom domains, SLAs, and priority support. No per-connection fees for SSO.
Get started with SAML SSO today at www.kinde.com. The interactive quickstart guides you through IdP setup, testing, and production deployment.
What It Is: The market leader in customer identity, now part of Okta. Auth0 provides extensive authentication options including comprehensive SAML support.
Best For: Large B2C applications needing consumer features, enterprises with complex requirements, teams requiring extensive third-party integrations.
Core Features: Universal Login, passwordless, social connections, extensive Rules engine, marketplace integrations, anomaly detection.
Pros and Cons:
- Pros: Market maturity, extensive documentation, large ecosystem, proven scale
- Cons: Complex pricing that penalizes B2B use cases, steep learning curve, SAML requires enterprise plans
What to Watch: Pricing becomes prohibitive for B2B SaaS with many organizations. The Rules engine is being deprecated for Actions. Integration with Okta workforce products improving but still complex.
What It Is: Microsoft’s cloud identity service, deeply integrated with Microsoft 365 and Azure services.
Best For: Organizations already using Microsoft infrastructure, companies needing tight Office 365 integration, Windows-centric environments.
Core Features: Conditional Access, Privileged Identity Management, B2B collaboration, seamless Microsoft integration, hybrid identity support.
Pros and Cons:
- Pros: Included with many Microsoft licenses, excellent Microsoft ecosystem integration, robust enterprise features
- Cons: Complex for non-Microsoft stacks, requires Azure expertise, limited customization for customer-facing scenarios
What to Watch: Microsoft rebranding to Entra ID may cause confusion. B2C capabilities exist but are separate from the main product. SAML configuration can be complex for non-Microsoft applications.
What It Is: Cloud-based identity and access management focused on workforce authentication.
Best For: Mid-market companies needing straightforward SSO, organizations wanting pre-built app catalog, teams prioritizing ease of administration over developer features.
Core Features: Desktop SSO, extensive app catalog, Smart MFA, directory integration, user provisioning.
Pros and Cons:
- Pros: Simple administration, good pre-built integrations, reasonable pricing for workforce
- Cons: Limited developer features, not built for B2B SaaS, basic API capabilities
What to Watch: Acquired by One Identity, focusing more on privileged access management. Limited investment in customer identity features.
What It Is: Enterprise identity platform specializing in complex, high-security environments.
Best For: Financial services, healthcare, government, and other highly regulated industries needing advanced federation and security features.
Core Features: PingFederate for federation, PingAccess for API security, advanced threat detection, comprehensive standards support.
Pros and Cons:
- Pros: Handles complex enterprise scenarios, extensive security features, proven in demanding environments
- Cons: Expensive and complex, requires specialized expertise, overkill for most SaaS applications
What to Watch: Merger with ForgeRock creating identity powerhouse but increasing complexity. Cloud offerings improving but still enterprise-focused.
What It Is: Open-source identity and access management supporting SAML, OIDC, and social login.
Best For: Teams wanting full control, organizations with strong DevOps capabilities, companies avoiding vendor lock-in.
Core Features: Standard protocol support, fine-grained authorization, custom themes, identity brokering, user federation.
Pros and Cons:
- Pros: Free and open source, highly customizable, no vendor lock-in, active community
- Cons: Requires hosting and maintenance, no official cloud offering, steeper operational overhead
What to Watch: Red Hat’s cloud service discontinued. Performance at scale requires careful tuning. UI customization requires technical expertise.
What It Is: Developer-focused authentication platform available as self-hosted or managed cloud.
Best For: Teams wanting modern features with hosting flexibility, developers preferring self-hosted options, companies needing air-gapped deployments.
Core Features: SAML, OIDC, passwordless, theming engine, webhooks, comprehensive APIs.
Pros and Cons:
- Pros: Developer-friendly, transparent pricing, self-hosted option, good documentation
- Cons: Smaller ecosystem than leaders, limited enterprise features, less B2B focus
What to Watch: Cloud offering relatively new. Advanced B2B features like organizations still maturing. Community smaller than open-source alternatives.
What It Is: API-first platform specifically for adding enterprise features to SaaS applications.
Best For: Developer teams wanting minimal abstraction, companies selling to enterprises, teams comfortable with API-only interfaces.
Core Features: SAML SSO, Directory Sync, SCIM, Admin Portal, Magic Links, audit logs.
Pros and Cons:
- Pros: Excellent developer experience, clean APIs, fast integration, fair per-connection pricing
- Cons: No built-in user management UI, requires more custom development, limited to enterprise features
What to Watch: Focused on enterprise features only. You’ll need another solution for core authentication. No built-in UI means more frontend work.
What It Is: Embedded authentication and user management for B2B SaaS.
Best For: B2B startups wanting pre-built components, teams needing quick deployment, companies wanting embedded admin portals.
Core Features: Embeddable login box, admin portal, SAML SSO, audit logs, webhooks, multi-tenancy.
Pros and Cons:
- Pros: Fast B2B implementation, pre-built React components, good starter features
- Cons: Limited customization flexibility, newer platform, smaller community
What to Watch: Customization beyond their components can be challenging. Performance at scale not widely proven. Limited protocol support beyond SAML and OIDC.
Technical Requirements
- SAML 2.0 with SP and IdP-initiated flows
- Support for your tech stack (check SDK availability)
- Multi-tenant/organization support for B2B
- Required compliance certifications (SOC 2, ISO, HIPAA)
- Performance requirements (latency, throughput)
- Migration path from current solution
Developer Experience
- Quality of documentation and examples
- Time to initial implementation
- Local development workflow
- API completeness and design
- Community and support responsiveness
Business Considerations
- Pricing model alignment with your business
- Scalability without price shocks
- Vendor stability and track record
- Available support tiers and SLAs
- Geographic data residency requirements
B2B-Specific Needs
- Organizations and multi-tenancy
- Per-organization SSO configuration
- SCIM provisioning support
- Audit logs and compliance features
- Custom domains or white-labeling
Integration Requirements
- Existing identity provider compatibility
- HR system integration needs
- Third-party service connections
- Webhook and event support
- Migration tooling availability
We evaluated each platform based on hands-on testing, developer documentation review, community feedback analysis, and customer case studies. Criteria included SAML implementation completeness, developer experience quality, B2B feature depth, pricing transparency, and real-world performance. We prioritized solutions actively used in production B2B SaaS environments and considered both technical capabilities and business viability.
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