The most used authentication and identity tools
We track 22 authentication and identity tools. The most used is Auth0, found at 5,315 companies as of October 2026, ahead of Microsoft Entra ID (3,073) and Okta (1,759).
Identity tools come in two kinds. Customer identity (Auth0, Clerk, Stytch, WorkOS, Amazon Cognito) handles sign-up and login inside a product. Workforce identity (Okta, Microsoft Entra ID, OneLogin, Ping Identity) handles how employees sign in to the company's own apps.
Both are sticky: once users, sessions and SSO connections live in one provider, switching means migrating every account, which is why the adoption dates on these tools tend to be old.
Authentication and identity tools ranked by companies using them
“Share” is each tool's part of all 13,644 matches in this category; a company that uses two tools counts for both.
| # | Tool | Companies | Share | Last 30 days | Most popular with |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5,315 | 39% | +25−2 | Software (4.1×) | |
| 2 | 3,073 | 23% | +14−2 | 1,001–5,000 employees (2.8×) | |
| 3 | 1,759 | 13% | +6−2 | 10,000+ employees (12×) | |
| 4 | 1,084 | 7.9% | +26−2 | B2B (187×) | |
| 5 | 811 | 5.9% | +2 | Newspapers (27×) | |
| 6 | 547 | 4.0% | +3 | Engineering, Product and Design (196×) | |
| 7 | 270 | 2.0% | – | 1–10 employees (6.1×) | |
| 8 | 122 | 0.89% | +1 | 201–1,000 employees (2.3×) | |
| 9 | 122 | 0.89% | – | 1–10 employees (29×) | |
| 10 |  Akamai Identity Cloud | 108 | 0.79% | – | – |
| 11 | 90 | 0.66% | +1 | 51–200 employees (1.5×) | |
| 12 | 63 | 0.46% | +3 | – | |
| 13 | 59 | 0.43% | – | – | |
| 14 | 55 | 0.40% | +1 | – | |
| 15 | 40 | 0.29% | – | – | |
| 16 | 30 | 0.22% | – | – | |
| 17 |  Amazon Cognito | 28 | 0.21% | +1 | – |
| 18 | 22 | 0.16% | +1 | – | |
| 19 | 17 | 0.12% | +1 | – | |
| 20 | 16 | 0.12% | – | – | |
| 21 | 12 | <0.1% | – | – | |
| 22 | 1 | <0.1% | – | – |
“Most popular with” is the industry or company size where the tool is most over-represented compared with all companies we've scanned. Starts and stops compare two scans done the same way.
Who's gaining and losing customers
How to compare authentication and identity tools
- Customer or workforce identity. Some vendors do both; most specialize.
- Enterprise features: SAML and OIDC SSO, SCIM provisioning and audit logs.
- Pricing per monthly active user, which grows quickly for consumer products.
- Hosted login pages versus components you embed in your own UI.
How we find authentication and identity tools
Identity providers show up in domain-verification TXT records, in login subdomains that point at the vendor (login.example.com → Auth0 or Okta), in OpenID discovery documents and in the sign-in scripts a site loads.
Every company on a tool's page links to the record behind the match. DNS is rechecked weekly and websites monthly, so tools a company stops using drop off the list.
Auth & Identity FAQ
What are the most popular authentication and identity tools?
As of October 2026, the most popular authentication and identity tools by number of companies using them are Auth0 (5,315 companies), Microsoft Entra ID (3,073 companies) and Okta (1,759 companies), according to runsonwhat. Auth0 alone accounts for 39% of the 13,644 Auth & Identity matches runsonwhat has, and the top three together for 74%. 22 authentication and identity tools have at least one confirmed customer.
Auth0 vs Microsoft Entra ID: which is more popular?
Auth0 is more popular: 5,315 companies show public evidence of Auth0, against 3,073 for Microsoft Entra ID (1.7× as many), according to runsonwhat (October 2026). Okta is third with 1,759.
Which authentication and identity tools do small businesses use most?
Among companies with up to 50 employees, the most used authentication and identity tools are Auth0 (1,944 companies), Microsoft Entra ID (1,090 companies) and Clerk (586 companies), according to runsonwhat (October 2026). The counts cover companies with a known headcount; see each tool's page for the full size breakdown.
Which authentication and identity tools do large companies use most?
Among companies with more than 1,000 employees, the most used authentication and identity tools are Auth0 (385 companies), Okta (374 companies) and Microsoft Entra ID (290 companies), according to runsonwhat (October 2026). Large companies often run more than one tool in a category, so the same company can count for several.
Which authentication and identity tools are most popular in the United States?
In the United States, the most used authentication and identity tools are Auth0 (2,309 companies), Microsoft Entra ID (1,356 companies) and Okta (936 companies), based on companies runsonwhat has located there (October 2026). Auth0 has 38% of the Auth & Identity matches among companies based in the United States.
Which authentication and identity tools are most popular in the United Kingdom?
In the United Kingdom, the most used authentication and identity tools are Auth0 (377 companies), Microsoft Entra ID (128 companies) and Okta (74 companies), based on companies runsonwhat has located there (October 2026). Auth0 has 51% of the Auth & Identity matches among companies based in the United Kingdom.
Which authentication and identity tools do software companies use?
Software is the industry with the most Auth & Identity matches, and its companies use Auth0 (840 companies), Okta (157 companies) and WorkOS (117 companies) most, according to runsonwhat (October 2026). Each tool's page breaks its customers down by industry, so you can check where a tool over-indexes.
Which authentication and identity tools are companies adopting right now?
In the 30 days to October 2026, the most new adoptions runsonwhat recorded were for Clerk (26 companies), Auth0 (25 companies) and Microsoft Entra ID (14 companies). A start is counted when a recheck finds a tool that the previous check of the same company, done the same way, did not.
How does runsonwhat rank authentication and identity tools?
runsonwhat counts the companies where a public record shows each tool in use and ranks by that count. Identity providers show up in domain-verification TXT records, in login subdomains that point at the vendor (login.example.com → Auth0 or Okta), in OpenID discovery documents and in the sign-in scripts a site loads. A company counts only when a direct record backs it up. The full method is at https://www.runsonwhat.com/methodology.