Cerbos vs OpenFGA: Which is Better in 2026?
Choosing between Cerbos and OpenFGA? Both are popular authorization & permissions tools. Below we compare them on pricing, free tiers, features, and pros & cons so you can pick the right fit for your stack.
Quick verdict
Both Cerbos and OpenFGA are strong authorization & permissions choices. The right pick comes down to your specific feature needs, existing stack, and team preferences.
Cerbos vs OpenFGA — Side by Side
| Cerbos | OpenFGA | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Authorization & Permissions | Authorization & Permissions |
| Pricing | Free · paid from $25/mo | Free · paid plans by quote |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free tier available |
| Free tier | ||
| Rating | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Best for | Authorization & Permissions — rbac, abac | Authorization & Permissions — rebac, zanzibar |
Pros & Cons
- Free, stateless PDP that is easy to deploy
- Policies as code with built-in testing
- Published, usage-based Hub pricing
- You pass in all attributes on each check
- Relationship graphs are less natural than in Zanzibar engines
- Hub Production is a big step up from Development
- Free and vendor-neutral under the CNCF
- Zanzibar-style model scales to sharing and nested resources
- Managed path through Auth0 FGA
- Relationship modelling has a learning curve
- You run and monitor the service yourself
- No built-in admin UI for non-engineers
Key Features Compared
Cerbos
- 100 monthly active principals included
- 5 developers, 10 PDPs
- 3 months of audit logs
- 3-month free trial
OpenFGA
- Self-hosted engine
- Postgres, MySQL or SQLite
- SDKs and modelling playground
- Check, list-objects and expand APIs
Choose Cerbos if…
- You want a free tier to validate before paying.
- Free, stateless PDP that is easy to deploy
- Policies as code with built-in testing
- Published, usage-based Hub pricing
Choose OpenFGA if…
- You want a free tier to validate before paying.
- Free and vendor-neutral under the CNCF
- Zanzibar-style model scales to sharing and nested resources
- Managed path through Auth0 FGA
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Cerbos better than OpenFGA?⌄
Both Cerbos and OpenFGA are strong authorization & permissions choices. The right pick comes down to your specific feature needs, existing stack, and team preferences.
What is the difference between Cerbos and OpenFGA?⌄
Cerbos — Open-source (Apache-2.0) policy decision point: write RBAC and ABAC rules in YAML, run the stateless PDP next to your app for free, and add Cerbos Hub from $25 a month to manage and roll out policies. OpenFGA — Open-source (Apache-2.0) relationship-based authorization engine inspired by Google Zanzibar, a CNCF incubating project created by Auth0/Okta. Free to self-host; Auth0 FGA is the managed version. Both are authorization & permissions tools; the comparison table above breaks down pricing, free tiers, and what each is best for.
Cerbos vs OpenFGA: which is cheaper?⌄
Cerbos pricing: Free · paid from $25/mo. OpenFGA pricing: Free · paid plans by quote. Confirm current pricing on each tool's official site, as plans change.
Which is rated higher, Cerbos or OpenFGA?⌄
In our catalog, Cerbos rates 4.5 out of 5 and OpenFGA rates 4.5 out of 5 — they are evenly matched.
See more options in our guide to the best authorization & permissions tools for startups.
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