---
title: "Cerbos Pricing, Features & Alternatives (2026)"
description: "Cerbos review: Authorization & Permissions tool — Free tier, plans, pros & cons, and the best Cerbos alternatives compared for startups in 2026."
source: https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/cerbos
retrieved: 2026-10-28
---

![Cerbos logo](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=cerbos.dev&sz=128)

[Authorization & Permissions](https://appstackbuilder.com/categories/authorization)Free tier

# Cerbos: Pricing, Features & Alternatives

Cerbos separates authorization logic from code: rules live in YAML policy files, versioned and tested like code, and a stateless decision point answers "can this principal do this action on this resource?" over gRPC or HTTP. Because it holds no data of its own, you pass in the attributes, which keeps it simple to deploy as a sidecar, a service or embedded via WebAssembly. It has about 4,600 GitHub stars and SDKs for the main languages. Cerbos Hub adds a policy editor, CI builds, rollout to every decision point, audit logs and multi-tenant policies.

The PDP is free forever under Apache-2.0 with no account. Hub has a free Proof of Concept tier for 100 monthly active principals, Development from $25 a month (100 principals included, three-month free trial) and Production from $933 a month with 5,000 included; extra principals start at $0.25 each and fall with volume. Enterprise is custom. Paying yearly saves 15%. As of October 2026.

Category

Authorization & Permissions

Pricing

Free tier available

Free tier

Yes

Best for

Authorization & Permissions — rbac, abac

[Visit Cerbos official site](https://www.cerbos.dev)

## Cerbos Pricing Plans (2026)

| Plan                   | Price             | Highlights                                                                                      |
| ---------------------- | ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Open source PDP        | Free (Apache-2.0) | Run anywhere, no account · YAML policies with tests · Audit logs                                |
| Hub DevelopmentPopular | From $25 / month  | 100 monthly active principals included · 5 developers, 10 PDPs · 3 months of audit logs         |
| Hub Production         | From $933 / month | 5,000 monthly active principals included · Unlimited workspaces and PDPs · 1 year of audit logs |
| Enterprise             | Custom            | SSO · Self-hosted Hub · Enterprise support SLA                                                  |

Pricing summary: Free · paid from $25/mo. Always confirm current pricing on the official site.

## Key Cerbos Features

* ✓100 monthly active principals included
* ✓5 developers, 10 PDPs
* ✓3 months of audit logs
* ✓3-month free trial

### ✓ Pros

* +Free, stateless PDP that is easy to deploy
* +Policies as code with built-in testing
* +Published, usage-based Hub pricing

### ✗ Cons

* −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

## Best Cerbos Alternatives

[Compare all ](https://appstackbuilder.com/tool-alternatives/cerbos)

[![Permit.io logo](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=permit.io&sz=128)Permit.ioFree · paid plans by quote](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/permit-io)[![OpenFGA logo](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=openfga.dev&sz=128)OpenFGAFree · paid plans by quote](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/openfga)[![SpiceDB logo](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=authzed.com&sz=128)SpiceDBFree · then usage-based](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/spicedb)

## Cerbos Compared

[Cerbos vs OpenFGA](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/cerbos-vs-openfga)[Cerbos vs SpiceDB](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/cerbos-vs-spicedb)[Cerbos vs Permit.io](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/cerbos-vs-permit-io)

## Cerbos FAQ

What is Cerbos used for?⌄

Cerbos is a authorization & permissions tool. 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.

Is Cerbos free?⌄

Yes — Cerbos has a free tier you can start with, and paid plans for more usage and features.

How much does Cerbos cost?⌄

Cerbos offers a free tier, with paid plans starting at $25/month. Some plans are usage-based (pay-as-you-go).

What are the best Cerbos alternatives?⌄

Popular Cerbos alternatives include Permit.io, OpenFGA, SpiceDB. Compare pricing and features on our Cerbos alternatives page.

## Not sure if Cerbos fits your stack?

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