OpenFGA: Pricing, Features & Alternatives
OpenFGA models permissions as relationships ("user X is an editor of folder Y, and editors of a folder can view its documents") and answers check, list and expand queries quickly at scale. It was created by the Auth0 team at Okta, has powered Auth0 FGA in production since 2021, and became a CNCF incubating project in 2025. It has about 6,000 GitHub stars, SDKs for the main languages, a modelling language with a playground, and Postgres, MySQL or SQLite storage.
The engine is free under Apache-2.0; what you pay for is running it: a small service plus a database, and the time to design your authorization model. Auth0 FGA is the hosted, commercial version for teams that do not want to operate it, priced through Auth0 sales. As of October 2026.
Category
Authorization & Permissions
Pricing
Free tier available
Free tier
Yes
Best for
Authorization & Permissions — rebac, zanzibar
OpenFGA Pricing Plans (2026)
| Plan | Price |
|---|---|
| Open sourcePopular | Free (Apache-2.0) |
| Auth0 FGA (managed) | Contact sales |
Pricing summary: Free · paid plans by quote. Always confirm current pricing on the official site.
Key OpenFGA Features
- Self-hosted engine
- Postgres, MySQL or SQLite
- SDKs and modelling playground
- Check, list-objects and expand APIs
Pros
- +Free and vendor-neutral under the CNCF
- +Zanzibar-style model scales to sharing and nested resources
- +Managed path through Auth0 FGA
Cons
- −Relationship modelling has a learning curve
- −You run and monitor the service yourself
- −No built-in admin UI for non-engineers
Best OpenFGA Alternatives
Compare allOpenFGA Compared
OpenFGA FAQ
What is OpenFGA used for?⌄
OpenFGA is a authorization & permissions tool. 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.
Is OpenFGA free?⌄
Yes — OpenFGA has a free tier you can start with, and paid plans for more usage and features.
How much does OpenFGA cost?⌄
OpenFGA is free to use, with usage-based pricing on some features.
What are the best OpenFGA alternatives?⌄
Popular OpenFGA alternatives include SpiceDB, Cerbos, Permit.io. Compare pricing and features on our OpenFGA alternatives page.
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