Pricing overview

SAWO Labs offers a tiered pricing structure designed to accommodate various usage levels, from individual developers to enterprise-scale applications. The core of their model revolves around monthly active users (MAUs) and the total number of authentications performed within a billing cycle. This usage-based approach allows applications to scale their authentication infrastructure as their user base grows. All plans, including the free tier, provide access to SAWO Labs's core passwordless authentication capabilities, which include OTP-less login and biometric authentication options. Additional features, such as custom branding, advanced analytics, and priority support, become available at higher-tier paid plans. The official SAWO Labs pricing page details the specific inclusions for each tier.

The company’s focus on passwordless authentication aims to reduce common security vulnerabilities associated with traditional passwords, such as phishing and credential stuffing. This approach aligns with recommendations from organizations like the FIDO Alliance, which advocates for stronger, simpler authentication methods. SAWO Labs's pricing reflects the infrastructure and security measures required to deliver such a service, offering a balance between cost-effectiveness for smaller projects and robust features for larger deployments.

Plans and tiers

SAWO Labs structures its pricing into several distinct plans, each tailored to different scales of usage and feature requirements. The primary differentiators between plans are the included monthly active users (MAUs), the number of authentications, and the availability of advanced features like custom branding, dedicated support, and higher rate limits. All paid plans include GDPR compliance and access to SAWO Labs's comprehensive SDKs and API documentation.

Below is a summary of the main plans offered by SAWO Labs, based on information available on their official pricing page:

Plan Name Monthly Price Key Limits / Inclusions Best For
Free Forever $0 Up to 250 MAUs, 1,000 authentications/month, community support Developers, small projects, prototyping, personal apps
Starter Starts at $29 Up to 1,000 MAUs, 5,000 authentications/month, email support, basic analytics Growing startups, small businesses, pilot programs
Growth Custom pricing Higher MAU and authentication limits, custom branding, priority support, advanced analytics Mid-sized applications, businesses requiring customization and scaling
Enterprise Custom pricing Unlimited MAUs and authentications, dedicated account manager, SLA, on-premise deployment options, custom integrations Large enterprises, applications with high traffic and specific compliance needs

The “Growth” and “Enterprise” plans typically involve custom quotations, as their pricing is highly dependent on specific usage patterns, feature requirements, and support needs. These plans often include features like audit logs, single sign-on (SSO) capabilities, and enhanced security configurations that are critical for larger organizations. For detailed information on specific feature sets within each tier, users should consult the SAWO Labs pricing documentation directly.

Free tier and limits

SAWO Labs provides a “Free Forever” tier, designed to allow developers and small projects to implement passwordless authentication without an initial financial commitment. This free tier includes core SAWO Labs functionality, such as OTP-less login and support for various SDKs (e.g., SAWO Web SDK, Android, iOS, React Native), enabling integration into a wide range of applications.

The primary limitations of the Free Forever tier are:

  • Monthly Active Users (MAUs): Limited to 250 MAUs. An MAU is defined as a unique user who authenticates using SAWO Labs at least once within a 30-day billing cycle.
  • Authentications: Capped at 1,000 authentications per month. This refers to the total number of successful login attempts processed by the SAWO Labs platform.
  • Support: Primarily community-based support, with access to documentation and forums.

Once an application exceeds either the MAU or authentication limit within a billing cycle, it will typically need to upgrade to a paid plan to continue service without interruption. The free tier serves as an effective way to test integration, develop prototypes, and support small-scale applications before committing to a paid subscription. It provides full access to the developer tools and API reference, ensuring a seamless transition to higher tiers if required.

Real-world cost examples

To illustrate how SAWO Labs’s pricing model translates into real-world costs, consider the following scenarios:

Scenario 1: Small Startup with Growing User Base

  • Initial Phase: A new mobile application launches, expecting around 150 monthly active users and roughly 600 authentications per month.
  • Cost: This usage falls within the Free Forever plan limits (up to 250 MAUs, 1000 authentications). The cost would be $0 per month.
  • Outcome: The startup can implement passwordless authentication without upfront costs, allowing them to focus resources on product development and user acquisition.

Scenario 2: Mid-sized Web Application

  • Usage: An established web application has approximately 750 monthly active users, generating around 3,500 authentications per month. They also require basic analytics and email support.
  • Cost: This usage exceeds the free tier limits but fits within the Starter plan (up to 1,000 MAUs, 5,000 authentications). The cost would be $29 per month.
  • Outcome: The application pays a fixed monthly fee for reliable authentication, with access to support and basic insights into user login patterns, supporting their continued growth.

Scenario 3: Enterprise-level Platform with High Traffic

  • Usage: A large e-commerce platform with 50,000 monthly active users and 200,000 authentications per month. They require custom branding, dedicated support, and specific security compliance features.
  • Cost: This level of usage and feature requirement necessitates a custom plan, likely the Growth or Enterprise tier. The cost would be determined through a direct consultation with SAWO Labs.
  • Outcome: The platform receives a tailored solution, ensuring high availability, robust security, and dedicated resources to manage their extensive user base and unique operational needs.

These examples illustrate how SAWO Labs’s pricing scales with an application’s user base and authentication volume, providing cost-effective options for various stages of growth.

How the pricing compares

When evaluating SAWO Labs’s pricing, it is useful to compare it against other providers in the passwordless authentication and broader identity management space. Key alternatives include Magic, Auth0, and Passkey by Duo, each with distinct pricing models and feature sets.

  • Magic (magic.link): Magic focuses primarily on email magic links and wallet-based authentication for Web3. Their pricing model is also usage-based, often centered around monthly active users (MAUs) or authentications. Magic typically offers a free tier similar to SAWO Labs, suitable for developers and small projects. For higher usage, their paid tiers scale up, with costs influenced by the number of authentications and advanced features like custom domains and enterprise-grade support. Magic’s pricing can be competitive for applications specifically leveraging their unique authentication methods, such as those integrating with blockchain wallets. SAWO Labs may offer a broader range of passwordless methods beyond magic links, such as OTP-less and biometric options, which could influence comparative value depending on specific needs.

  • Auth0 (auth0.com): Auth0, now part of Okta, is a comprehensive identity platform supporting various authentication methods, including traditional passwords, social logins, and passwordless options. Auth0’s pricing is generally more complex, often based on MAUs, with different tiers offering varying levels of features, integrations, and support. While Auth0 has a generous free tier for up to 7,000 MAUs, its paid plans can become significantly more expensive than SAWO Labs or Magic as usage and feature requirements increase, especially for advanced capabilities like enterprise SSO, multi-factor authentication (MFA) policies, and extensive integrations. SAWO Labs often presents a more streamlined, cost-effective solution for applications primarily focused on implementing passwordless authentication without the full breadth of an enterprise identity platform.

  • Passkey by Duo (duo.com/solutions/passkeys): Duo Security, an identity security company, offers passkey solutions as part of its broader authentication portfolio. Passkeys, standardized by the FIDO Alliance, aim to replace passwords with cryptographic credentials. Duo’s pricing is typically per user, per month, and is often integrated into larger security suites. While Duo’s passkey capabilities are robust, their overall pricing model might be higher for organizations seeking a dedicated passwordless solution, as it often comes bundled with other security features like MFA and access control. SAWO Labs offers a focused, dedicated passwordless authentication platform, which can be more cost-effective for developers and businesses whose primary need is to implement passwordless logins across various devices and platforms without the overhead of a full enterprise security suite.

In summary, SAWO Labs generally positions itself as a competitive option for dedicated passwordless authentication, offering a clear, usage-based pricing model that can be more economical than broader identity platforms for specific use cases. Its free tier provides a strong entry point, and its paid plans scale predictably with user growth, making it an attractive choice for applications prioritizing streamlined, secure logins.