Obelisk vs WorkOS, honestly
WorkOS is purpose-built to make B2B SaaS enterprise-ready fast — SSO, SCIM directory sync, and audit logs behind a clean developer API. Obelisk is a passkey-first identity and security plane built around one idea: security you can prove, not just promise. This page compares the two fairly — WorkOS is a genuinely good product for B2B SaaS teams who need to sell into the enterprise with SSO and SCIM quickly, and we say so plainly below.
The short version: if your priority is sign-in security you can check — passkey-first by default, tamper-evident receipts and a live, public security score for the Gate itself — Obelisk is built for exactly that. See the full field →
Where WorkOS shines
WorkOS is excellent at exactly what it targets: turning "the enterprise prospect needs SAML SSO and SCIM" into a few API calls. Clean abstractions over messy enterprise directory protocols, strong docs, and a model designed around B2B SaaS go-to-market. If your immediate need is checking the enterprise-readiness boxes for sales, WorkOS is a great fit.
Side-by-side: Obelisk vs WorkOS
Obelisk's column says what Obelisk does today, including what it does not do. Each WorkOS cell that links a source is drawn from that page, checked on the date shown; the other WorkOS cells reflect its public positioning as of October 2026. Vendor capabilities and pricing change, so verify the latest from their docs.
| Dimension | Obelisk | WorkOS |
|---|---|---|
| Primary focus | Passkey-first end-user sign-in, with an OpenID Connect provider | Enterprise SSO/SCIM connectivity for B2B SaaS |
| Default end-user auth | Passkey-first / passwordless by default | Brings your enterprise customers' IdPs; AuthKit adds hosted auth, as of October 2026 |
| Public security score for the provider itself | Yes — the Obelisk Rating, a live 0–100 score the Gate computes about itself and shows on its homepage. It rates the Gate, not your app. | We found no live public security score for WorkOS itself, as of October 2026 |
| SAML 2.0 IdP (issues assertions) | Not yet. The SAML 2.0 identity provider is built, but no SAML app can be connected on the hosted Gate. OpenID Connect sign-in works today. | Connects to customers' SAML/OIDC IdPs (SP-side focus), per public docs |
| Tamper-evident receipts | Hash-chained receipts for sign-ins, tokens and grants, under a signed ledger head | Audit-log product, based on public docs |
| Risk engine | No adaptive risk score decides a sign-in today. What is enforced: sensitive changes need a passkey sign-in — remembered, authenticator-code and email-link sessions are refused. The risk score on your account page is advisory. | Radar detects and blocks bots, account abuse and credential theft in real time, priced per check, per WorkOS's Radar page, as of October 2026 |
| Pricing model | Pay per audited passage | AuthKit is free for the first 1 million monthly active users; SSO and Directory Sync are priced per connection, per WorkOS's pricing page, as of October 2026 |
| Agent identity and tokens | Each agent is its own record in Agent Studio: its own key, held by the agent's runtime (Obelisk never receives the private key), a passkey-holding owner, and an opt-in public Proof Link that is opaque and revocable. No OAuth grant issues an access token to an agent on its own: the token endpoint grants only authorization_code and refresh_token. There is no client-credentials, token-exchange or ID-JAG grant. | AuthKit acts as an OAuth 2.1 authorization server for MCP apps, giving AI agents access with PKCE, scopes and tool permissions. (source, checked 2026-10-02) |
| Third-party check of agent authorization | Registering, approving, transferring or revoking an agent writes a receipt to Obelisk's hash-chained ledger. Anyone holding a receipt's hash can fetch its position in the chain and a Merkle inclusion proof at /api/proof/<hash>, with no account. | Audit Logs stores the events your app creates and streams them to your customer's SIEM; the cited page describes no proof a third party could check without WorkOS. (source, checked 2026-10-02) |
| Root of trust | Self-operated root-of-trust — one accountable studio runs Obelisk on Obelisk | Managed multi-tenant cloud service, based on public positioning |
Why teams choose Obelisk
The differences below aren't cosmetic — they're structural choices that move security from "trust us" to "verify it."
- Passkey-first by default. Passwordless via WebAuthn/FIDO2 is the default path, not an add-on. The secret half of a passkey is never sent to Obelisk or to the site, so there is no password to stuff and no passkey secret in our database to steal, and the browser offers a passkey only to the site it was made for, which is what makes it phishing-resistant. The fallbacks, an emailed link or an authenticator code, can be phished like anywhere else, so they only get a limited session.
- Agent identities with public Proof Links. Agents enroll with their own runtime-held key (Obelisk never receives it), a passkey-holding owner stays accountable, and anyone can inspect the bounded live evidence at an opaque, revocable proof link. Reading a Proof Link needs no Obelisk account.
- CAEP / Shared Signals propagation. Revocations and credential changes reach relying parties as signed Security Event Tokens — push or poll — instead of waiting for the next token refresh to notice.
- A live, public security score for the Gate itself. The Obelisk Rating is the Gate's own security, scored 0–100 from hundreds of live signal points and shown on its homepage. It rates the Gate, not your app or your sign-in page.
- An OpenID Connect provider. Obelisk is an OpenID Connect provider: tools that accept an outside OIDC identity provider can use it for sign-in, and each ID token's
obelisk.assuranceclaim says how the person signed in, so a tool that reads it can require a passkey. A SAML 2.0 identity provider is built, with published metadata and RSA-signed assertions, but SAML apps can't be connected on the hosted Gate yet. - Tamper-evident, hash-chained receipts. Sign-ins, tokens and grants are written as hash-chained receipts, anchored under an ES256-signed ledger head you can check against our published JWKS. Save the head and its anchor count: a later count that went down, or a different head at the same count, shows the record was cut short or replaced. Consistency proofs between heads aren't published yet.
- Sensitive changes need a passkey. What a session may do follows how it was signed in. A remembered 30-day session, an authenticator code or an email link gets you in, but adding another passkey or removing one, changing your authenticator or recovery codes, minting API keys, registering agents, and renaming or deleting the account are all refused from any of them until you sign in with your passkey again. The risk score on your account page is an advisory read: it does not allow, block or step up any sign-in.
Together they make sign-in a part of your stack you can check rather than take on trust. See the full trust case →
Frequently asked questions
Is Obelisk a WorkOS alternative?
Partly — they overlap, but their centers differ. WorkOS centers on connecting your B2B SaaS to your customers' existing enterprise IdPs (SSO/SCIM). Obelisk can be the identity provider: passkey-first sign-in for your users and an OpenID Connect provider. Its SAML 2.0 identity provider is built, but SAML apps such as GitHub, Google Workspace, and AWS can't be connected on the hosted Gate yet. If you need to be an OpenID Connect identity provider, Obelisk fits where WorkOS's SP-side focus doesn't; if you need SAML today, Obelisk doesn't yet.
Can I use Obelisk for enterprise SSO like WorkOS?
Partly. Obelisk is an OpenID Connect provider, so tools that accept an outside OIDC identity provider can sign in through it. SAML apps such as GitHub, Google Workspace, and AWS can't be connected on the hosted Gate yet. The emphasis also differs from WorkOS's customer-directory-sync model, so the right choice depends on whether you primarily need to be an IdP or to consume your customers' IdPs.
Does Obelisk do passkeys, unlike a pure SSO layer?
Yes — passkey-first passwordless auth is Obelisk's default, with tamper-evident receipts and a live, public security score for the Gate itself on top. That's a different layer of the stack from enterprise directory connectivity.
See it for yourself
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