Softwr

Developer Tools · head to head

Spacelift vs WorkOS

Spacelift logo

Spacelift

Developer Tools

Infrastructure-as-code orchestration for Terraform, OpenTofu, Pulumi and Kubernetes

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
WorkOS logo

WorkOS

Cybersecurity

Developer platform for enterprise-ready authentication and identity.

From
$125/one-time per connection
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Spacelift has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Spacelift users are unlimited and private workers are metered, so deployment concurrency rather than headcount drives the bill, which inverts how most engineering budgets are built and is easy to under-forecast.; WorkOS authKit free tier limited to 1 million monthly active users; additional millions cost $2,500/month
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Spacelift and WorkOS actually diverge.

Attributes where Spacelift and WorkOS differ
AttributeSpaceliftWorkOS
Starting priceFree$125/one-time per connection
Pricing modelBy private worker and tier, not by userusage-based
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Self-hosted, CloudWeb, API
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Spacelift

  • Multi-tool orchestration
  • Policy as code
  • Private workers
  • Spaces
  • Blueprints
  • Drift detection

Only in WorkOS

Nothing recorded that Spacelift does not also cover.

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Spacelift

  • Platform teams running infrastructure changes through approval gates rather than through application CInot WorkOS
  • Organisations standardising Terraform and OpenTofu across many teams with policy enforcementnot WorkOS
  • Estates needing private runners so cloud credentials never leave the networknot WorkOS
  • Teams wanting drift detection and reconciliation rather than plan-time checks alonenot WorkOS

WorkOS

  • SaaS applications needing rapid enterprise SSO deploymentnot Spacelift
  • Companies selling to mid-market and enterprise customersnot Spacelift
  • Applications requiring SCIM directory sync with corporate identity systemsnot Spacelift
  • Product teams needing audit logs for compliance (SOC 2, ISO 27001)not Spacelift
  • Platforms with multiple identity provider requirementsnot Spacelift

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Spacelift

  • Users are unlimited and private workers are metered, so deployment concurrency rather than headcount drives the bill, which inverts how most engineering budgets are built and is easy to under-forecast.
  • There is no affordable paid entry point. The free tier stops at two users and the next tier is a five-figure commitment with nothing in between.
  • Three of the five tiers are quote-only, so a shortlist cannot be costed without entering a sales process with each vendor on it.
  • The self-hosted build lags the hosted one, has no public worker pool and lacks the Azure and Google Cloud integrations available in the SaaS product, with OIDC federation offered as the workaround.
  • Stacks, Rego policies, Blueprints, Spaces and Spacelift-managed state are proprietary constructs, so leaving means rebuilding the orchestration layer rather than pointing it at a different runner.

WorkOS

  • AuthKit free tier limited to 1 million monthly active users; additional millions cost $2,500/month
  • Per-connection pricing for SSO and Directory Sync ($125–$50 each) scales poorly for enterprises with many identity providers
  • Audit logs require separate subscription at $125/month per SIEM connection or $99/month per 1 million events
  • Radar fraud protection billed separately at $100/month per 50,000 additional checks beyond 1,000 free checks
  • Custom domain feature requires $99/month subscription
  • Requires annual commitment for SLA and support guarantees; pay-as-you-go tier lacks uptime guarantee

Pricing, plan by plan

Spacelift

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Two users
    • Public workers only
    • No private workers
  • Starter Plus$undefined/year
    • Unlimited users
    • Two public workers
    • One to two private workers
  • Business$undefined/year
    • Unlimited users
    • Three private workers
    • Quoted
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Unlimited users
    • Five to thirty private workers
    • Self-hosted option

WorkOS

$125/one-time per connection
  • Pay as You Go$undefined/variable
    • Per-connection pricing from $125 to $50 with volume discounts
    • Up to 60% discount at scale
    • Quick deployment
  • Annual Credits$undefined/variable
    • Custom pricing with volume discounts
    • 99.99% uptime SLA
    • Guided migration

Which should you pick?

Choose Spacelift if

  • You need multi-tool orchestration.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted, Cloud.
  • You also want policy as code.
Spacelift review

Choose WorkOS if

  • You work on Web, API.
WorkOS review

Questions people ask

Is Spacelift or WorkOS better?
Neither clearly leads. Spacelift starts at Free and WorkOS at $125/one-time per connection, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Spacelift or WorkOS?
Spacelift has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Spacelift and $125/one-time per connection for WorkOS.
Does Spacelift or WorkOS run on more platforms?
Spacelift runs on Web, Self-hosted, Cloud. WorkOS runs on Web, API.
Can I use Spacelift for free?
Yes. Spacelift has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. WorkOS starts at $125/one-time per connection.
What is Spacelift best used for?
Spacelift is most often used for platform teams running infrastructure changes through approval gates rather than through application ci, organisations standardising terraform and opentofu across many teams with policy enforcement, estates needing private runners so cloud credentials never leave the network, teams wanting drift detection and reconciliation rather than plan-time checks alone. Of those, platform teams running infrastructure changes through approval gates rather than through application ci and organisations standardising terraform and opentofu across many teams with policy enforcement are not what WorkOS is typically brought in for.
What can Spacelift do that WorkOS cannot?
Spacelift covers Multi-tool orchestration, Policy as code, Private workers, Spaces.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Spacelift: How is Spacelift priced?

By tier and by private worker count rather than per user. Users are unlimited on every paid plan. The published figure on the pricing page carries no period label, and the FAQ describes the tier as an annual subscription, so confirm the period in writing.

WorkOS: How quickly can I implement WorkOS SSO?

Developers can implement single sign-on in minutes instead of months. Multiple customers report setting up SSO in less than a week, with WorkOS handling the complexity of SAML and OIDC protocols.

Source
Spacelift: Does it support OpenTofu?

Yes, and Spacelift sponsors the OpenTofu project, which is a substantive hedge for anyone avoiding Terraform under the Business Source Licence.

WorkOS: What SDKs does WorkOS provide?

WorkOS offers SDKs for Node.js, Python, Ruby, Go, PHP, Java, and .NET.

Source
Spacelift: Is there a self-hosted version?

Yes, described as carrying Enterprise functionality, but it is priced on request and lags the hosted product on cloud integrations.

WorkOS: Does WorkOS support SCIM provisioning?

Yes. WorkOS supports SCIM provisioning integration with systems like Okta and Entra ID for automated user management.

Source
Spacelift: Why not just use the CI system we already have?

That is the real comparison. General purpose CI handles state, drift, approval gates and concurrency control for infrastructure poorly, and whether that is worth a five-figure floor depends on how much infrastructure change your organisation actually ships.

Spacelift: What happens to our pipelines if we leave?

They do not port. Rego policies, Blueprints, Spaces and managed state are Spacelift constructs and the orchestration has to be rebuilt elsewhere.

Share

Related pages

More on Spacelift

More on WorkOS

Keep looking

Other head to heads