# Customer identity and access management: what AI models recommend, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. Asked as "customer identity platform" and as "CIAM solution for a product's users", six framings each, to fourteen models with search on, on behalf of a mid-market B2B company. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/identity/customer-identity-and-access-management/2026-11

**Standing:** Auth0 leads with 34% of first choices; verdict contested. 53 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Auth0](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/auth0/index.md) | 34% | 22% | 69 |
| 2 | [WorkOS AuthKit](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/workos-authkit/index.md) | 13% | 10% | 29 |
| 3 | [Frontegg](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/frontegg/index.md) | 8% | 0% | 32 |
| 4 | [Kinde](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/kinde/index.md) | 8% | 0% | 10 |
| 5 | [FusionAuth](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/fusionauth/index.md) | 6% | 0% | 14 |
| 6 | [Clerk](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/clerk/index.md) | 4% | 13% | 23 |
| 7 | [Keycloak](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/keycloak/index.md) | 4% | 20% | 15 |
| 9 | [Firebase Authentication](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/firebase-authentication/index.md) | 4% | 25% | 12 |
| 11 | [Microsoft Entra External ID](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/microsoft-entra-external-id/index.md) | 2% | 15% | 33 |
| 12 | [Amazon Cognito](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/amazon-cognito/index.md) | 2% | 19% | 36 |
| 17 | [Okta](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/okta/index.md) | 2% | 56% | 18 |
| 18 | [Descope](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/descope/index.md) | 0% | 6% | 36 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 88 products named; products with the same share are tied, and the order among them carries no meaning. The table lists those with at least 10 labels.

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: Auth0; alternatives Frontegg, OneLogin, The OneWelcome Identity Platform
- GPT-5.4 mini: Auth0; alternatives Frontegg, Ping Identity
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: WorkOS AuthKit; alternatives Clerk, Descope, Frontegg, Stytch
- Perplexity Sonar: Auth0; alternatives Amazon Cognito, Frontegg, FusionAuth, Microsoft Entra External ID
- Grok 4.20: WorkOS AuthKit; alternatives Auth0, Frontegg, Stytch
- Mistral Small: Auth0; alternatives Frontegg, Microsoft Entra External ID
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: Frontegg; alternatives Descope, Kinde, WorkOS AuthKit
- Llama 4 Maverick: Auth0; alternatives IBM Verify, Microsoft Entra External ID, Ping Identity, WSO2 Identity Server
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: Frontegg; alternatives Auth0, Descope, Microsoft Entra External ID, Stytch
- Kimi K2: WorkOS AuthKit; alternatives Frontegg, Stytch
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: Auth0; alternatives Amazon Cognito, Descope, Frontegg, Microsoft Entra External ID
- MiniMax M2.5: OneLogin; alternatives Frontegg, LoginRadius, SSOJet
- GPT-6 Luna: WorkOS AuthKit; alternatives Auth0, Stytch
- Muse Glimmer 30B: Kinde, WorkOS AuthKit; alternatives Auth0, Frontegg, Okta, OneLogin

## Sources the answers cite

73 of 84 answers came back with a source list, from 14 of 14 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- securityboulevard.com: 34 answers, 53 citations
- okta.com: 20 answers, 32 citations
- softwareadvice.com: 20 answers, 20 citations
- startwithidentity.com: 19 answers, 24 citations
- cybersecuritynews.com: 19 answers, 21 citations
- startupstash.com: 19 answers, 21 citations
- capterra.com: 18 answers, 20 citations
- expertinsights.com: 18 answers, 18 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://cybersecuritynews.com/best-ciam-solutions (18 answers)
- https://softwareadvice.com/ciam (18 answers)
- https://expertinsights.com/identity-and-access-management/top-customer-identity-and-access-management-ciam-solutions (17 answers)
- https://securityboulevard.com/2026/08/top-5-enterprise-ciam-platforms-in-2026-in-depth-comparison (15 answers)
- https://ibtimes.com/top-5-best-customer-identity-access-management-ciam-solutions-2026-3800878 (14 answers)
- https://capterra.com/ciam-software (13 answers)
- https://startupstash.com/customer-identity-and-access-management-ciam-tools (13 answers)
- https://startwithidentity.com/rankings (13 answers)
- https://pingidentity.com/en-us/docs/assets/3555-customer-identity-buyers-guide (10 answers)
- https://ciopages.com/buyer-guides/customer-identity-access-management (9 answers)

## Warned against

- Auth0: 15 of 69 labels negative. "Post‑acquisition pricing increases (2–3× at renewal) reported by long‑term customers... Developer sentiment shows sharp declines in support quality" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt)
- Okta: 10 of 18 labels negative. "Multiple attacks (Lapsus$, 0ktapus) and support‑unit breaches since 2022... High‑value target; compromise of a leading IdaaS can cascade to many downstream services." (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt)
- Ping Identity: 6 of 36 labels negative. "Avoid overkill enterprise tools like Okta's full suite or Ping Identity, which start higher." (Grok 4.20, budget prompt)
- Amazon Cognito: 7 of 36 labels negative. "Amazon Cognito for security-sensitive or complex CIAM... comparisons flag limited adaptive MFA, self-service enterprise SSO, fraud controls, and passwordless capabilities" (Perplexity Sonar, negative prompt)

## Movement since October 2026

Floor: 11 points of share, measured on the calibration repeat.
New leader: Frontegg (21%) to Auth0 (34%). Margin 26 points, beyond the floor.

- Auth0: 18% to 34%, +16. Cleared the floor by 5 points · rank 2 → 1 of 88.
- Clerk: 18% to 4%, −14. Cleared the floor by 3 points · rank 3 → 6 of 88.
- Frontegg: 21% to 8%, −13. Cleared the floor by 2 points · rank 1 → 3 of 88.
- LoginRadius: 12% to 0%, −12. Cleared the floor by 1 point · rank 4 → 21 of 88.
- Kinde: 0% to 8%, +8. Inside the floor by 3 points · rank 17 → 4 of 88.
- WorkOS AuthKit: 7% to 13%, +6. Inside the floor by 5 points · rank 5 → 2 of 88.
- Descope: 5% to 0%, −5. Inside the floor by 6 points · rank 6 → 18 of 88.
- Firebase Authentication: 2% to 4%, +2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 11 → 9 of 88.
- Microsoft Entra External ID: 4% to 2%, −2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 8 → 11 of 88.
- Amazon Cognito: 0% to 2%, +2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 16 → 12 of 88.
- Okta: 0% to 2%, +2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 70 → 17 of 88.
- FusionAuth: 5% to 6%, +1. Inside the floor by 10 points · rank 7 → 5 of 88.

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, November 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/it.