Featured essay
Best CIAM for B2B SaaS
What B2B SaaS needs from a CIAM platform, and how the requirements differ from consumer identity.
CW
CIAM Research Hub
Updated Jun 2026
The Collective
Archive.
A fanned-out repository of vendor-neutral guides, head-to-head comparisons, and a directory for CIAM buyers.
Featured essay
The Unfolding Manifesto
How CIAM stays independent: what sponsorship can and cannot buy, and how the matcher ranks.
Read the charter →
Best CIAM for fintech
What fintech demands from customer identity: strong auth, fraud defense, and regulatory fit.
GuideCIAM pricing guide: how vendors actually charge
The pricing models behind CIAM platforms, the hidden costs, and how to compare quotes that are not comparable.
GuideCIAM RFP template
A copy-paste request-for-proposal template for evaluating customer identity vendors.
Guide
CIAM vs IAM: what is the difference?
How customer identity differs from workforce identity, and why the same vendor rarely wins both.
GuideConsent and privacy in CIAM (GDPR, CCPA)
How customer identity platforms handle consent, and what compliance teams should require.
GuideMulti-factor authentication (MFA) for customer apps
MFA methods ranked by security, and how to roll it out to customers without killing conversion.
Guide
Passwordless and passkeys in CIAM
What passkeys are, how they differ from older passwordless methods, and what to ask a CIAM vendor.
GuideSCIM and user provisioning
What SCIM does, why enterprise B2B buyers require it, and how CIAM platforms support it.
GuideSSO for customer and B2B apps (OIDC and SAML)
How single sign-on works in CIAM, the difference between OIDC and SAML, and what enterprise buyers demand.
Guide The CIAM buyer's guide
A vendor-neutral process for evaluating and selecting a customer identity platform.
GuideWhat is CIAM?
Customer Identity and Access Management, explained for buyers evaluating vendors.
GuideComparisons
Vendor directory
Browse the full directory →- Auth0 by Okta Enterprise-grade CIAM platform
- WorkOS Enterprise-readiness API for B2B SaaS
- FusionAuth Self-hostable CIAM platform
- Clerk Developer-first auth for modern web stacks
- Stytch Developer-first auth & fraud platform
- Descope Drag-and-drop CIAM platform
- Frontegg B2B SaaS user-management platform
- Microsoft Entra External ID Microsoft cloud CIAM
- AWS Cognito Hyperscaler auth (AWS)
- Firebase Authentication App-developer auth (Google/Firebase)
- Ping Identity Enterprise identity suite
- Keycloak Open-source identity provider
- Thales OneWelcome European CIAM & consent platform
- LoginRadius Consumer IAM (CIAM) platform
- IBM Verify Enterprise identity suite (IBM)
- WSO2 Identity Server Open-source IAM platform
- Transmit Security CIAM + identity fraud platform
- SecureAuth CIAM & access management platform
- Curity API-first OAuth/OIDC identity server
- Ory Open-source headless identity
- SAP Customer Data Cloud Enterprise B2C identity + consent (CDP)
- cidaas European CIAM platform
- Strivacity No-code B2B/B2C CIAM
- Nevis European CIAM & strong authentication
- Monokee European IAM with visual orchestration
- authentik Open-source identity provider
- 1Kosmos Passwordless + verified identity platform
- Beyond Identity Phishing-resistant passwordless
- OpenText NetIQ Enterprise IAM suite (OpenText)
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