Aserto (Topaz) vs AuthZed (SpiceDB)
Side-by-side comparison of identity tools. Sponsored placement is disclosed where applicable.
Quick answer
Aserto (Topaz) vs AuthZed (SpiceDB): which should you choose?
Short answer
Aserto (Topaz) vs AuthZed (SpiceDB) have overlapping use cases in identity and access management. The right pick depends on your company size, deployment model, integrations, and pricing tolerance — compare those attributes side-by-side below.
- Best for
- Aserto (Topaz): Platform or backend teams that want a self-hosted, OPA-compatible authorizer with a Zanzibar-style relationship store and are comfortable operating it without a vendor behind it. · AuthZed (SpiceDB): Product engineering teams building fine-grained, relationship-based permissions (sharing, hierarchies, multi-tenant B2B) at scale who want Zanzibar semantics without building them.
- When to choose
- Pick the option whose company-size fit, deployment model, and integrations most closely match your stack.
- When not to choose
- Skip a head-to-head if you haven't shortlisted a category yet — start with the IAM Stack Finder instead.
- Related tools & categories
- Aserto (Topaz)AuthZed (SpiceDB)IAM Stack FinderBuyer resources
| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Platform or backend teams that want a self-hosted, OPA-compatible authorizer with a Zanzibar-style relationship store and are comfortable operating it without a vendor behind it. | Product engineering teams building fine-grained, relationship-based permissions (sharing, hierarchies, multi-tenant B2B) at scale who want Zanzibar semantics without building them. |
| Short description | Aserto built a fine-grained authorization platform around Topaz, an Apache 2.0 authorizer that pairs Open Policy Agent (Rego) with a Zanzibar-style relationship directory. The hosted Aserto Control Plane shut down on 31 May 2025; Topaz continues as a self-hosted open-source project. | Maker of SpiceDB, the Apache-2.0 "open source permissions database" inspired by Google Zanzibar, offered self-hosted, as usage-priced AuthZed Cloud, as Dedicated cloud, or as a licensed self-hosted enterprise build. |
| Company size | startup, smb, mid_market | startup, smb, mid_market, enterprise |
| Deployment | self_hosted | saas, self_hosted |
| Source | open source | open core |
| Pricing model | free (open source); hosted plans discontinued | usage-based / enterprise |
| Integrations | Go, Node.js, JavaScript, Python, Java, .NET, Ruby, gRPC | PostgreSQL, CockroachDB, Google Cloud Spanner, MySQL, Kubernetes, gRPC, Go, Node.js |
| Categories | Authorization | Authorization |
| Claimed profile |
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