Aserto (Topaz) vs OpenFGA
Side-by-side comparison of identity tools. Sponsored placement is disclosed where applicable.
Quick answer
Aserto (Topaz) vs OpenFGA: which should you choose?
Short answer
Aserto (Topaz) vs OpenFGA 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. · OpenFGA: Product engineering teams building multi-tenant SaaS with document-sharing, folder-hierarchy or org/team permission models who want a self-hostable Zanzibar-style engine with a vendor-neutral foundation home.
- 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)OpenFGAIAM 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 multi-tenant SaaS with document-sharing, folder-hierarchy or org/team permission models who want a self-hostable Zanzibar-style engine with a vendor-neutral foundation home. |
| 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. | OpenFGA is an Apache 2.0 authorization engine, inspired by Google's Zanzibar paper, that stores relationship tuples and answers permission checks via gRPC/HTTP APIs. Originally built by Auth0/Okta, it is now a CNCF Incubating project with a hosted Auth0 FGA option. |
| Company size | startup, smb, mid_market | startup, smb, mid_market, enterprise |
| Deployment | self_hosted | self_hosted, saas |
| Source | open source | open source |
| Pricing model | free (open source); hosted plans discontinued | free (open source); enterprise quote for hosted Auth0 FGA |
| Integrations | Go, Node.js, JavaScript, Python, Java, .NET, Ruby, gRPC | Go, Node.js, JavaScript, Python, Java, .NET, gRPC, REST |
| Categories | Authorization | Authorization |
| Claimed profile |
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