What's the difference between Proof Holdings and Auth0?

Auth0 is an identity platform — it answers "who is this person?" using social login, SSO, and user databases. Proof Holdings answers "does this person control this asset?" without collecting identity. Auth0 manages user accounts and sessions. Proof Holdings produces portable cryptographic proof tokens. They solve fundamentally different problems, though they can complement each other.

Why would I use Proof Holdings instead of Auth0?

Use Proof Holdings when you need to verify control of assets (phone, email, domain — wallets and social accounts coming soon) without building a full identity system. Common cases: verifying a business controls a domain, getting human approval from someone who isn't in your user database, or — soon — confirming a user controls a wallet address. Auth0 requires the user to have an account in your system. Proof Holdings verifies anyone controlling an asset.

Can Proof Holdings replace Auth0?

If you use Auth0 as a full identity platform — SSO, a user database, session management — no. But if what you actually needed was passwordless login or verification, yes: asset control is the credential, so Proof can be the account-less login itself (Proof runs its own login and 2FA exactly this way), at per-proof pricing instead of per-MAU. Many teams also run both: Auth0 as the directory, Proof for asset proofs and HITL approvals.

How does pricing compare?

Auth0 charges per monthly active user (MAU): free up to 25K MAU (B2C), then $35-240+/month. At scale, it's roughly $0.07/MAU. Proof Holdings charges per proof: €0.0079 on the €79 plan, with 300 free proofs/month. Key difference: Auth0 charges whether users verify or not (per-MAU). Proof Holdings charges only when verification happens. For high-volume verification without user accounts, Proof Holdings is significantly more affordable.

Does Auth0 verify domain or wallet ownership?

No. Auth0 verifies identity through social login, email/phone OTP, and enterprise SSO (SAML, OIDC). It has no domain verification (DNS TXT, HTTP file) or crypto wallet verification (message signing). For these, you'd need separate services. Proof Holdings handles phone, email, and domain verification from one API, with wallet and social verification coming soon.

What about Auth0's HITL for AI agents?

Auth0 launched CIBA (Client-Initiated Backchannel Authentication) for AI agent authorization, currently in Developer Preview. It uses the OIDC standard and produces OAuth2 tokens. Proof Holdings HITL delivers approval requests via Telegram or WhatsApp (no app required), and produces ES256 proof tokens — portable attestations that any third party can verify offline, not tied to an auth session.

What's the difference between proof tokens and OIDC tokens?

Auth0 OIDC tokens prove that a user authenticated in a specific session. They're tied to the auth flow and expire with the session. Proof Holdings proof tokens prove that an asset was verified (or a decision was made) at a specific time. They're portable — share them with partners, store for compliance, validate offline. An OIDC token says "this user logged in." A proof token says "this phone number was verified" or "this human approved this action."

Comparison

Proof Holdings vs Auth0

Auth0 verifies identity — who someone is. Proof Holdings verifies control — what someone controls. Prove a user owns a phone, an email, or a domain without collecting identity documents or building a user database.

Verdict

Run Auth0 when you need an identity platform. Call Proof when you need proof: control of a phone, email, or domain, verified in one API call and returned as a portable ES256 token — no password database, no per-MAU bill, 300 free proofs a month.

One API · One key

One key does what a stack of vendors does

Every platform on this page wants to run your user directory. Proof is a single API you call from your own stack — the same reverse-OTP flow issues a signed, offline-verifiable ES256 token for each of these:

Same price · Any asset

from €0.0079 / proof

The same price for every asset — phone, email, and domain today, with wallet and social coming soon. No per-seat or per-MAU fees — the meters that make rivals' bills jump.

Free every month: 300 proofs
Pay as you go: €0.03 / proof
At volume: €0.0079 / proof on the €79 plan

Feature Comparison

Swipe to compare →

Feature	Proof Holdings	Auth0
Core approach	Verify asset control (what you control)	Verify identity (who you are)
Identity documents required	No	Optional (social login, enterprise SSO)
Phone verification	Reverse OTP (Telegram, WhatsApp, SMS)	SMS OTP (via Twilio backend)
Email verification	Magic Link, OTP	OTP, Magic Link
Domain verification	DNS TXT, HTTP, Admin Email, Auto-Verify	No
Wallet verification	Coming soon (8 chains planned)	No
Social verification	Coming soon (OAuth proof of control)	30+ social login providers (identity)
Proof tokens	ES256 JWT, portable, offline-verifiable	OIDC JWTs (session-bound, auth-flow-tied)
HITL approvals	Telegram/WhatsApp with signed proof tokens	CIBA (Developer Preview, OIDC tokens)
MCP server	167 tools	No (SDK only for LangGraph/CrewAI)
Pricing model	Per-proof (any asset type)	Per-MAU (monthly active user)
User accounts required	No	Yes
SSO / session management	No	Yes
Identity data collected	None — identifiers only, encrypted at rest	Full user profiles
Ownership	Independent	Okta (acquired 2021)

Proof Tokens vs OIDC Tokens

Proof Holdings: ES256 Proof Tokens

Proves asset control (what someone holds), not identity attributes
Portable: share with any third party
Verify offline with public key
Not tied to a session or auth flow
Includes hashed asset identifier (no identity data)

Auth0: OIDC ID Tokens

Proves authentication in a session
Tied to the issuing application
Verify via JWKS endpoint
Expires with the session
Contains user profile data (PII)

AI Agent Integration

Both platforms support AI agent workflows, but with different approaches:

Proof Holdings — 167-tool MCP server. Agent creates verification or approval request. Human responds via Telegram/WhatsApp. Signed proof token returned. Works with Claude, LangChain, CrewAI, any MCP framework.

Auth0 — CIBA flow (Developer Preview). Agent requests authorization. User receives push/email/SMS notification via Guardian app. OIDC token returned. SDKs for LangGraph and CrewAI.

Key difference: Proof Holdings HITL works via native messaging (Telegram, WhatsApp) with no app install. Auth0 CIBA requires the Guardian app or custom notification channel setup.

Privacy

Auth0 collects and stores full user profiles: name, email, phone, social account data, login history. This is necessary for an identity platform but creates PII compliance obligations (GDPR, CCPA).

Proof Holdings stores hashed asset identifiers only. The proof token proves control without revealing the underlying asset to third parties. No user profiles, no login sessions, no identity data stored. GDPR-friendly by design.

When to use Auth0

You need a full identity platform with SSO, user database, and session management
You need enterprise features (SAML, LDAP, SCIM, MFA policies)
You want 30+ social login providers out of the box
Your app is login-centric and you need to know who users are

When to use Proof Holdings

You need to verify asset control without collecting identity documents
You need domain or multi-asset verification (wallet and social coming soon)
You want portable cryptographic proofs, not session-bound tokens
You need human-in-the-loop approvals delivered via messaging apps
You want per-verification pricing, not per-user pricing
You value privacy: no user profiles, no identity data, just proof of control

Frequently Asked Questions

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