What is Hanko?
Hanko is an open-source authentication and user management service from Kiel, Germany. It gives your app a hosted login with passkeys, passwords, email passcodes, social login and multi-factor authentication, plus drop-in web components for the login and profile pages. Hanko positions itself as an open-source alternative to Auth0, Clerk, WorkOS and Stytch, and you can use it as a cloud service, in a private cloud or self-hosted.
| Category | Identity management |
|---|---|
| Company | Hanko GmbH |
| Headquarters | Germany (EU) |
| Founded | Not stated |
| Ownership | Founder-led, VC-backed (adesso ventures, High-Tech Gründerfonds) |
| Price | Free (10,000 MAU) · Pro $29 / month · free plan: yes |
| Platforms | Web · API · Self-hosted |
| Open source | Yes (AGPL-3.0 backend, MIT frontend) |
| Data hosted in | Germany · AWS Frankfurt |
| Alternative to | Auth0 |
Who is behind Hanko
Hanko is made by Hanko GmbH, Ringstraße 19, Kiel, registered at the Kiel district court under HRB 19885 KI. Its founder and CEO is Felix Magedanz. In May 2023 adesso ventures led a single-digit million investment in Hanko, together with the existing investors High-Tech Gründerfonds and Smart Infrastructure Ventures and several business angels, including the founders of PAYONE. The company describes its product as “Made & hosted in Europe”.
Where Hanko hosts your data
Hanko Cloud is hosted only in the AWS Frankfurt region in Germany, according to its pricing page. That keeps your users’ data in Germany, but on the infrastructure of Amazon Web Services, a US company. If that is a problem, the Enterprise plan offers private cloud hosting, and the open-source version can run on any server you choose. The hanko.io website is served through Cloudflare. Hanko publishes a data processing agreement, a Trust Center and a status page.
| Domain | Used for | Hosting provider | ASN | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| hanko.io | website | Cloudflare | AS209242 | anycast |
| Hanko Cloud | authentication service | Amazon Web Services (per pricing page) | Not stated | Germany (Frankfurt) |
Checked 25 Oct 2026. Hosting can change – report a change.
Hanko pricing
Hanko’s pricing is based on monthly active users (MAU): a user counts once Hanko issues or validates a session for them in a month.
- Starter (free): 10,000 MAU, 2 projects, passkeys, passwords and passwordless login, social login, MFA, a custom domain, the admin dashboard and community support. No credit card needed.
- Pro: $29 a month including 10,000 MAU, then $0.01 per extra MAU. Adds 5 projects, team invites, webhooks, the admin API, custom SMTP and personal support by email and Slack. SAML SSO costs $49 a month per connection.
- Enterprise: custom pricing with unlimited projects, a 99.99% uptime SLA, priority support, extended audit logs, SSO for the admin dashboard, private cloud hosting and a commercial (non-AGPL) licence.
- Startup plan: free for up to one million MAU, for start-ups that apply.
Hanko does not cut you off at the limit: if you stay above it for more than a month in a row, it asks you to move to a higher plan. Compared with Auth0, whose Essentials plan costs $35 a month for 500 MAU, Hanko is much cheaper for most apps.
Features and open source
Hanko is built around passkeys, with passwords, email passcodes and social login as alternatives, and MFA with security keys and authenticator apps. Hanko Elements are customisable web components for login, registration and profile pages, where users manage passwords, passkeys, MFA and sessions. If you want your own UI, the Flow API lets you build it. The code is on GitHub, where the main repository has 9,000 stars: the backend is licensed under AGPL-3.0, and the frontend packages (hanko-elements and the frontend SDK) under MIT. Hanko also offers a separate Passkey API that adds passkeys to an existing login system.
What users say about Hanko
Hanko has a Trustpilot profile, but no reviews yet (checked 25 October 2026). The 9,000 GitHub stars show an active developer community, but they are not a substitute for customer reviews.
Pros and cons
Pros of Hanko
- Generous free plan – 10,000 MAU with passkeys, social login and MFA
- Cheap growth – $29 a month, then one cent per extra MAU
- Flexible hosting – cloud, private cloud or self-hosted
- Trustworthy open-source code with an MIT-licensed frontend
- Easy integration with drop-in web components
Cons of Hanko
- High price for SAML SSO – $49 a month per connection
- Not US-cloud-free – Hanko Cloud runs on AWS in Frankfurt
- Restricted self-hosting for closed products – the AGPL backend may need a commercial licence
- No Trustpilot reviews yet
Verdict on Hanko
Verdict: Hanko is the European login service that feels most like Auth0: you sign up, drop in a component and have passkeys, social login and MFA running the same day. The free plan covers 10,000 users and growth costs a cent per user, which beats Auth0 by a wide margin. The one thing to weigh is AWS – your data stays in Frankfurt, but on a US cloud. Best for: start-ups and SaaS teams that want a modern, hosted login from a European company. Not for: teams that rule out US cloud infrastructure.
Hanko is ranked #1 in Best European alternatives to Auth0 and in Best European identity and access management.
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Hanko: FAQ
Is Hanko a German company?
Yes. Hanko is made by Hanko GmbH in Kiel, Germany, registered at the Kiel district court, and led by its founder and CEO Felix Magedanz.
Is Hanko free?
Yes, up to 10,000 monthly active users and 2 projects, with passkeys, social login and MFA included. Start-ups can apply for a free plan with up to one million MAU.
Is Hanko open source?
Yes. The Hanko backend is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and the frontend packages under MIT, so you can self-host it. A commercial licence is available on the Enterprise plan.
Where is Hanko hosted?
Hanko Cloud runs only in the AWS Frankfurt region in Germany. Enterprise customers can get private cloud hosting, and the open-source version runs on your own servers.
Rate Hanko
Based on public pricing, documentation and user reviews · Changelog · Oct 2026: first version