Machine-to-machine agent identity
Issue non-human identities, mTLS/JWT, and scoped tokens so agents authenticate to APIs without sharing user sessions.
At a glance — Oct 2026
Updated 2026-10-27 · forward this page: /jtbds/agent-m2m-identity#briefScores as of 2026-09-14 (43 days old; Depot marks scores stale after 30 days). The pick is still Depot's current editorial pick; it has not been re-reviewed since. Prices below carry their own dates.
- Depot Pick
- Stytch · 8.21/10 for this job (curated estimate, high confidence)
Auth category; privacy + maturity. Not a full W3C DID network — pragmatic M2M. Confidence: medium-high.
- Runner-up
- WorkOS · 8.54/10
Scores higher than the pick on: Capability fit, Latency / reliability, Developer & agent DX, Privacy / data retention, Maturity / track record.
- When not to use the pick
- Enterprise SSO/SCIM is the buyer (WorkOS/Auth0), or secrets injection is the only need (Infisical).
- Lock-in / migration
- The pick has lower stored lock-in risk than runner-up WorkOS (4.2 vs 4.5).
- Sourced price (no comparable unit)
Pick: no sourced price in this job's unit (no_sourced_price).
No cheapest SKU (no_comparable_unit_for_job). No price was invented.
- Free option
- No free resource lists this job. A cheap paid SKU is not a free option.
- Failure modes to watch
- Identity confusion: Bind every tool call to a user or tenant id. Refuse the call if that id changed mid-task. For a public bot, the operator owns the words the bot shows.
Cite: Agent Provider Depot, Depot Pick for agent-m2m-identity: stytch, scores as of 2026-09-14. Agents: GET /api/decide?jtbd=agent-m2m-identity
Stytch
Auth category; privacy + maturity. Not a full W3C DID network — pragmatic M2M. Confidence: medium-high.
Pricing (directional): As of 2026-09-14 (stytch.com/pricing B2B): Pay as you go $0 base — 10,000 MAU/agents included, unlimited orgs, 5 SSO/SCIM connections ($125/extra), 1,000 M2M tokens, 10k fingerprints then $0.005 each; brand customization $99/mo. Enterprise …
Lock-in risk: higher = more lock-in (worse). Overall already inverts this dimension.
Auth pick when agents/M2M + org SSO matter more than Clerk's consumer UI kit. Watch Twilio integration roadmap.
Quote for Machine-to-machine agent identity
Depot Pick stays Stytch. Prices below are sourced SKU rows only (as of 2026-10-27). Input and output are not blended. GET /api/quote?jtbd=agent-m2m-identity
Nothing was compared. no comparable sourced unit for this job; chat input $/1M and other units were not borrowed pickIsPriceWinner is null.
Sourced price unavailable for the Depot Pick. No row in the pricing index.
4 of 5 candidates have no sourced price row. 5 are excluded from the Matching price comparison (none). no comparable sourced unit for this job; chat input $/1M and other units were not borrowed
Runners-up
WorkOS
When your first big customer asks for Okta SSO tomorrow, WorkOS is how you say yes without a rewrite.
Auth0 (Okta)
Enterprise identity Swiss Army knife. For startups, Clerk/WorkOS usually hurt less.
Clerk
Depot default auth for agent products with users. WorkOS when enterprise SSO is the main job.
Infisical
Depot default for agent secrets when you want OSS exit + Agent Proxy (placeholders instead of raw keys in the…
When NOT to use the top pick
Enterprise SSO/SCIM is the buyer (WorkOS/Auth0), or secrets injection is the only need (Infisical).
Full ranking (score table)
Ranked with this JTBD's weights. Scores are curated estimates unless marked otherwise. Agents: prefer /api/decide then this table for tie-breaks.
| # | Provider | Overall | Fit | $/perf | Latency | DX | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WorkOS | 8.5 | 9.2 | 7.5 | 9.0 | 9.4 | 2026-09-14 |
| 2 | Infisical | 8.4 | 8.8 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.8 | 2026-09-14 |
| 3 | Clerk | 8.3 | 9.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 9.8 | 2026-10-19 |
| 4 | StytchDepot Pick | 8.2 | 8.6 | 8.8 | 8.4 | 8.8 | 2026-09-14 |
| 5 | Auth0 (Okta) | 8.1 | 9.2 | 5.5 | 9.2 | 7.5 | 2026-09-14 |
Score methodology for this job
Auth category; privacy + maturity. Not a full W3C DID network — pragmatic M2M. Confidence: medium-high.
capabilityFit: 20%pricePerformance: 10%latencyReliability: 12%developerDx: 10%privacyPosture: 30%lockInRisk: 8%maturity: 10%