Authentication & Identity Management (IAM)
3.8/5.0
VerifiedFreeLast technical review:
Markdown for AI (.md)

Authy

Two-factor authentication (2FA) application with cloud backup and multi-device support.

Pricing

$0/mo

Free
Score

3.8/5

Certifications
2
Last technical review
2026-11-01
Available plansVisit website (opens in a new tab)

Technical Overview

Authy is a two-factor authentication application developed by Twilio, designed to protect online accounts using TOTP codes. It targets individuals and teams seeking an additional security layer against credential breaches. It offers encrypted synchronization across devices and cloud backups, although its official desktop application has been deprecated, focusing exclusively on mobile operating systems and distributed for free.

Analyst Evaluation: Pros and Limitations

Verified Advantages

  • Multi-device synchronization via encrypted cloud backups.
  • Simple setup process for multiple online services.
  • Free mobile application for iOS and Android without hidden costs.

Technical Considerations

  • Shutdown of the official desktop application, restricting usage to mobile devices.
  • History of security incidents involving phone number data breaches.

Technical Capabilities & Features

2/7
Not available:REST & GraphQL API
Not available:SSO / SAML Authentication
Not available:Self-Hosted Option
Included:Full Data Export
Included:Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
Not available:Custom Domains & SSL
Not available:Immutable Audit Logs
Scorecard
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Technical Scorecard: Authy

70/100
DX & Tech Documentation
Favorable
75/100
Pricing Fairness
Excellent
90/100
Security & Governance
Favorable
60/100
Data Portability & Sovereignty
Improvable
45/100
Performance & Reliability
Excellent
80/100

Time to Value & Fit by Segment: Authy

Estimated Time-to-Value< 1 hour (Immediate)

Near-instantaneous deployment with minimal technical friction.

Learning CurveLow (Intuitive)

Rapid onboarding for developers without prior training required.

Fit Index by Organization Size

Startup & Agile Teams1 to 50 members
90%
Mid-Market & Scaleup50 to 500 members
80%
Corporate Enterprise500+ members
60%
Pricing & TCO
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Pricing

$0.00/mo

Model: FREE.

Free Tier Verification:

  • No credit card required
  • Commercial use allowed
  • Unlimited usage with no expiration
  • No mandatory watermarks
Get Authy (opens in a new tab)
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Projection: Authy$0.00/mo
Deterministic cost estimation at 12 and 36 months based on team size, including SSO tax premiums and annual prepay discounts.
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Licensing Cost (1 to 100+ seats)
$0/forever
Unlimited team members with zero penalties
SSO Tax (SAML Enterprise)
$0no surcharge
No artificial security barriers
3-Year Investment (Software TCO)
$0total
operates under a zero-cost or open-source model. Licensing TCO is identical:
Usage Surcharges & Bill Shock Simulator: AuthyWhat usage costs as you scale
Detect overage penalties before they impact engineering budget.
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Prototype / MVP (10 GB)

Included base quota in plan: 10 GB.
Low Risk / Predictable Bill
Base Monthly Rate
$0/mo
Fixed subscription or contracted tier
Overage Penalty
$0/month extra
Usage covered within plan quota
Estimated Monthly Invoice
$0/mo
Total monthly cost before taxes
Technical Mitigation Recommendation:

Suitable for development; verify concurrent connection limits.

Base Production (50 GB)

Included base quota in plan: 50 GB.
Low Risk / Predictable Bill
Base Monthly Rate
$0/mo
Fixed subscription or contracted tier
Overage Penalty
$0/month extra
Usage covered within plan quota
Estimated Monthly Invoice
$0/mo
Total monthly cost before taxes
Technical Mitigation Recommendation:

Implement table compression policies and temporal partitioning.

Active Growth (250 GB)

Included base quota in plan: 250 GB.
Low Risk / Predictable Bill
Base Monthly Rate
$0/mo
Fixed subscription or contracted tier
Overage Penalty
$0/month extra
Usage covered within plan quota
Estimated Monthly Invoice
$0/mo
Total monthly cost before taxes
Technical Mitigation Recommendation:

Offload cold backups to standard object storage (S3).

Large Scale (1.000 GB (1 TB))

Included base quota in plan: 1,000 GB.
Low Risk / Predictable Bill
Base Monthly Rate
$0/mo
Fixed subscription or contracted tier
Overage Penalty
$0/month extra
Usage covered within plan quota
Estimated Monthly Invoice
$0/mo
Total monthly cost before taxes
Technical Mitigation Recommendation:

Migrate to dedicated instance or self-hosted cluster to curtail I/O fees.

Security & Data Exit
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Compliance & Security Standards: Authy

SOC 2 Type IIAudited
ISO 27001Not reported
GDPR / RGPDAudited
HIPAANot reported
PCI-DSSNot reported

"Twilio confirms data breach after hackers leak 33M Authy user phone numbers"

Verifiable citation: /hacker-news
Jurisdiction & Legal Sovereignty
🇺🇸United States [US]Subject to US CLOUD ActGDPR DPA Available
SSO Availability (SAML Enterprise)
No SSO Documented
Data Residency
USAWS
AI Privacy Policy
Not evaluated
Data Liberation & Migration Runbook: AuthyJSON
Actionable escape runbook and credential export guarantees to mitigate vendor lock-in.
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Supported Structured Export Formats
JSON
Password Hash Portability
Locked: Proprietary Algorithm / No Export

Credential hashes are guarded under proprietary algorithms and cannot be exported.

CLI Command / Rescue Endpoint
N/A
Exit Protocol & Migration Notes

Exporting secrets directly requires third-party extraction tools or manual reconfiguration on alternative authenticators since native bulk export is limited.

Deployment & Infrastructure Requirements: AuthyDocker
Hardware specs and Docker directives to run on local servers, dedicated VPS, or Kubernetes without telemetry leak to the cloud.
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Minimum Memory1 GB RAM (Recommended)
Compute CPU1 vCPU
Runtime / LanguageTypeScript / Go / Rust
Code LicenseOpen Source
Docker CLI Directive
docker run -d --name authy -p 8080:8080 authy:latest
Companion Services & Dependencies:
PostgreSQL 15+Redis 7+
Community & Repository
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Technical Reputation of Authy

71/100 Technical Trust

Frequent Praises in Production

  • Multi-device synchronization via encrypted cloud backups.
  • Simple setup process for multiple online services.
  • Free mobile application for iOS and Android without hidden costs.

Reported Production Frictions

  • Shutdown of the official desktop application, restricting usage to mobile devices.
  • History of security incidents involving phone number data breaches.
Commercial Treatment & Vendor Lock-in:1-Click Cancellation

Immediate cancellation from account settings without phone calls or forced retention.

Frequently Asked Technical Questions (Authy)

How do I recover my accounts if I lose my mobile device?

Authy allows restoring token access by enabling cloud backups and using a master password previously established by the user during the initial setup.

Is there an official desktop application available for computers?

No, Twilio ended support and availability for the Authy desktop app, meaning the service operates exclusively through mobile applications for smartphones.

Is an internet connection required to generate authentication codes?

No, time-based OTP codes are generated locally on the mobile device using standard cryptographic algorithms without requiring active connectivity.

Direct Alternatives

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