Cerbos is a policy engine that externalizes authorization from application code, allowing teams to define access rules in YAML or JSON. It evaluates policy decisions at runtime and integrates with APIs, microservices, and backend systems. Its cloud and self-hosted options help teams manage, test, and audit authorization policies across environments.
Cerbos offers a free open-source self-hosted policy engine, while its cloud platform uses tiered plans. Paid plans scale by policy bundles, users, seats, API requests, and support needs, with enterprise pricing available for SSO, private deployment, compliance, and advanced governance.
Open Source
Cerbos is strongest when teams need centralized, testable authorization without embedding rules in every service. Its policy-as-code model and SDKs are excellent for API-heavy and microservice architectures, though smaller teams may find the setup and policy design more involved than simple role checks. It is best for product teams, platform engineers, and enterprises that need auditable, scalable authorization.
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