Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Express-tokenware – token-based authentication middleware for express launched in 2015; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   PAST, a secure alternative to JWT▲362

   Platform-Agnostic Security Tokens. Contribute to paragonie/paseto development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

2. 2
   Token.ai▲151

   The smart gifting service for the thoughtful professional

   2017 · token.ai · its alternatives →

3. 3
   Authentiq▲157

   Strong authentication, without the passwords

   2017 · its alternatives →

4. 4
   DDEX▲8

   Decentralized Exchange for Ethereum-Based Tokens

   2018 · ddex.io · its alternatives →

5. 5
   DNS rebinding protection for Express.js▲30

   Express.js middleware for "Host" and "Referer" header validation to protect against DNS rebinding attacks. - brannondorsey/host-validation

   2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

6. 6
   Minimal NIST/OWASP-compliant auth implementation for Cloudflare Workers▲33

   This is an educational reference implementation showing how to build reasonably secure, standards-compliant authentication from first principles on Cloudflare Workers. Stack: Hono, Turso (libSQL), PBKDF2-SHA384 + normalization + common-password checks, JWT access + refresh tokens with revocation support, HTTP-only SameSite cookies, device tracking. It's deliberately minimal — no OAuth, no passkeys, no magic links, no rate limiting — because the goal is clarity and auditability. I wrote it mainly to deeply understand edge-runtime auth constraints and to have a clean Apache-2.0 example that…

   Feb 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

7. 7BS
   Bunjil – Secure authentication tokens for zero-trust micro services▲6

   2017 · owenkelly.com.au · its alternatives →

8. 8WA
   Wasp Auth UI – The first full-stack auth with self-updating forms▲5

   2023 · wasp-lang.dev · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Tokensift, an open-sourced token-efficiency linter for LLM prompts▲6

   Token-efficiency linter for LLM prompts and payloads - ritenv/tokensift

   Aug 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

10. 10WT
    Web Tunnels – Passwordless authentication for the web▲6

    2024 · pico.sh · its alternatives →

11. 11
    Secure end-to-end client sessions and API calls using crypto key pairs▲9

    Hello. I made this project as an experiment in using key cryptography for user identity in a client server model, and for some future peer to peer projects that I am working on. I am looking for feedback, please let me know what you think. Also, Merry Christmas to HN! :-)

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

12. 12
    21.co Token Based Social Network▲5

    The first token-based social network

    2017 · its alternatives →

13. 13CA
    Certera – A central validation server for Let's Encrypt certificates▲8

    2019 · docs.certera.io · its alternatives →

14. 14KS
    Keyper – SSH Key Based Authentication Manager is now open source▲7

    2020 · keyper.dbsentry.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    love-authentication▲16

    Effortless JWT authentication for Node.js & Mongoose

    2025 · npmjs.com · its alternatives →

16. 16SA
    SimonSays, a Rails gem for declarative, role-based authorization▲7

    2014 · simonsays.onsimplybuilt.com · its alternatives →

17. 17NA
    NullPass, a stateless password manager written in JavaScript▲6

    2014 · nullpass.org · its alternatives →

18. 18DA
    Decentralized Authentication Powered by Bitcoin Cryptography▲5

    2020 · starfish.computer · its alternatives →

19. 19
    An Admin-Friendly, User Management Server (With Passkeys and JWTs)▲17

    An admin-friendly, User Management Server (with Passkeys & JWTs) - for seamless and secure integration of user authentication - authcompanion/authcompanion2

    2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

20. 20OS
    Open-source, MIT JavaScript crypto library behind Skiff Mail▲8

    2023 · npmjs.com · its alternatives →

21. 21MJ
    Machinomy, JavaScript library for micropayments in Ether over HTTP▲9

    2017 · machinomy.com · its alternatives →

22. 22ED
    ERC dEX, a hybrid-decentralized trading platform for Ethereum tokens▲6

    2018 · ercdex.com · its alternatives →

23. 23PR
    Python REST API Authentication with JSON Web Tokens▲5

    2017 · medium.com · its alternatives →

24. 24
    Integrate user auth more quickly▲6

    An admin-friendly, User Management Server (with Passkeys & JWTs) - for seamless and secure integration of user authentication - authcompanion/authcompanion2

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →