Stateless Authentication vs Stateful Authentication

Developers should use stateless authentication when building scalable, distributed applications such as microservices architectures, APIs, or single-page applications (SPAs) where server-side session storage would be a bottleneck meets developers should use stateful authentication when building traditional web applications that require server-managed sessions, such as e-commerce sites, banking platforms, or content management systems. Here's our take.

Stateless Authentication

Nice Pick

Developers should use stateless authentication when building scalable, distributed applications such as microservices architectures, APIs, or single-page applications (SPAs) where server-side session storage would be a bottleneck

Pros

• It is ideal for scenarios requiring horizontal scaling, as it eliminates the need for session affinity or shared session stores, simplifying deployment across multiple servers or cloud instances
• Related to: json-web-tokens, oauth-2

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Stateful Authentication

Developers should use stateful authentication when building traditional web applications that require server-managed sessions, such as e-commerce sites, banking platforms, or content management systems

Pros

• It's particularly useful for scenarios needing server-side control over session revocation, real-time permission updates, or compliance with regulatory requirements that mandate centralized session management
• Related to: session-management, cookies

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

Use Stateless Authentication if: You want it is ideal for scenarios requiring horizontal scaling, as it eliminates the need for session affinity or shared session stores, simplifying deployment across multiple servers or cloud instances and can live with specific tradeoffs depend on your use case.

Use Stateful Authentication if: You prioritize it's particularly useful for scenarios needing server-side control over session revocation, real-time permission updates, or compliance with regulatory requirements that mandate centralized session management over what Stateless Authentication offers.

The Bottom Line

Stateless Authentication wins

Developers should use stateless authentication when building scalable, distributed applications such as microservices architectures, APIs, or single-page applications (SPAs) where server-side session storage would be a bottleneck