API Authentication in Laravel: Sanctum vs JWT vs OAuth (What to Choose and Why)

Introduction

Choosing the right API authentication for your Laravel website affects security, performance, and how quickly your team can ship features. This guide explains, in plain language, when to pick Sanctum, JWT, or OAuth so you can make a practical decision for your business website or product.

Why this matters for small businesses

Your website or product often talks to mobile apps, single-page apps (SPAs), or third-party integrations. The authentication method you choose determines how easy it is to onboard partners, revoke access, and keep customer data safe — all things that impact trust and conversions.

Quick summary of the options

• Sanctum: Built for Laravel. Great for first-party SPAs and simple API tokens.
• JWT (JSON Web Tokens): Stateless tokens; good for distributed systems and performance.
• OAuth 2.0 (Authorization Code + PKCE): The standard for third-party access and scopes.

Each has tradeoffs around complexity, revocation (how you cancel access), and security.

Simple decision checklist

Ask these questions before you pick: 1. Who are your clients? (first-party SPA, mobile app, third-party developers) 2. Do you need delegated access with scopes (grant limited access to third parties)? 3. How important is easy token revocation for support? 4. Do you need stateless verification across many services?

If you answered mostly first-party clients and support convenience: favor Sanctum. If you need third-party integrations and fine-grained scopes: choose OAuth. If you run many services and need speed: consider JWT.

When to use each — plain English

Sanctum: - Best for websites and SPAs built with Laravel on the backend. - Uses cookies for SPAs (simple login flow) or tokens for mobile apps. - Easy to revoke tokens because they’re stored server-side.

JWT: - Works well if you have many microservices or high throughput. - Tokens are “self-contained” so services can verify without a database call. - Harder to revoke — use short lifetimes and refresh tokens.

OAuth: - The right choice when you need partners or third-party apps to access user data. - Provides scopes, refresh tokens, and standardized revocation. - More complex to implement, but essential for public APIs.

Practical security notes

• Always use HTTPS. No exceptions.
• For cookie-based SPAs (Sanctum), set Secure, HttpOnly, and SameSite flags.
• Never store long-lived tokens in localStorage for browser clients — it risks theft.
• For JWTs, rotate signing keys and keep access tokens short-lived.
• For OAuth, validate redirect URIs and protect client secrets.

Real-world scenarios

• SaaS dashboard (first-party SPA): Use Sanctum cookie mode for fast, predictable setup and easy support.
• Public API for partners: Use OAuth 2.0 Authorization Code (with PKCE for mobile) to grant scoped, auditable access.
• Internal microservices platform: Use JWTs with a central key manager and short token lifetimes.

Short implementation checklist

• Identify client types and required delegation.
• Define token lifetimes and revocation process.
• Store signing keys and secrets in a secure vault or environment manager.
• Monitor failed auth attempts and log token usage for audits.
• Document support steps to revoke tokens quickly.

Where to learn more

If you want a deeper, step-by-step comparison and Laravel-specific examples, see the full guide on our site: https://prateeksha.com/blog/api-authentication-laravel-sanctum-jwt-oauth-what-to-choose-and-why?utm_source=blogger. For more resources and articles about building high-performing Laravel sites, browse our blog: https://prateeksha.com/blog?utm_source=blogger. Prefer to talk to someone about your project? Visit our homepage: https://prateeksha.com?utm_source=blogger.

Conclusion — what to pick next

Match your auth choice to your clients and support needs. Pick Sanctum for first-party SPAs, OAuth for partner APIs, and JWT for high-throughput internal systems. If you’re unsure, start with Sanctum for fast wins and move to OAuth or JWT as your product and integrations grow.

Ready to pick the right approach and secure your app while keeping time-to-market fast? Visit https://prateeksha.com?utm_source=blogger to get expert help or explore our articles at https://prateeksha.com/blog?utm_source=blogger to learn more.