Case study

Cofertility Achieved a 15% Lift in Conversion by Modernizing Identity with Ory

Discover how healthcare startup Cofertility modernized its identity infrastructure with Ory. By implementing custom, redirect-free sign-ups and automated account linking, they achieved a 15% conversion lift and eliminated the "duplicate account" problem.

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About Cofertility

Cofertility is a mission-driven fertility platform designed to make egg freezing more accessible while helping intended parents who struggle to conceive. Their unique model allows women to freeze their eggs for free if they donate half of the retrieved eggs to intended parents. As a B2C startup, providing a seamless and trustworthy digital experience is critical to supporting donors and parents through their reproductive journeys.

The Challenges:

Before migrating to Ory, Cofertility relied on Auth0 for identity management, but the platform presented several roadblocks that hindered growth and user satisfaction:

Fragmented User Experience: The team wanted a slick, integrated sign-up process that flowed directly from their qualification quiz. However, Auth0’s universal login required disruptive redirects, and their "lock widget" was deprecated, making a seamless single-page app experience nearly impossible.
The "Duplicate Account" Problem: A lack of robust account linking caused significant user confusion. Users would sign up with an email/password but later try to log in via Google Social Sign-in, creating entirely separate records. Fixing this required heavy engineering lifting because Auth0's account linking extension was deprecated.
Misaligned Pricing Models: Auth0’s monthly active user (MAU) pricing did not suit Cofertility’s burst-driven traffic. High-profile blog posts or social media campaigns would drive massive temporary waves of quiz-takers who might only be active for a day, leading to inflated costs.

We reached a point where Auth0 was actually hindering our growth rather than enabling it. Our vision for a slick, single-page sign-up experience was constantly compromised by disruptive redirects. The lack of robust account linking caused a ‘duplicate account' problem that became a major engineering drain.

— Jeremiah Atwood, Head of Engineering, Cofertility

The Solution:

When evaluating a replacement, Cofertility looked at AWS Cognito and Keycloak but ultimately chose Ory for its flexibility and developer-centric approach.

“Ory had a pretty robust feature set, it was really clear that they were continuing to invest in and evolve their products, which is something we didn't really see as much with Auth0.

— Jeremiah Atwood, Head of Engineering, Cofertility

Open-Source Ethos: As a small team, Cofertility valued Ory’s open-source foundation, which provided transparency and the long-term option to self-host if needed.
Customization Without Redirects: Ory allowed the team to build a fully custom UI, keeping the identity experience entirely within their own application.

Our usage isn’t always consistent, which doesn't lend itself well to monthly active user (MAU) models. We were paying premium rates for fluctuating traffic that didn't reflect our long-term active user base.

— Jeremiah Atwood, Head of Engineering, Cofertility

Seamless Migration: A deciding factor was Ory’s robust documentation on migrating users without requiring them to reset their passwords, a critical requirement for maintaining a positive user experience during the transition.
Fairer Pricing: Ory’s Average Daily User (ADU) pricing model was a much better fit for their fluctuating traffic patterns compared to traditional MAU models.

Fearing 'migration fatigue,' we couldn't risk a platform-wide password reset that would trigger user churn. Ory eliminated this threat. Their robust documentation on secure hash imports and side-by-side migrations allowed for a completely silent transition. We didn't just solve our fluctuating traffic pricing; we upgraded our entire security posture without our users ever feeling the shift."

— Jeremiah Atwood, Head of Engineering, Cofertility

The Results:

Since deploying Ory, Cofertility has seen immediate qualitative and quantitative improvements:

15% Conversion Lift: By integrating the sign-up process directly into the end of their qualification quiz, Cofertility achieved a 15% statistically significant lift in account creation.

We coupled the decision to move to Ory with a larger redesign of the signup experience that produced a statistically significant 15% lift in account creation conversions. We couldn't have succeeded without a vendor that offered a fully customizable signup UI.

— Jeremiah Atwood, Head of Engineering, Cofertility

Reduced Support Overhead: The implementation of automated account linking eliminated common login friction, drastically cutting identity-related support volume.

We drastically reduced support tickets regarding account linking issues after moving to Ory.

— Jeremiah Atwood, Head of Engineering, Cofertility

Operational Independence: Despite having no dedicated DevOps team, Cofertility was able to onboard and implement Ory largely on their own using Ory’s documentation and "Ask AI" support features.

The Future:

Cofertility views Ory as a long-term partner as they continue to evolve their platform. Future initiatives include:

Eliminating Password Friction: The team plans to explore Magic Links and Passkeys to further reduce hurdles during the login process.
Expanded Social Auth: Adding more social connection options to give users choices.
Deployment Choice: While they currently value the Ory Network managed service, they appreciate the "insurance policy" of being able to bring the code base in-house as they grow.

What gives us ultimate peace of mind is the 'insurance policy' of Ory’s deployment options, knowing we have the managed service we need today, but the total freedom to bring the codebase in-house if we want to in the future.

— Jeremiah Atwood, Head of Engineering, Cofertility