authentik vs Authorizer
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
authentik
Open-source identity provider with proxy outpost
VS
Authorizer
Open-source auth solution with a ready-made UI
| Feature | authentik | Authorizer |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Identity & SSO |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, helm | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 23,666 | ★ 1,977 |
| First released | 2020 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0 | Auth0, Firebase Authentication |
Why pick each one
Choose authentik if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 23.7k GitHub stars
Choose Authorizer if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is authentik or Authorizer better?
Neither is universally better. authentik has the larger community, while Authorizer is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are authentik and Authorizer free and open-source?
Yes. authentik is licensed under MIT and Authorizer under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run authentik and Authorizer with Docker?
authentik: yes. Authorizer: yes.