authentik vs SAML Jackson
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
SAML Jackson
SAML and OIDC SSO service bridging enterprise providers
| Feature | authentik | SAML Jackson |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Identity & SSO |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, helm | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 23,666 | ★ 2,257 |
| First released | 2020 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0 | Auth0, WorkOS |
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 SAML Jackson if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is authentik or SAML Jackson better?
Neither is universally better. authentik has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are authentik and SAML Jackson free and open-source?
Yes. authentik is licensed under MIT and SAML Jackson under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run authentik and SAML Jackson with Docker?
authentik: yes. SAML Jackson: yes.