authentik vs OpenUnison
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
OpenUnison
Identity management and SSO portal for Kubernetes
| Feature | authentik | OpenUnison |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Identity & SSO |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Less |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, helm | kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 23,666 | ★ 136 |
| First released | 2020 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0 | Okta |
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 OpenUnison if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Written in Less
Frequently asked questions
Is authentik or OpenUnison better?
authentik is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider OpenUnison if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are authentik and OpenUnison free and open-source?
Yes. authentik is licensed under MIT and OpenUnison under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run authentik and OpenUnison with Docker?
authentik: yes. OpenUnison: check the project docs for container support.