SHSelfHostIndex

authentik vs Shibboleth Identity Provider

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?
AU authentik Open-source identity provider with proxy outpost VS SH Shibboleth Identity Provider Standards-based SAML identity provider for federations
FeatureauthentikShibboleth Identity Provider
CategoryReverse Proxy & GatewaysIdentity & SSO
LicenseMITApache-2.0
LanguagePythonJava
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM1,024 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, helmbare-metal, docker, source
GitHub stars★ 23,666★ 200
First released20202003
ReplacesOkta, Auth0Okta, Ping Identity

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
authentik details

Choose Shibboleth Identity Provider if…

  • Gold standard for SAML federations
  • Highly configurable
Shibboleth Identity Provider details

Frequently asked questions

Is authentik or Shibboleth Identity Provider better?

authentik is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Shibboleth Identity Provider if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are authentik and Shibboleth Identity Provider free and open-source?

Yes. authentik is licensed under MIT and Shibboleth Identity Provider under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run authentik and Shibboleth Identity Provider with Docker?

authentik: yes. Shibboleth Identity Provider: yes.

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