Authgear vs Apereo CAS
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Authgear
Open-source authentication and user management server
VS
Apereo CAS
Enterprise single sign-on server for web applications
| Feature | Authgear | Apereo CAS |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,951 | ★ 11,354 |
| First released | 2021 | 2004 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Firebase Auth | Okta, Ping Identity |
Why pick each one
Choose Authgear if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Active community (2k GitHub stars)
Choose Apereo CAS if…
- Mature SSO with broad protocol support
- Widely adopted in academia
Frequently asked questions
Is Authgear or Apereo CAS better?
Neither is universally better. Apereo CAS has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Authgear and Apereo CAS free and open-source?
Yes. Authgear is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Apereo CAS under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Authgear and Apereo CAS with Docker?
Authgear: yes. Apereo CAS: yes.