Authgear vs Hanko
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Authgear
Open-source authentication and user management server
VS
Hanko
Passkey-first authentication for modern applications
| Feature | Authgear | Hanko |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 86 · Excellent | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,065 | ★ 9,036 |
| First released | 2021 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Firebase Auth | Auth0, Clerk |
What are Authgear and Hanko?
Authgear
Authgear is an open-source authentication-as-a-service platform supporting passwordless login, social login, and multi-factor authentication. It is self-hosted to provide identity for web and mobile apps.
- Passwordless and social login
- Built-in MFA
- User management dashboard
- OIDC compliant
Hanko
Hanko is an open-source authentication solution built around passkeys and passwordless login. It can be self-hosted to provide modern, phishing-resistant authentication to web and mobile applications.
- Passkey-first login
- Passwordless flows
- Embeddable web component
- Self-hosted API
Authgear vs Hanko: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Authgear versus AGPL-3.0 for Hanko. Hanko is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Authgear. Hanko has the considerably larger community, at 9,036 GitHub stars versus 2,065.
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 (2.1k GitHub stars)
Choose Hanko if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 9k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Authgear or Hanko better?
Hanko is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Authgear if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Authgear and Hanko free and open-source?
Yes. Authgear is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Hanko under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Authgear and Hanko with Docker?
Authgear: yes. Hanko: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Authgear or Hanko?
Hanko has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Authgear. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.