Authgear vs Janssen Project
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
Janssen Project
Cloud-native identity and access management platform
| Feature | Authgear | Janssen Project |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 86 · Excellent | 80 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes | kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,065 | ★ 649 |
| First released | 2021 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Firebase Auth | Okta, Auth0 |
What are Authgear and Janssen Project?
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
Janssen Project
The Janssen Project is a Linux Foundation effort delivering a scalable, cloud-native identity and access management platform. It implements OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0, and FIDO standards for authentication and authorization.
- OpenID Connect provider
- OAuth 2.0 server
- FIDO2 and passkeys
- Cloud-native deployment
Authgear vs Janssen Project: key differences
Authgear is written in Go, while Janssen Project is built with Java. Authgear is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for Janssen Project. Authgear has the considerably larger community, at 2,065 GitHub stars versus 649. Authgear lists first-class Docker deployment; Janssen Project does not.
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 Janssen Project if…
- Standards complete
- Built for scale
Watch out for
- Complex to operate
- Heavy resource needs
Frequently asked questions
Is Authgear or Janssen Project better?
Neither is universally better. Authgear has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Authgear and Janssen Project free and open-source?
Yes. Authgear is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Janssen Project under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Authgear and Janssen Project with Docker?
Authgear: yes. Janssen Project: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Authgear or Janssen Project?
Authgear has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for Janssen Project. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.