Authgear vs Ory Hydra
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
Ory Hydra
Certified OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect server
| Feature | Authgear | Ory Hydra |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,951 | ★ 17,462 |
| First released | 2021 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Firebase Auth | Okta, Auth0 |
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)
Frequently asked questions
Is Authgear or Ory Hydra better?
Neither is universally better. Ory Hydra has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Authgear and Ory Hydra free and open-source?
Yes. Authgear is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Ory Hydra under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Authgear and Ory Hydra with Docker?
Authgear: yes. Ory Hydra: yes.