Authgear vs Pocket ID
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
Pocket ID
Simple OIDC provider that uses only passkeys
| Feature | Authgear | Pocket ID |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 86 · Excellent | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,065 | ★ 9,266 |
| First released | 2021 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Firebase Auth | Auth0, Authelia |
What are Authgear and Pocket ID?
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
Pocket ID
Pocket ID is an open-source, simple OpenID Connect provider that authenticates users exclusively with passkeys. It is self-hosted to add passwordless SSO to applications with minimal configuration.
- Passkey-only authentication
- Simple OIDC provider
- Minimal configuration
- Lightweight
Authgear vs Pocket ID: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Authgear versus BSD-2-Clause for Pocket ID. Pocket ID is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Authgear. Authgear is the more established project (first released 2021), while Pocket ID arrived in 2024. Pocket ID has the considerably larger community, at 9,266 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 Pocket ID if…
- Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 9.3k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Authgear or Pocket ID better?
Pocket ID is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Authgear if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Authgear and Pocket ID free and open-source?
Yes. Authgear is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Pocket ID under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Authgear and Pocket ID with Docker?
Authgear: yes. Pocket ID: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Authgear or Pocket ID?
Pocket ID has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Authgear. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.