Authgear vs Supabase Auth
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
Supabase Auth
Small JWT-based user authentication API service
| Feature | Authgear | Supabase Auth |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 86 · Excellent | 87 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,061 | ★ 2,567 |
| First released | 2021 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Firebase Auth | Auth0 |
What are Authgear and Supabase Auth?
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
Supabase Auth
GoTrue is a lightweight JSON Web Token based authentication API for managing users and sessions, originally from Netlify and extended by Supabase. It is self-hosted as a small Go service.
- JWT-based auth API
- Email and OAuth login
- Lightweight Go service
- Self-hostable
Authgear vs Supabase Auth: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Authgear versus MIT for Supabase Auth. Supabase Auth is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Authgear. Supabase Auth is the more established project (first released 2017), while Authgear arrived in 2021.
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 Supabase Auth if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.6k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Authgear or Supabase Auth better?
Supabase Auth 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 Supabase Auth free and open-source?
Yes. Authgear is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Supabase Auth under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Authgear and Supabase Auth with Docker?
Authgear: yes. Supabase Auth: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Authgear or Supabase Auth?
Supabase Auth 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.