Authorizer vs Open Policy Agent
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?
Authorizer
Open-source auth solution with a ready-made UI
VS
Open Policy Agent
General-purpose policy engine for cloud-native stacks
| Feature | Authorizer | Open Policy Agent |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,977 | ★ 12,086 |
| First released | 2021 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Firebase Authentication | AWS IAM policies |
Why pick each one
Choose Authorizer if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2k GitHub stars)
Choose Open Policy Agent if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 12.1k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Authorizer or Open Policy Agent better?
Neither is universally better. Open Policy Agent has the larger community, while Authorizer is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Authorizer and Open Policy Agent free and open-source?
Yes. Authorizer is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Open Policy Agent under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Authorizer and Open Policy Agent with Docker?
Authorizer: yes. Open Policy Agent: yes.