Authorizer vs Rauthy
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Rauthy
Lightweight OpenID Connect provider written in Rust
| Feature | Authorizer | Rauthy |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 85 · Excellent | 84 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,005 | ★ 1,338 |
| First released | 2021 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Firebase Authentication | Keycloak, Auth0 |
What are Authorizer and Rauthy?
Authorizer
Authorizer is a self-hosted authentication and authorization service that provides social login, email and OTP login, and roles through a GraphQL API. It ships with prebuilt login pages and SDKs.
- Social and email login
- GraphQL auth API
- Prebuilt login UI
- Role-based access control
Rauthy
Rauthy is an open-source, security-focused OpenID Connect provider and single sign-on solution written in Rust. It is designed to be lightweight and fully self-hosted with minimal resource usage.
- Lightweight OIDC provider
- Passkey support
- Low memory footprint
- Single binary option
Authorizer vs Rauthy: key differences
Authorizer is written in Go, while Rauthy is built with Rust. Rauthy is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Authorizer. Authorizer is the more established project (first released 2021), while Rauthy arrived in 2023.
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 Rauthy if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in Rust
Frequently asked questions
Is Authorizer or Rauthy better?
Authorizer is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Rauthy if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Authorizer and Rauthy free and open-source?
Yes. Authorizer is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Rauthy under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Authorizer and Rauthy with Docker?
Authorizer: yes. Rauthy: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Authorizer or Rauthy?
Rauthy has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Authorizer. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.