Authorizer vs SuperTokens
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Authorizer | SuperTokens |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 85 · Excellent | 95 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,007 | ★ 15,320 |
| First released | 2021 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Firebase Authentication | Auth0, Firebase Auth |
What are Authorizer and SuperTokens?
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
SuperTokens
SuperTokens is an open-source authentication solution that handles login, sessions, social login and more. It can be self-hosted and offers SDKs and prebuilt UI components for rapid integration.
- Email/password and passwordless login
- Social and enterprise SSO
- Secure session management
- Prebuilt frontend components
Authorizer vs SuperTokens: key differences
Authorizer is written in Go, while SuperTokens is built with Java. Authorizer is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for SuperTokens. SuperTokens has the considerably larger community, at 15,320 GitHub stars versus 2,007.
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 SuperTokens if…
- Easy framework integration
- Good free self-hosted tier
Watch out for
- Some advanced features are paid
Frequently asked questions
Is Authorizer or SuperTokens better?
Neither is universally better. SuperTokens 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 SuperTokens free and open-source?
Yes. Authorizer is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SuperTokens under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Authorizer and SuperTokens with Docker?
Authorizer: yes. SuperTokens: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Authorizer or SuperTokens?
Authorizer has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for SuperTokens. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.