Caddy Security vs Ory Oathkeeper
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Caddy Security | Ory Oathkeeper |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 86 · Excellent | 83 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,239 | ★ 3,603 |
| First released | 2021 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Cloudflare Access | Cloudflare Access |
What are Caddy Security and Ory Oathkeeper?
Caddy Security
Caddy Security is an open-source plugin suite for the Caddy web server that adds authentication portals, authorization policies, and SSO. It provides self-hosted identity features directly inside the proxy.
- Auth portal for Caddy
- OAuth and SAML support
- Authorization policies
- MFA support
Ory Oathkeeper
Ory Oathkeeper is an open-source identity and access proxy that authenticates and authorizes incoming HTTP requests against access rules. It works with self-hosted identity providers to enforce policies.
- Request authentication proxy
- Rule-based access control
- Pluggable authenticators
- Zero-trust ready
Caddy Security vs Ory Oathkeeper: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Caddy Security is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Ory Oathkeeper. Ory Oathkeeper is the more established project (first released 2017), while Caddy Security arrived in 2021. Ory Oathkeeper lists first-class Docker deployment; Caddy Security does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Caddy Security if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Active community (2.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose Ory Oathkeeper if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Active community (3.6k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Caddy Security or Ory Oathkeeper better?
Neither is universally better. Ory Oathkeeper has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Caddy Security and Ory Oathkeeper free and open-source?
Yes. Caddy Security is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Ory Oathkeeper under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Caddy Security and Ory Oathkeeper with Docker?
Caddy Security: check the project docs for container support. Ory Oathkeeper: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Caddy Security or Ory Oathkeeper?
Caddy Security has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Ory Oathkeeper. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.