Apereo CAS vs Janssen Project
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Apereo CAS | Janssen Project |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 93 · Excellent | 80 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,376 | ★ 649 |
| First released | 2004 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Okta, Ping Identity | Okta, Auth0 |
What are Apereo CAS and Janssen Project?
Apereo CAS
Apereo CAS is an open-source, enterprise single sign-on solution and identity provider. Widely used in higher education, it supports the CAS protocol along with SAML, OAuth2 and OpenID Connect.
- CAS, SAML, OAuth2 and OIDC protocols
- Multi-factor authentication
- Pluggable authentication handlers
- Delegated and federated authentication
Janssen Project
The Janssen Project is a Linux Foundation effort delivering a scalable, cloud-native identity and access management platform. It implements OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0, and FIDO standards for authentication and authorization.
- OpenID Connect provider
- OAuth 2.0 server
- FIDO2 and passkeys
- Cloud-native deployment
Apereo CAS vs Janssen Project: key differences
Both projects are written in Java. Apereo CAS is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for Janssen Project. Apereo CAS is the more established project (first released 2004), while Janssen Project arrived in 2020. Apereo CAS has the considerably larger community, at 11,376 GitHub stars versus 649. Apereo CAS lists first-class Docker deployment; Janssen Project does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Apereo CAS if…
- Mature SSO with broad protocol support
- Widely adopted in academia
Watch out for
- Configuration is involved
Choose Janssen Project if…
- Standards complete
- Built for scale
Watch out for
- Complex to operate
- Heavy resource needs
Frequently asked questions
Is Apereo CAS or Janssen Project better?
Neither is universally better. Apereo CAS has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Apereo CAS and Janssen Project free and open-source?
Yes. Apereo CAS is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Janssen Project under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Apereo CAS and Janssen Project with Docker?
Apereo CAS: yes. Janssen Project: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Apereo CAS or Janssen Project?
Apereo CAS has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for Janssen Project. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.