Apereo CAS vs Kanidm
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?
Apereo CAS
Enterprise single sign-on server for web applications
VS
Kanidm
Modern, simple and secure identity management server
| Feature | Apereo CAS | Kanidm |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,354 | ★ 5,214 |
| First released | 2004 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Okta, Ping Identity | Active Directory, Okta |
Why pick each one
Choose Apereo CAS if…
- Mature SSO with broad protocol support
- Widely adopted in academia
Frequently asked questions
Is Apereo CAS or Kanidm better?
Neither is universally better. Apereo CAS has the larger community, while Kanidm is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Apereo CAS and Kanidm free and open-source?
Yes. Apereo CAS is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Kanidm under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Apereo CAS and Kanidm with Docker?
Apereo CAS: yes. Kanidm: yes.