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.
Kanidm
Modern, simple and secure identity management server
| Feature | Apereo CAS | Kanidm |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 93 · Excellent | 90 · Excellent |
| 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 | ★ 11,376 | ★ 5,404 |
| First released | 2004 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Okta, Ping Identity | Active Directory, Okta |
What are Apereo CAS and Kanidm?
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
Kanidm
Kanidm is an identity management platform written in Rust, focused on simplicity, security and correctness. It provides authentication for web applications, Unix systems and LDAP-aware services.
- OAuth2 and OpenID Connect provider
- Passkey-first authentication
- Unix and LDAP integration
- Strong security defaults
Apereo CAS vs Kanidm: key differences
Apereo CAS is written in Java, while Kanidm is built with Rust. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Apereo CAS versus MPL-2.0 for Kanidm. Kanidm is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Apereo CAS. Apereo CAS is the more established project (first released 2004), while Kanidm arrived in 2019. Apereo CAS has the considerably larger community, at 11,376 GitHub stars versus 5,404.
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 Kanidm if…
- Memory safe and lightweight
- Excellent passwordless support
Watch out for
- Smaller ecosystem and tooling
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.
Which is lighter on resources, Apereo CAS or Kanidm?
Kanidm has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Apereo CAS. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.