Apereo CAS vs LDAP Account Manager
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
LDAP Account Manager
Web frontend for managing entries in an LDAP directory
| Feature | Apereo CAS | LDAP Account Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Java | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,354 | ★ 486 |
| First released | 2004 | 2003 |
| Replaces | Okta, Ping Identity | Active Directory Users and Computers |
Why pick each one
Choose Apereo CAS if…
- Mature SSO with broad protocol support
- Widely adopted in academia
Choose LDAP Account Manager if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Apereo CAS or LDAP Account Manager better?
Neither is universally better. Apereo CAS has the larger community, while LDAP Account Manager is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Apereo CAS and LDAP Account Manager free and open-source?
Yes. Apereo CAS is licensed under Apache-2.0 and LDAP Account Manager under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Apereo CAS and LDAP Account Manager with Docker?
Apereo CAS: yes. LDAP Account Manager: yes.