Apereo CAS vs Permify
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
Permify
Open-source authorization service for fine-grained access
| Feature | Apereo CAS | Permify |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,354 | ★ 5,933 |
| First released | 2004 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Okta, Ping Identity | Auth0 FGA, OpenFGA |
Why pick each one
Choose Apereo CAS if…
- Mature SSO with broad protocol support
- Widely adopted in academia
Choose Permify if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 5.9k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Apereo CAS or Permify better?
Neither is universally better. Apereo CAS has the larger community, while Permify is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Apereo CAS and Permify free and open-source?
Yes. Apereo CAS is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Permify under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Apereo CAS and Permify with Docker?
Apereo CAS: yes. Permify: yes.