Apereo CAS vs privacyIDEA
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
privacyIDEA
Self-hosted two-factor authentication management
| Feature | Apereo CAS | privacyIDEA |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Java | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,354 | ★ 1,751 |
| First released | 2004 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Okta, Ping Identity | Duo Security, RSA SecurID |
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 privacyIDEA better?
Neither is universally better. Apereo CAS has the larger community, while privacyIDEA is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Apereo CAS and privacyIDEA free and open-source?
Yes. Apereo CAS is licensed under Apache-2.0 and privacyIDEA under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Apereo CAS and privacyIDEA with Docker?
Apereo CAS: yes. privacyIDEA: yes.