Apereo CAS vs Samba Active Directory DC
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
Samba Active Directory DC
Open-source Active Directory compatible domain controller
| Feature | Apereo CAS | Samba Active Directory DC |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Java | C |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,354 | ★ 1,000 |
| First released | 2004 | 1992 |
| Replaces | Okta, Ping Identity | Active Directory, Windows Server |
Why pick each one
Choose Apereo CAS if…
- Mature SSO with broad protocol support
- Widely adopted in academia
Choose Samba Active Directory DC if…
- Drop-in AD replacement
- Mature and widely deployed
Frequently asked questions
Is Apereo CAS or Samba Active Directory DC better?
Neither is universally better. Apereo CAS has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Apereo CAS and Samba Active Directory DC free and open-source?
Yes. Apereo CAS is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Samba Active Directory DC under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Apereo CAS and Samba Active Directory DC with Docker?
Apereo CAS: yes. Samba Active Directory DC: yes.