Casbin vs Ory Hydra
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?
Casbin
Authorization library supporting many access control models
VS
Ory Hydra
Certified OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect server
| Feature | Casbin | Ory Hydra |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | source | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 20,311 | ★ 17,462 |
| First released | 2017 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Auth0 RBAC | Okta, Auth0 |
Why pick each one
Choose Casbin if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Mature project with 20.3k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Casbin or Ory Hydra better?
Casbin is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Ory Hydra if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Casbin and Ory Hydra free and open-source?
Yes. Casbin is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Ory Hydra under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Casbin and Ory Hydra with Docker?
Casbin: check the project docs for container support. Ory Hydra: yes.