Casdoor vs Dex
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Casdoor | Dex |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 94 · Excellent | 90 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 14,459 | ★ 11,112 |
| First released | 2021 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Okta | Okta, Auth0 |
What are Casdoor and Dex?
Casdoor
Casdoor is an open-source identity and access management platform with a strong focus on a friendly user interface. It supports OAuth2, OIDC, SAML, CAS, LDAP and many social login providers.
- Supports OAuth, SAML, CAS and LDAP
- Dozens of built-in social login providers
- Multi-tenant organization support
- Web-based admin and login UI
Dex
Dex is an identity service that uses OpenID Connect to drive authentication for other applications. It acts as a portal to other identity providers through connectors such as LDAP, SAML and GitHub.
- OIDC federation broker
- Connectors for LDAP, SAML and GitHub
- Popular in Kubernetes environments
- Lightweight and stateless
Casdoor vs Dex: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Dex is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Casdoor. Dex is the more established project (first released 2016), while Casdoor arrived in 2021.
Why pick each one
Choose Casdoor if…
- Polished out-of-the-box UI
- Broad protocol support
Watch out for
- Documentation can be uneven
Choose Dex if…
- Great Kubernetes integration
- Simple and reliable
Watch out for
- No user management of its own
Frequently asked questions
Is Casdoor or Dex better?
Neither is universally better. Casdoor has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Casdoor and Dex free and open-source?
Yes. Casdoor is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Dex under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Casdoor and Dex with Docker?
Casdoor: yes. Dex: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Casdoor or Dex?
Dex has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Casdoor. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.