Casdoor vs SAML Jackson
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Casdoor | SAML Jackson |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 94 · Excellent | 80 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 14,465 | ★ 2,266 |
| First released | 2021 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Okta | Auth0, WorkOS |
What are Casdoor and SAML Jackson?
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
SAML Jackson
BoxyHQ Jackson (SAML Jackson) is a self-hosted service that abstracts SAML and OIDC enterprise single sign-on behind a simple OAuth 2.0 API. It lets apps add enterprise SSO without per-provider code.
- SAML and OIDC abstraction
- OAuth 2.0 API
- Directory sync (SCIM)
- Self-hostable
Casdoor vs SAML Jackson: key differences
Casdoor is written in Go, while SAML Jackson is built with TypeScript. Casdoor is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for SAML Jackson. Casdoor has the considerably larger community, at 14,465 GitHub stars versus 2,266.
Why pick each one
Choose Casdoor if…
- Polished out-of-the-box UI
- Broad protocol support
Watch out for
- Documentation can be uneven
Choose SAML Jackson if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Casdoor or SAML Jackson 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 SAML Jackson free and open-source?
Yes. Casdoor is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SAML Jackson under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Casdoor and SAML Jackson with Docker?
Casdoor: yes. SAML Jackson: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Casdoor or SAML Jackson?
Casdoor has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for SAML Jackson. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.