Cerbos 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?
Cerbos
Scalable, decoupled authorization service
VS
Ory Hydra
Certified OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect server
| Feature | Cerbos | Ory Hydra |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,529 | ★ 17,462 |
| First released | 2021 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Auth0 FGA, OPA | Okta, Auth0 |
Why pick each one
Choose Cerbos if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Active community (4.5k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Cerbos or Ory Hydra better?
Neither is universally better. Ory Hydra has the larger community, while Cerbos is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Cerbos and Ory Hydra free and open-source?
Yes. Cerbos 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 Cerbos and Ory Hydra with Docker?
Cerbos: yes. Ory Hydra: yes.