Cerbos vs Permify
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Cerbos
Scalable, decoupled authorization service
VS
Permify
Open-source authorization service for fine-grained access
| Feature | Cerbos | Permify |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 89 · 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 | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,592 | ★ 5,954 |
| First released | 2021 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Auth0 FGA, OPA | Auth0 FGA, OpenFGA |
What are Cerbos and Permify?
Cerbos
Cerbos is an open-source, stateless authorization layer that decouples access control logic from application code. It is self-hosted to evaluate context-aware permission policies for any application.
- Decoupled authorization
- Policy as code
- gRPC and REST APIs
- Stateless and scalable
Permify
Permify is an open-source authorization service inspired by Google Zanzibar for building and managing fine-grained, scalable access control. It is self-hosted to centralize permission checks.
- Zanzibar-style model
- Centralized permissions
- Real-time consistency
- gRPC and REST APIs
Cerbos vs Permify: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Cerbos is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Permify.
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 (4.6k GitHub stars)
Choose Permify if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 6k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Cerbos or Permify better?
Neither is universally better. Permify has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Cerbos and Permify free and open-source?
Yes. Cerbos is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Permify under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Cerbos and Permify with Docker?
Cerbos: yes. Permify: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Cerbos or Permify?
Cerbos has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Permify. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.