Dex vs Hanko
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Hanko
Passkey-first authentication for modern applications
| Feature | Dex | Hanko |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 90 · Excellent | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,112 | ★ 9,036 |
| First released | 2016 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0 | Auth0, Clerk |
What are Dex and Hanko?
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
Hanko
Hanko is an open-source authentication solution built around passkeys and passwordless login. It can be self-hosted to provide modern, phishing-resistant authentication to web and mobile applications.
- Passkey-first login
- Passwordless flows
- Embeddable web component
- Self-hosted API
Dex vs Hanko: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Dex versus AGPL-3.0 for Hanko. Dex is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Hanko. Dex is the more established project (first released 2016), while Hanko arrived in 2022.
Why pick each one
Choose Dex if…
- Great Kubernetes integration
- Simple and reliable
Watch out for
- No user management of its own
Choose Hanko if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 9k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Dex or Hanko better?
Neither is universally better. Dex has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Dex and Hanko free and open-source?
Yes. Dex is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Hanko under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dex and Hanko with Docker?
Dex: yes. Hanko: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Dex or Hanko?
Dex has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Hanko. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.