Dex vs Hello Identity Coop
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Dex | Hello Identity Coop |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 90 · Excellent | 69 · Good |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,120 | ★ 7 |
| First released | 2016 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0 | Auth0, Firebase Auth |
What are Dex and Hello Identity Coop?
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
Hello Identity Coop
Hello is an open-source identity and login service that lets users authenticate with email, phone or social providers without passwords. The wallet and broker components can be self-hosted.
- Passwordless login flows
- Email, phone and social providers
- Standard OpenID Connect
- Developer SDKs and integrations
Dex vs Hello Identity Coop: key differences
Dex is written in Go, while Hello Identity Coop is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Dex versus MIT for Hello Identity Coop. Dex is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Hello Identity Coop. Dex is the more established project (first released 2016), while Hello Identity Coop arrived in 2022. Dex has the considerably larger community, at 11,120 GitHub stars versus 7.
Why pick each one
Choose Dex if…
- Great Kubernetes integration
- Simple and reliable
Watch out for
- No user management of its own
Choose Hello Identity Coop if…
- Simple passwordless onboarding
- Open standards
Watch out for
- Younger project
Frequently asked questions
Is Dex or Hello Identity Coop 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 Hello Identity Coop free and open-source?
Yes. Dex is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Hello Identity Coop under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dex and Hello Identity Coop with Docker?
Dex: yes. Hello Identity Coop: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Dex or Hello Identity Coop?
Dex has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Hello Identity Coop. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.