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.
Not the right match-up?
Dex
OpenID Connect identity provider with pluggable connectors
VS
Hello Identity Coop
Open-source authentication broker for passwordless login
| Feature | Dex | Hello Identity Coop |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ★ 11,019 | ★ 7 |
| First released | 2016 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0 | Auth0, Firebase Auth |
Why pick each one
Choose Hello Identity Coop if…
- Simple passwordless onboarding
- Open standards
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.