Dex vs Logto
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Logto
Developer-friendly authentication and authorization platform
| Feature | Dex | Logto |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 90 · Excellent | 94 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,112 | ★ 14,614 |
| First released | 2016 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0 | Auth0, Firebase Auth, Clerk |
What are Dex and Logto?
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
Logto
Logto is an open-source identity solution built for developers, offering passwordless sign-in, social login and enterprise SSO. It provides prebuilt sign-in experiences and SDKs for many frameworks.
- Prebuilt customizable sign-in experiences
- Passwordless and social authentication
- Multi-framework SDKs
- Role-based access control
Dex vs Logto: key differences
Dex is written in Go, while Logto is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Dex versus MPL-2.0 for Logto. Dex is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Logto. Dex is the more established project (first released 2016), while Logto 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 Logto if…
- Great developer experience
- Modern UI and SDKs
Watch out for
- Younger project with evolving APIs
Frequently asked questions
Is Dex or Logto better?
Neither is universally better. Logto has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Dex and Logto free and open-source?
Yes. Dex is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Logto under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dex and Logto with Docker?
Dex: yes. Logto: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Dex or Logto?
Dex has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Logto. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.