Dex vs Ory Kratos
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Dex | Ory Kratos |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 90 · Excellent | 89 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,120 | ★ 13,888 |
| First released | 2016 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0 | Auth0, Firebase Auth |
What are Dex and Ory Kratos?
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
Ory Kratos
Ory Kratos is an API-first identity and user management system. It handles login, registration, profile management, account recovery and multi-factor authentication without prescribing a user interface.
- Headless API for full UI control
- Self-service flows for login and recovery
- Pluggable MFA including TOTP and WebAuthn
- Cloud-native and stateless design
Dex vs Ory Kratos: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Dex is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Ory Kratos. Dex is the more established project (first released 2016), while Ory Kratos arrived in 2020.
Why pick each one
Choose Dex if…
- Great Kubernetes integration
- Simple and reliable
Watch out for
- No user management of its own
Choose Ory Kratos if…
- Extremely flexible architecture
- Excellent for custom frontends
Watch out for
- Requires building your own UI
- Complex initial setup
Frequently asked questions
Is Dex or Ory Kratos better?
Neither is universally better. Ory Kratos has the larger community, while Dex is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Dex and Ory Kratos free and open-source?
Yes. Dex is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Ory Kratos under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dex and Ory Kratos with Docker?
Dex: yes. Ory Kratos: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Dex or Ory Kratos?
Dex has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Ory Kratos. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.