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.
Not the right match-up?
Dex
OpenID Connect identity provider with pluggable connectors
VS
Ory Kratos
Headless identity and user management API server
| Feature | Dex | Ory Kratos |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ★ 11,019 | ★ 13,815 |
| First released | 2016 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0 | Auth0, Firebase Auth |
Why pick each one
Choose Ory Kratos if…
- Extremely flexible architecture
- Excellent for custom frontends
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.