Dex vs step-ca
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
step-ca
Private online certificate authority for internal PKI
| Feature | Dex | step-ca |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,019 | ★ 8,734 |
| First released | 2016 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0 | DigiCert |
Why pick each one
Choose step-ca if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 8.7k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Dex or step-ca 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 step-ca free and open-source?
Yes. Dex is licensed under Apache-2.0 and step-ca under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dex and step-ca with Docker?
Dex: yes. step-ca: yes.