SHSelfHostIndex

FusionAuth vs LemonLDAP::NG

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?
FusionAuth Complete authentication and authorization platform VS LE LemonLDAP::NG Web single sign-on and access management system
FeatureFusionAuthLemonLDAP::NG
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score70 · Good41 · Fair
CategoryIdentity & SSOIdentity & SSO
LicenseApache-2.0GPL-2.0
LanguageDockerfilePerl
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM1,024 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, bare-metaldocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 241★ 84
First released20182005
ReplacesAuth0, OktaOkta, PingFederate

What are FusionAuth and LemonLDAP::NG?

FusionAuth

FusionAuth is a self-hostable customer identity and access management platform supporting OAuth, OIDC, SAML, MFA, and user management. The community edition runs free on your own infrastructure.

  • OAuth, OIDC and SAML support
  • Multi-factor authentication
  • User and tenant management
  • Themable login pages

LemonLDAP::NG

LemonLDAP::NG is an open-source Web SSO, access management, and identity federation product. It supports SAML, OpenID Connect, and CAS, and protects web applications behind a configurable portal.

  • Web SSO portal
  • SAML and OIDC support
  • CAS protocol
  • Fine-grained access rules

FusionAuth vs LemonLDAP::NG: key differences

FusionAuth is written in Dockerfile, while LemonLDAP::NG is built with Perl. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for FusionAuth versus GPL-2.0 for LemonLDAP::NG. LemonLDAP::NG is the more established project (first released 2005), while FusionAuth arrived in 2018. FusionAuth has the considerably larger community, at 241 GitHub stars versus 84.

Why pick each one

Choose FusionAuth if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
  • Written in Dockerfile
FusionAuth details

Choose LemonLDAP::NG if…

  • Mature and full-featured
  • Many protocol options

Watch out for

  • Complex configuration
  • Perl stack is uncommon
LemonLDAP::NG details

Frequently asked questions

Is FusionAuth or LemonLDAP::NG better?

FusionAuth is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider LemonLDAP::NG if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are FusionAuth and LemonLDAP::NG free and open-source?

Yes. FusionAuth is licensed under Apache-2.0 and LemonLDAP::NG under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run FusionAuth and LemonLDAP::NG with Docker?

FusionAuth: yes. LemonLDAP::NG: yes.

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