FusionAuth 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?
FusionAuth
Complete authentication and authorization platform
VS
Ory Kratos
Headless identity and user management API server
| Feature | FusionAuth | Ory Kratos |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Dockerfile | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 241 | ★ 13,815 |
| First released | 2018 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Okta | Auth0, Firebase Auth |
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
Choose Ory Kratos if…
- Extremely flexible architecture
- Excellent for custom frontends
Frequently asked questions
Is FusionAuth or Ory Kratos better?
Neither is universally better. Ory Kratos has the larger community, while FusionAuth is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are FusionAuth and Ory Kratos free and open-source?
Yes. FusionAuth 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 FusionAuth and Ory Kratos with Docker?
FusionAuth: yes. Ory Kratos: yes.