FusionAuth vs Pocket ID
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
FusionAuth
Complete authentication and authorization platform
VS
Pocket ID
Simple OIDC provider that uses only passkeys
| Feature | FusionAuth | Pocket ID |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 70 · Good | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | Dockerfile | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 241 | ★ 9,266 |
| First released | 2018 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Okta | Auth0, Authelia |
What are FusionAuth and Pocket ID?
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
Pocket ID
Pocket ID is an open-source, simple OpenID Connect provider that authenticates users exclusively with passkeys. It is self-hosted to add passwordless SSO to applications with minimal configuration.
- Passkey-only authentication
- Simple OIDC provider
- Minimal configuration
- Lightweight
FusionAuth vs Pocket ID: key differences
FusionAuth is written in Dockerfile, while Pocket ID is built with Go. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for FusionAuth versus BSD-2-Clause for Pocket ID. Pocket ID is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for FusionAuth. FusionAuth is the more established project (first released 2018), while Pocket ID arrived in 2024. Pocket ID has the considerably larger community, at 9,266 GitHub stars versus 241.
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 Pocket ID if…
- Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 9.3k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is FusionAuth or Pocket ID better?
Pocket ID is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider FusionAuth if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are FusionAuth and Pocket ID free and open-source?
Yes. FusionAuth is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Pocket ID under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run FusionAuth and Pocket ID with Docker?
FusionAuth: yes. Pocket ID: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, FusionAuth or Pocket ID?
Pocket ID has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for FusionAuth. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.