FusionAuth vs SuperTokens
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
SuperTokens
Open-source user authentication you can self-host
| Feature | FusionAuth | SuperTokens |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 70 · Good | 95 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Dockerfile | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 241 | ★ 15,320 |
| First released | 2018 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Okta | Auth0, Firebase Auth |
What are FusionAuth and SuperTokens?
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
SuperTokens
SuperTokens is an open-source authentication solution that handles login, sessions, social login and more. It can be self-hosted and offers SDKs and prebuilt UI components for rapid integration.
- Email/password and passwordless login
- Social and enterprise SSO
- Secure session management
- Prebuilt frontend components
FusionAuth vs SuperTokens: key differences
FusionAuth is written in Dockerfile, while SuperTokens is built with Java. SuperTokens is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for FusionAuth. FusionAuth is the more established project (first released 2018), while SuperTokens arrived in 2020. SuperTokens has the considerably larger community, at 15,320 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 SuperTokens if…
- Easy framework integration
- Good free self-hosted tier
Watch out for
- Some advanced features are paid
Frequently asked questions
Is FusionAuth or SuperTokens better?
Neither is universally better. SuperTokens has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are FusionAuth and SuperTokens free and open-source?
Yes. FusionAuth is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SuperTokens under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run FusionAuth and SuperTokens with Docker?
FusionAuth: yes. SuperTokens: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, FusionAuth or SuperTokens?
SuperTokens has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for FusionAuth. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.