GLAuth vs Ory Hydra
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?
GLAuth
Lightweight LDAP server for developers and small setups
VS
Ory Hydra
Certified OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect server
| Feature | GLAuth | Ory Hydra |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,834 | ★ 17,462 |
| First released | 2017 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Microsoft Active Directory, OpenLDAP | Okta, Auth0 |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is GLAuth or Ory Hydra better?
Neither is universally better. Ory Hydra has the larger community, while GLAuth is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are GLAuth and Ory Hydra free and open-source?
Yes. GLAuth is licensed under MIT and Ory Hydra under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run GLAuth and Ory Hydra with Docker?
GLAuth: yes. Ory Hydra: yes.