GLAuth 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?
GLAuth
Lightweight LDAP server for developers and small setups
VS
Ory Kratos
Headless identity and user management API server
| Feature | GLAuth | Ory Kratos |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ★ 13,815 |
| First released | 2017 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Microsoft Active Directory, OpenLDAP | Auth0, Firebase Auth |
Why pick each one
Choose Ory Kratos if…
- Extremely flexible architecture
- Excellent for custom frontends
Frequently asked questions
Is GLAuth or Ory Kratos better?
Neither is universally better. Ory Kratos 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 Kratos free and open-source?
Yes. GLAuth is licensed under MIT and Ory Kratos under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run GLAuth and Ory Kratos with Docker?
GLAuth: yes. Ory Kratos: yes.