Janssen Project vs Open Policy Agent
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?
Janssen Project
Cloud-native identity and access management platform
VS
Open Policy Agent
General-purpose policy engine for cloud-native stacks
| Feature | Janssen Project | Open Policy Agent |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | kubernetes, helm | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 646 | ★ 12,086 |
| First released | 2020 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0 | AWS IAM policies |
Why pick each one
Choose Open Policy Agent if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 12.1k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Janssen Project or Open Policy Agent better?
Open Policy Agent is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Janssen Project if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Janssen Project and Open Policy Agent free and open-source?
Yes. Janssen Project is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Open Policy Agent under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Janssen Project and Open Policy Agent with Docker?
Janssen Project: check the project docs for container support. Open Policy Agent: yes.