Janssen Project 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.
Not the right match-up?
Janssen Project
Cloud-native identity and access management platform
VS
Pocket ID
Simple OIDC provider that uses only passkeys
| Feature | Janssen Project | Pocket ID |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | Java | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | kubernetes, helm | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 646 | ★ 8,737 |
| First released | 2020 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0 | Auth0, Authelia |
Why pick each one
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 8.7k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Janssen Project or Pocket ID better?
Pocket ID is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Janssen Project if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Janssen Project and Pocket ID free and open-source?
Yes. Janssen Project 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 Janssen Project and Pocket ID with Docker?
Janssen Project: check the project docs for container support. Pocket ID: yes.