SHSelfHostIndex

Gluu Flex vs Shibboleth Identity Provider

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?
GL Gluu Flex Enterprise identity and access management platform VS SH Shibboleth Identity Provider Standards-based SAML identity provider for federations
FeatureGluu FlexShibboleth Identity Provider
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
CategoryIdentity & SSOIdentity & SSO
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguageTypeScriptJava
Setup difficultyHardHard
Min. RAM4,096 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, helmbare-metal, docker, source
GitHub stars★ 31★ 200
First released20092003
ReplacesOkta, Ping IdentityOkta, Ping Identity

What are Gluu Flex and Shibboleth Identity Provider?

Gluu Flex

Gluu provides a self-hostable identity platform for single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, and access management built on open standards. It supports OAuth, OIDC, SAML, and FIDO2.

  • Single sign-on
  • OAuth, OIDC and SAML
  • FIDO2 strong authentication
  • Kubernetes deployment

Shibboleth Identity Provider

The Shibboleth Identity Provider is an open-source SAML identity provider widely used in research and education federations. It enables secure single sign-on and attribute release across organizations.

  • SAML 2.0 identity provider
  • Attribute resolution and release policies
  • Federation metadata support
  • Used by academic federations worldwide

Gluu Flex vs Shibboleth Identity Provider: key differences

Gluu Flex is written in TypeScript, while Shibboleth Identity Provider is built with Java. Shibboleth Identity Provider is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for Gluu Flex. Shibboleth Identity Provider is the more established project (first released 2003), while Gluu Flex arrived in 2009. Shibboleth Identity Provider has the considerably larger community, at 200 GitHub stars versus 31.

Why pick each one

Choose Gluu Flex if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
  • Written in TypeScript
Gluu Flex details

Choose Shibboleth Identity Provider if…

  • Gold standard for SAML federations
  • Highly configurable

Watch out for

  • Complex setup
  • SAML-centric
Shibboleth Identity Provider details

Frequently asked questions

Is Gluu Flex or Shibboleth Identity Provider better?

Neither is universally better. Shibboleth Identity Provider has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Gluu Flex and Shibboleth Identity Provider free and open-source?

Yes. Gluu Flex is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Shibboleth Identity Provider under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Gluu Flex and Shibboleth Identity Provider with Docker?

Gluu Flex: yes. Shibboleth Identity Provider: yes.

Which is lighter on resources, Gluu Flex or Shibboleth Identity Provider?

Shibboleth Identity Provider has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for Gluu Flex. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.

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