SHSelfHostIndex

Gluu Flex vs WSO2 Identity Server

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 WS WSO2 Identity Server Open-source identity and access management server
FeatureGluu FlexWSO2 Identity Server
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score69 · Good80 · Excellent
CategoryIdentity & SSOIdentity & SSO
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguageTypeScriptJava
Setup difficultyHardHard
Min. RAM4,096 MB4,096 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, helmdocker, kubernetes, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 31★ 880
First released20092007
ReplacesOkta, Ping IdentityOkta, ForgeRock

What are Gluu Flex and WSO2 Identity Server?

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

WSO2 Identity Server

WSO2 Identity Server is an open-source IAM product that provides single sign-on, identity federation, and strong authentication. It supports SAML, OpenID Connect, and adaptive authentication policies.

  • Single sign-on
  • Identity federation
  • Adaptive authentication
  • Standards support

Gluu Flex vs WSO2 Identity Server: key differences

Gluu Flex is written in TypeScript, while WSO2 Identity Server is built with Java. WSO2 Identity Server is the more established project (first released 2007), while Gluu Flex arrived in 2009. WSO2 Identity Server has the considerably larger community, at 880 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 WSO2 Identity Server if…

  • Enterprise feature set
  • Strong standards coverage

Watch out for

  • Resource heavy
  • Complex tuning
WSO2 Identity Server details

Frequently asked questions

Is Gluu Flex or WSO2 Identity Server better?

Neither is universally better. WSO2 Identity Server has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Gluu Flex and WSO2 Identity Server free and open-source?

Yes. Gluu Flex is licensed under Apache-2.0 and WSO2 Identity Server under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Gluu Flex and WSO2 Identity Server with Docker?

Gluu Flex: yes. WSO2 Identity Server: yes.

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