SHSelfHostIndex

WSO2 Identity Server 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?
WS WSO2 Identity Server Open-source identity and access management server VS OP Open Policy Agent General-purpose policy engine for cloud-native stacks
FeatureWSO2 Identity ServerOpen Policy Agent
CategoryIdentity & SSOIdentity & SSO
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguageJavaGo
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM4,096 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, bare-metaldocker, kubernetes, binary
GitHub stars★ 870★ 12,086
First released20072016
ReplacesOkta, ForgeRockAWS IAM policies

Why pick each one

Choose WSO2 Identity Server if…

  • Enterprise feature set
  • Strong standards coverage
WSO2 Identity Server details

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
Open Policy Agent details

Frequently asked questions

Is WSO2 Identity Server 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 WSO2 Identity Server if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are WSO2 Identity Server and Open Policy Agent free and open-source?

Yes. WSO2 Identity Server 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 WSO2 Identity Server and Open Policy Agent with Docker?

WSO2 Identity Server: yes. Open Policy Agent: yes.

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