Hanko vs Ory Hydra
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Hanko
Passkey-first authentication for modern applications
VS
Ory Hydra
Certified OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect server
| Feature | Hanko | Ory Hydra |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 90 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,036 | ★ 17,563 |
| First released | 2022 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Clerk | Okta, Auth0 |
What are Hanko and Ory Hydra?
Hanko
Hanko is an open-source authentication solution built around passkeys and passwordless login. It can be self-hosted to provide modern, phishing-resistant authentication to web and mobile applications.
- Passkey-first login
- Passwordless flows
- Embeddable web component
- Self-hosted API
Ory Hydra
Ory Hydra is an OpenID Certified OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect provider. It is built to integrate with any existing identity system and issues tokens without managing user accounts itself.
- OpenID Certified implementation
- Low memory footprint
- Bring your own login and consent UI
- Scales horizontally
Hanko vs Ory Hydra: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Hanko versus Apache-2.0 for Ory Hydra. Ory Hydra is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Hanko. Ory Hydra is the more established project (first released 2015), while Hanko arrived in 2022.
Why pick each one
Choose Hanko if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 9k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Choose Ory Hydra if…
- Security focused and certified
- Integrates with any user store
Watch out for
- Only handles OAuth, not user management
Frequently asked questions
Is Hanko or Ory Hydra better?
Neither is universally better. Ory Hydra has the larger community, while Hanko is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Hanko and Ory Hydra free and open-source?
Yes. Hanko is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Ory Hydra under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Hanko and Ory Hydra with Docker?
Hanko: yes. Ory Hydra: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Hanko or Ory Hydra?
Ory Hydra has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Hanko. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.