Hanko vs SuperTokens
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
SuperTokens
Open-source user authentication you can self-host
| Feature | Hanko | SuperTokens |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 95 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,036 | ★ 15,320 |
| First released | 2022 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Clerk | Auth0, Firebase Auth |
What are Hanko and SuperTokens?
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
SuperTokens
SuperTokens is an open-source authentication solution that handles login, sessions, social login and more. It can be self-hosted and offers SDKs and prebuilt UI components for rapid integration.
- Email/password and passwordless login
- Social and enterprise SSO
- Secure session management
- Prebuilt frontend components
Hanko vs SuperTokens: key differences
Hanko is written in Go, while SuperTokens is built with Java. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Hanko versus Apache-2.0 for SuperTokens. SuperTokens is the more established project (first released 2020), 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 SuperTokens if…
- Easy framework integration
- Good free self-hosted tier
Watch out for
- Some advanced features are paid
Frequently asked questions
Is Hanko or SuperTokens better?
Neither is universally better. SuperTokens has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Hanko and SuperTokens free and open-source?
Yes. Hanko is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and SuperTokens under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Hanko and SuperTokens with Docker?
Hanko: yes. SuperTokens: yes.