Hello Identity Coop vs Pocket ID
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Pocket ID
Simple OIDC provider that uses only passkeys
| Feature | Hello Identity Coop | Pocket ID |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 69 · Good | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | MIT | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7 | ★ 9,266 |
| First released | 2022 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Firebase Auth | Auth0, Authelia |
What are Hello Identity Coop and Pocket ID?
Hello Identity Coop
Hello is an open-source identity and login service that lets users authenticate with email, phone or social providers without passwords. The wallet and broker components can be self-hosted.
- Passwordless login flows
- Email, phone and social providers
- Standard OpenID Connect
- Developer SDKs and integrations
Pocket ID
Pocket ID is an open-source, simple OpenID Connect provider that authenticates users exclusively with passkeys. It is self-hosted to add passwordless SSO to applications with minimal configuration.
- Passkey-only authentication
- Simple OIDC provider
- Minimal configuration
- Lightweight
Hello Identity Coop vs Pocket ID: key differences
Hello Identity Coop is written in TypeScript, while Pocket ID is built with Go. Licensing differs — MIT for Hello Identity Coop versus BSD-2-Clause for Pocket ID. Pocket ID is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Hello Identity Coop. Hello Identity Coop is the more established project (first released 2022), while Pocket ID arrived in 2024. Pocket ID has the considerably larger community, at 9,266 GitHub stars versus 7.
Why pick each one
Choose Hello Identity Coop if…
- Simple passwordless onboarding
- Open standards
Watch out for
- Younger project
Choose Pocket ID if…
- Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 9.3k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Hello Identity Coop or Pocket ID better?
Pocket ID is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Hello Identity Coop if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Hello Identity Coop and Pocket ID free and open-source?
Yes. Hello Identity Coop is licensed under MIT and Pocket ID under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Hello Identity Coop and Pocket ID with Docker?
Hello Identity Coop: yes. Pocket ID: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Hello Identity Coop or Pocket ID?
Pocket ID has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Hello Identity Coop. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.