Ipsilon vs Kanidm

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?
FeatureIpsilonKanidm
CategoryIdentity & SSOIdentity & SSO
LicenseGPL-3.0MPL-2.0
LanguagePythonRust
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM512 MB256 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, sourcedocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 80★ 5,214
First released20142019
ReplacesOkta, PingFederateActive Directory, Okta

Why pick each one

Choose Ipsilon if…

  • Good FreeIPA companion
  • Federation focused
Ipsilon details

Choose Kanidm if…

  • Memory safe and lightweight
  • Excellent passwordless support
Kanidm details

Frequently asked questions

Is Ipsilon or Kanidm better?

Kanidm is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Ipsilon if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Ipsilon and Kanidm free and open-source?

Yes. Ipsilon is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Kanidm under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Ipsilon and Kanidm with Docker?

Ipsilon: check the project docs for container support. Kanidm: yes.

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