SAML Jackson vs Logto
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | SAML Jackson | Logto |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 80 · Excellent | 94 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,266 | ★ 14,621 |
| First released | 2022 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Auth0, WorkOS | Auth0, Firebase Auth, Clerk |
What are SAML Jackson and Logto?
SAML Jackson
BoxyHQ Jackson (SAML Jackson) is a self-hosted service that abstracts SAML and OIDC enterprise single sign-on behind a simple OAuth 2.0 API. It lets apps add enterprise SSO without per-provider code.
- SAML and OIDC abstraction
- OAuth 2.0 API
- Directory sync (SCIM)
- Self-hostable
Logto
Logto is an open-source identity solution built for developers, offering passwordless sign-in, social login and enterprise SSO. It provides prebuilt sign-in experiences and SDKs for many frameworks.
- Prebuilt customizable sign-in experiences
- Passwordless and social authentication
- Multi-framework SDKs
- Role-based access control
SAML Jackson vs Logto: key differences
Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for SAML Jackson versus MPL-2.0 for Logto. Logto has the considerably larger community, at 14,621 GitHub stars versus 2,266.
Why pick each one
Choose SAML Jackson if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Choose Logto if…
- Great developer experience
- Modern UI and SDKs
Watch out for
- Younger project with evolving APIs
Frequently asked questions
Is SAML Jackson or Logto better?
Neither is universally better. Logto has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are SAML Jackson and Logto free and open-source?
Yes. SAML Jackson is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Logto under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run SAML Jackson and Logto with Docker?
SAML Jackson: yes. Logto: yes.