SAML Jackson 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.
| Feature | SAML Jackson | Ory Hydra |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 80 · Excellent | 90 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,266 | ★ 17,563 |
| First released | 2022 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Auth0, WorkOS | Okta, Auth0 |
What are SAML Jackson and Ory Hydra?
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
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
SAML Jackson vs Ory Hydra: key differences
SAML Jackson is written in TypeScript, while Ory Hydra is built with Go. Ory Hydra is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for SAML Jackson. Ory Hydra is the more established project (first released 2015), while SAML Jackson arrived in 2022. Ory Hydra has the considerably larger community, at 17,563 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 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 SAML Jackson or Ory Hydra better?
Neither is universally better. Ory Hydra has the larger community, while SAML Jackson is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are SAML Jackson and Ory Hydra free and open-source?
Yes. SAML Jackson is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Ory Hydra under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run SAML Jackson and Ory Hydra with Docker?
SAML Jackson: yes. Ory Hydra: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, SAML Jackson or Ory Hydra?
Ory Hydra has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for SAML Jackson. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.