Janssen Project vs OpenUnison
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Janssen Project | OpenUnison |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 80 · Excellent | 67 · Good |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Less |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | kubernetes, helm | kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 649 | ★ 136 |
| First released | 2020 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0 | Okta |
What are Janssen Project and OpenUnison?
Janssen Project
The Janssen Project is a Linux Foundation effort delivering a scalable, cloud-native identity and access management platform. It implements OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0, and FIDO standards for authentication and authorization.
- OpenID Connect provider
- OAuth 2.0 server
- FIDO2 and passkeys
- Cloud-native deployment
OpenUnison
OpenUnison is an open-source identity manager and single sign-on portal that integrates Kubernetes and applications with enterprise identity providers. It is self-hosted in the cluster.
- Kubernetes SSO portal
- Identity provisioning
- LDAP and SAML integration
- Self-service workflows
Janssen Project vs OpenUnison: key differences
Janssen Project is written in Java, while OpenUnison is built with Less. OpenUnison is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for Janssen Project. OpenUnison is the more established project (first released 2018), while Janssen Project arrived in 2020. Janssen Project has the considerably larger community, at 649 GitHub stars versus 136.
Why pick each one
Choose Janssen Project if…
- Standards complete
- Built for scale
Watch out for
- Complex to operate
- Heavy resource needs
Choose OpenUnison if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Written in Less
Frequently asked questions
Is Janssen Project or OpenUnison better?
Neither is universally better. Janssen Project has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Janssen Project and OpenUnison free and open-source?
Yes. Janssen Project is licensed under Apache-2.0 and OpenUnison under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Janssen Project and OpenUnison with Docker?
Janssen Project: check the project docs for container support. OpenUnison: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Janssen Project or OpenUnison?
OpenUnison has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for Janssen Project. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.