Janssen Project vs Rauthy
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Rauthy
Lightweight OpenID Connect provider written in Rust
| Feature | Janssen Project | Rauthy |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 80 · Excellent | 84 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | kubernetes, helm | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 649 | ★ 1,339 |
| First released | 2020 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0 | Keycloak, Auth0 |
What are Janssen Project and Rauthy?
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
Rauthy
Rauthy is an open-source, security-focused OpenID Connect provider and single sign-on solution written in Rust. It is designed to be lightweight and fully self-hosted with minimal resource usage.
- Lightweight OIDC provider
- Passkey support
- Low memory footprint
- Single binary option
Janssen Project vs Rauthy: key differences
Janssen Project is written in Java, while Rauthy is built with Rust. Rauthy is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for Janssen Project. Janssen Project is the more established project (first released 2020), while Rauthy arrived in 2023. Rauthy has the considerably larger community, at 1,339 GitHub stars versus 649. Rauthy lists first-class Docker deployment; Janssen Project does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Janssen Project if…
- Standards complete
- Built for scale
Watch out for
- Complex to operate
- Heavy resource needs
Choose Rauthy if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in Rust
Frequently asked questions
Is Janssen Project or Rauthy better?
Rauthy is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Janssen Project if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Janssen Project and Rauthy free and open-source?
Yes. Janssen Project is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Rauthy under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Janssen Project and Rauthy with Docker?
Janssen Project: check the project docs for container support. Rauthy: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Janssen Project or Rauthy?
Rauthy has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for Janssen Project. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.