SHSelfHostIndex

Janssen Project vs Shibboleth Identity Provider

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?
JA Janssen Project Cloud-native identity and access management platform VS SH Shibboleth Identity Provider Standards-based SAML identity provider for federations
FeatureJanssen ProjectShibboleth Identity Provider
Deploy effortRead-the-docs projectUnder-an-hour setup
CategoryIdentity & SSOIdentity & SSO
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguageJavaJava
Setup difficultyHardHard
Min. RAM4,096 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentkubernetes, helmbare-metal, docker, source
GitHub stars★ 649★ 200
First released20202003
ReplacesOkta, Auth0Okta, Ping Identity

What are Janssen Project and Shibboleth Identity Provider?

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

Shibboleth Identity Provider

The Shibboleth Identity Provider is an open-source SAML identity provider widely used in research and education federations. It enables secure single sign-on and attribute release across organizations.

  • SAML 2.0 identity provider
  • Attribute resolution and release policies
  • Federation metadata support
  • Used by academic federations worldwide

Janssen Project vs Shibboleth Identity Provider: key differences

Both projects are written in Java. Shibboleth Identity Provider is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for Janssen Project. Shibboleth Identity Provider is the more established project (first released 2003), while Janssen Project arrived in 2020. Janssen Project has the considerably larger community, at 649 GitHub stars versus 200. Shibboleth Identity Provider 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
Janssen Project details

Choose Shibboleth Identity Provider if…

  • Gold standard for SAML federations
  • Highly configurable

Watch out for

  • Complex setup
  • SAML-centric
Shibboleth Identity Provider details

Frequently asked questions

Is Janssen Project or Shibboleth Identity Provider 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 Shibboleth Identity Provider free and open-source?

Yes. Janssen Project is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Shibboleth Identity Provider under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Janssen Project and Shibboleth Identity Provider with Docker?

Janssen Project: check the project docs for container support. Shibboleth Identity Provider: yes.

Which is lighter on resources, Janssen Project or Shibboleth Identity Provider?

Shibboleth Identity Provider 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.

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