Janssen Project vs ZITADEL
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
ZITADEL
Cloud-native identity infrastructure with multi-tenancy built
| Feature | Janssen Project | ZITADEL |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 80 · Excellent | 95 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | kubernetes, helm | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 649 | ★ 15,083 |
| First released | 2020 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Okta, Auth0 | Auth0, Okta, Firebase Auth |
What are Janssen Project and ZITADEL?
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
ZITADEL
ZITADEL is an open-source identity and access management platform built for multi-tenant applications. It offers OpenID Connect, OAuth2, SAML, passwordless login and a powerful management API.
- Multi-tenancy as a first-class concept
- Passwordless and FIDO2 authentication
- Event-sourced audit trail
- Comprehensive gRPC and REST APIs
Janssen Project vs ZITADEL: key differences
Janssen Project is written in Java, while ZITADEL is built with Go. ZITADEL is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for Janssen Project. ZITADEL has the considerably larger community, at 15,083 GitHub stars versus 649. ZITADEL 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 ZITADEL if…
- Strong multi-tenant model
- Modern Go codebase
Watch out for
- Smaller community than Keycloak
Frequently asked questions
Is Janssen Project or ZITADEL better?
ZITADEL 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 ZITADEL free and open-source?
Yes. Janssen Project is licensed under Apache-2.0 and ZITADEL under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Janssen Project and ZITADEL with Docker?
Janssen Project: check the project docs for container support. ZITADEL: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Janssen Project or ZITADEL?
ZITADEL has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for Janssen Project. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.