Kanidm 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.
Not the right match-up?
Kanidm
Modern, simple and secure identity management server
VS
Ory Hydra
Certified OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect server
| Feature | Kanidm | Ory Hydra |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | MPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Rust | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,214 | ★ 17,462 |
| First released | 2019 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Active Directory, Okta | Okta, Auth0 |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Kanidm or Ory Hydra better?
Neither is universally better. Ory Hydra has the larger community, while Kanidm is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Kanidm and Ory Hydra free and open-source?
Yes. Kanidm is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Ory Hydra under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kanidm and Ory Hydra with Docker?
Kanidm: yes. Ory Hydra: yes.