Kanidm vs Ory Kratos
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 Kratos
Headless identity and user management API server
| Feature | Kanidm | Ory Kratos |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ★ 13,815 |
| First released | 2019 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Active Directory, Okta | Auth0, Firebase Auth |
Why pick each one
Choose Ory Kratos if…
- Extremely flexible architecture
- Excellent for custom frontends
Frequently asked questions
Is Kanidm or Ory Kratos better?
Neither is universally better. Ory Kratos 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 Kratos free and open-source?
Yes. Kanidm is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Ory Kratos under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kanidm and Ory Kratos with Docker?
Kanidm: yes. Ory Kratos: yes.