LemonLDAP::NG vs OpenUnison
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?
LemonLDAP::NG
Web single sign-on and access management system
VS
OpenUnison
Identity management and SSO portal for Kubernetes
| Feature | LemonLDAP::NG | OpenUnison |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Perl | Less |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 84 | ★ 136 |
| First released | 2005 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Okta, PingFederate | Okta |
Why pick each one
Choose OpenUnison if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Written in Less
Frequently asked questions
Is LemonLDAP::NG or OpenUnison better?
Neither is universally better. OpenUnison has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are LemonLDAP::NG and OpenUnison free and open-source?
Yes. LemonLDAP::NG is licensed under GPL-2.0 and OpenUnison under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run LemonLDAP::NG and OpenUnison with Docker?
LemonLDAP::NG: yes. OpenUnison: check the project docs for container support.