LemonLDAP::NG 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.
| Feature | LemonLDAP::NG | Ory Hydra |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 41 · Fair | 90 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Perl | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 84 | ★ 17,563 |
| First released | 2005 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Okta, PingFederate | Okta, Auth0 |
What are LemonLDAP::NG and Ory Hydra?
LemonLDAP::NG
LemonLDAP::NG is an open-source Web SSO, access management, and identity federation product. It supports SAML, OpenID Connect, and CAS, and protects web applications behind a configurable portal.
- Web SSO portal
- SAML and OIDC support
- CAS protocol
- Fine-grained access rules
Ory Hydra
Ory Hydra is an OpenID Certified OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect provider. It is built to integrate with any existing identity system and issues tokens without managing user accounts itself.
- OpenID Certified implementation
- Low memory footprint
- Bring your own login and consent UI
- Scales horizontally
LemonLDAP::NG vs Ory Hydra: key differences
LemonLDAP::NG is written in Perl, while Ory Hydra is built with Go. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for LemonLDAP::NG versus Apache-2.0 for Ory Hydra. Ory Hydra is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for LemonLDAP::NG. LemonLDAP::NG is the more established project (first released 2005), while Ory Hydra arrived in 2015. Ory Hydra has the considerably larger community, at 17,563 GitHub stars versus 84.
Why pick each one
Choose LemonLDAP::NG if…
- Mature and full-featured
- Many protocol options
Watch out for
- Complex configuration
- Perl stack is uncommon
Choose Ory Hydra if…
- Security focused and certified
- Integrates with any user store
Watch out for
- Only handles OAuth, not user management
Frequently asked questions
Is LemonLDAP::NG or Ory Hydra better?
Neither is universally better. Ory Hydra has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are LemonLDAP::NG and Ory Hydra free and open-source?
Yes. LemonLDAP::NG is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Ory Hydra under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run LemonLDAP::NG and Ory Hydra with Docker?
LemonLDAP::NG: yes. Ory Hydra: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, LemonLDAP::NG or Ory Hydra?
Ory Hydra has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for LemonLDAP::NG. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.