node-oidc-provider vs OpenUnison
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | node-oidc-provider | OpenUnison |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 67 · Good |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Less |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | source, docker | kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,816 | ★ 136 |
| First released | 2016 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Auth0, Okta | Okta |
What are node-oidc-provider and OpenUnison?
node-oidc-provider
node-oidc-provider is an open-source, certified OpenID Connect and OAuth 2.0 provider implementation for Node.js. It can be self-hosted to issue tokens and act as an identity provider for applications.
- Certified OIDC provider
- OAuth 2.0 support
- Embeddable in Node apps
- Standards compliant
OpenUnison
OpenUnison is an open-source identity manager and single sign-on portal that integrates Kubernetes and applications with enterprise identity providers. It is self-hosted in the cluster.
- Kubernetes SSO portal
- Identity provisioning
- LDAP and SAML integration
- Self-service workflows
node-oidc-provider vs OpenUnison: key differences
Node-oidc-provider is written in JavaScript, while OpenUnison is built with Less. Licensing differs — MIT for node-oidc-provider versus Apache-2.0 for OpenUnison. Node-oidc-provider is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for OpenUnison. Node-oidc-provider is the more established project (first released 2016), while OpenUnison arrived in 2018. Node-oidc-provider has the considerably larger community, at 3,816 GitHub stars versus 136. Node-oidc-provider lists first-class Docker deployment; OpenUnison does not.
Why pick each one
Choose node-oidc-provider if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Choose OpenUnison if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Written in Less
Frequently asked questions
Is node-oidc-provider or OpenUnison better?
Neither is universally better. node-oidc-provider has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are node-oidc-provider and OpenUnison free and open-source?
Yes. node-oidc-provider is licensed under MIT and OpenUnison under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run node-oidc-provider and OpenUnison with Docker?
node-oidc-provider: yes. OpenUnison: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, node-oidc-provider or OpenUnison?
node-oidc-provider has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for OpenUnison. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.