OAuth2 Proxy vs Pomerium
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted reverse proxy & gateways options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
OAuth2 Proxy
Reverse proxy that adds authentication to any web app
VS
Pomerium
Identity-aware reverse proxy for zero-trust access
| Feature | OAuth2 Proxy | Pomerium |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 14,808 | ★ 4,944 |
| First released | 2015 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Cloudflare Access | Cloudflare Access, BeyondCorp |
Why pick each one
Choose OAuth2 Proxy if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 14.8k GitHub stars
Choose Pomerium if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Active community (4.9k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is OAuth2 Proxy or Pomerium better?
Neither is universally better. OAuth2 Proxy has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are OAuth2 Proxy and Pomerium free and open-source?
Yes. OAuth2 Proxy is licensed under MIT and Pomerium under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OAuth2 Proxy and Pomerium with Docker?
OAuth2 Proxy: yes. Pomerium: yes.