OpenFGA vs Permify
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
OpenFGA
High-performance fine-grained authorization engine
VS
Permify
Open-source authorization service for fine-grained access
| Feature | OpenFGA | Permify |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 90 · Excellent | 90 · Excellent |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,846 | ★ 5,956 |
| First released | 2022 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Auth0 FGA | Auth0 FGA, OpenFGA |
What are OpenFGA and Permify?
OpenFGA
OpenFGA is an open-source, CNCF authorization engine inspired by Google Zanzibar for relationship-based access control. It can be self-hosted to centralize fine-grained permission decisions for applications.
- Relationship-based access
- High-throughput checks
- Modeling language
- gRPC and HTTP APIs
Permify
Permify is an open-source authorization service inspired by Google Zanzibar for building and managing fine-grained, scalable access control. It is self-hosted to centralize permission checks.
- Zanzibar-style model
- Centralized permissions
- Real-time consistency
- gRPC and REST APIs
OpenFGA vs Permify: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. OpenFGA is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Permify.
Why pick each one
Choose OpenFGA if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 5.8k GitHub stars
Choose Permify if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 6k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenFGA or Permify better?
Neither is universally better. Permify has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are OpenFGA and Permify free and open-source?
Yes. OpenFGA is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Permify under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenFGA and Permify with Docker?
OpenFGA: yes. Permify: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, OpenFGA or Permify?
OpenFGA has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Permify. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.