OpenFGA vs SpiceDB
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?
OpenFGA
High-performance fine-grained authorization engine
VS
SpiceDB
Open-source Zanzibar-inspired permissions database
| Feature | OpenFGA | SpiceDB |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,564 | ★ 6,947 |
| First released | 2022 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Auth0 FGA | Auth0 FGA, OpenFGA |
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 5.6k GitHub stars
Choose SpiceDB if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 6.9k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenFGA or SpiceDB better?
Neither is universally better. SpiceDB has the larger community, while OpenFGA is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are OpenFGA and SpiceDB free and open-source?
Yes. OpenFGA is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SpiceDB under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenFGA and SpiceDB with Docker?
OpenFGA: yes. SpiceDB: yes.